Last Day of Vacation

It came down to our last day and I had an epiphany:

"No one will even know I've been in Hawaii! All the sunscreen I've been putting on has made me even more white than I was before the trip. No problem; today's a beach day and I won't wear ANY sunscreen."

What are you doing here, Michael?

We get changed into our swimming suits and guess what? It's cloudy and even raining a little bit. Rain or shine, we decided we'd still go swimming. So we go to Shark's Cove (for a little more snorkeling and swimming). When we get there, orange flags and warning signs are posted all over saying, "No swimming." Apparently it was too dangerous...psshhh!

So we drive down shore a bit to Waimea Beach. It's a little breezy and chilly, but hey...eventually the sun will come out. It's Hawaii, right? So we plop down, lay out the towels, and lie next to the shore waiting for the sun to reveal itself.

Minutes pass and from nowhere, a ginormous wave comes and crashes right over the top of us! Dave's dad was fully dressed for the day and had water and sand up to his armpits. Kate's bawling because she's soaked and can't find her washed away shovels and bucket. And our camera and Dave's phone are broken, still draining water to this day. Needless to say, our beach trip came to an abrupt ending and my dreams of getting a suntan were over.

We got back to the hotel, showered, and drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see a few things we missed. As we pulled into the parking lot, a bucket of water was dumping from the sky. We all looked at each other and said, "Do you really want to walk around in that?" Nope. We changed plans for the 80th time and drove to Haleiwa.
We grabbed some lunch of Haleiwa Joes. It's was a good lunch...one of Dave's favorites of the trip. Next, we tried to get ourselves a shaved ice from Matsumoto's, but honestly, the line at that place is madness (even on a rainy day)! Instead, we put on our tourist caps and walked the gift and surf shops there.
We still had time to kill before our flight home that night. We drove down to Honolulu to see Iolani Palace (the one and only palace on American soil). So we get there and are planning a tour. Well, wouldn't you know it...they're closed on Mondays! Our plans are foiled again!! Well, we get out of the car to stretch our legs and relieve the bladders. We get a shot of King Kamehameha (using my non-broken cell phone camera, mind you), and then drive to the airport.

Sigh. Sadness. Disbelief...not because today didn't turn out at all what I had hoped, but because I didn't want to go home. I really could have stayed another week and been just fine!

Anyway, turn in car, blah, blah, check bags, blah, blah, blah, security check, blah, and on the plane we go. Being that it was the red eye, the second they turned off the lights, BAM, Kate was out like a light. She slept the whole way home. RELIEF!

The flight was much shorter coming home and was semi-relaxing. My only complaint: Two male strangers (a few rows behind) gabbing LOUDLY for the extent of the whole flight. Did they not look around and see EVERYONE ELSE trying to get some shut eye? Did they not hear my constant, "SHHHHH's!!!" Well, sucky for us, but for them...the beginning of a beautiful, budding Bromance. Congratulations, you two!

Anyway, our trip to Hawaii in a rather large nutshell. TADAAA!