Final Moments Aloha Style

And so the final morning came upon us in our luxurious treehouse. I swear this palace had every accommodation you could imagine. We brewed a combo of the Verve Coffee beans and some local beans grown on the Island. With our 2nd cupfuls in hand, we drove inches down to our beach for one last swim in the wonderful and glorious ocean. This marked 8 days straight of getting some Ocean Action! I looked for whales and dolphins, but none in sight. We got back to our Lavahouse and ate leftover nick nacks, packed, cleaned and got all trash/recycling together. I must also mention our security for the week. We had a cat that was always around the house that we named Mr Fleas. He would always pop out when we were home. We fed him pieces of ham from time to time. He became of special part of being around the home. We were all taking turns saying our goodbyes to Fleas and he meowed back. I took one last outdoor shower and truly took it all in. The depth of the Island and the relaxation of the overall spirit around me. I have a whole new perspective of where I am at and what I want.

The drive is one thing I will truly miss. We had amazing slopes and even caught air sometimes. The ocean was always by our side, with its warm and inviting blue color. The people on the Hilo side are definitely a mixed bag. It was nice to see a lot of diversity. The boys were nice enough to drive me to the airport on their way to the next week of their holiday adventure camping in the Wilea Valley. On our way to Hilo Airport, going down the slopes we saw a local truck in front of us with a fresh kill hanging off the back part. This wild pig was robust. It needed to be documented. The guy in the back of the truck gave his blessing and stuck a thumbs up to us, as Grant took a picture. The sky was clear enough that we got to see Mauna Dea to left of us as we got close to the airport. We had clear viewing of Mauna Loa the other day too. The boys and I said our goodbyes and I headed to Honolulu.

I had almost an hour layover before my flight back to Oakland Airport. I decided to have my first and only Mai Tai of my vacation. I went up to the bar at Stinger Ray's and ordered a double. I figured I might as well get something to eat with a 5 hour flight underway. I decided on their Tempting Tropical Shrimp which were lightly breaded succulent jumbo sized with coconut flakes and fried golden. They were served with cocktail sauce and Ray's special sauce blend of Mango Chutney, guava and pineapple. Now that was the dip of dips. I got it with Stinger Fries and a Mini Caesar Salad. It was definitely a great last meal in Hawaii. I boarded with the excitement of knowing I was going home to San Francisco. That in itself is the ultimate vacation.