Tuesday morning we got up (relatively) early and went to snorkel at Kahalu’u Beach. There are two areas where you can go into the water, to the left was for snorkelers and to the right was for boards. We when to the right area because it was basically empty. DH snorkeled next to a turtle!
We went back to the rental home to shower and get packed up, and then we went to Ali’i Drive to pick up some souvenirs and enjoy our last day there. All of the shop owners that we met were really nice and eager to help. We bought a cool necklace for each of our mother’s, and the lady at the store allowed us to video her explaining why those stones are special and particularly Hawaiian. We stumbled across Falafel in Paradise and it was awesome! Chef Meir was great, it was cool to hear his story. Both the sabich and falafel were excellent.
IMG_1183 by
n d, on Flickr
All too soon, it was time for our flight to HNL. Even though we had 2 different PNRs, they were able to interline our bags all the way to Newark (I heard they do not do this anymore). HA agent was a stickler about weight, we were entitled to 4 suitcases and only had 3 but she still made us take things out so they were 50 lbs. She also weighted our carryons. We checked in with time to spare (or so I thought) and decided to relax before going through security. About 45 minutes before the flight, I realized that I packed my wallet in my luggage which was already on the plane and had no identification. After waiting for a supervisor, they asked me if I had anything with my name, like a prescription bottle, which I did. They separated me from my husband and would not let me talk to him. They had to put my name through some kind of security screening and then gave me a very thorough pat down. They went through every single item in my carry on bags. I was starting to get anxious about missing the flight, but apparently there are only a few security agents in KOA so it took forever. We just made it onto our flight as they were going to close the doors. HA really takes punctuality seriously!
We used AA passes to get into the Sakura lounge in HNL, it was nothing special but we were only there for about 30 minutes anyway. We flew from HNL-EWR on United in J, it was great to sleep on the flight, service was ok but not as good as AA. In EWR we wanted to use the United lounge to freshen up, but apparently it’s for international travelers only. At baggage claim we met a couple who lives in HNL and her sister/brother runs the Chabad on the Big Island.
After a truly incredible trip, we Ubered it back home to reality, wondering if we would ever be able to make it back again. Little did we know that circumstances would turn out that we are planning to visit Kauai and the Big Island again this summer, with the kids this time! TR coming soon IYH
IMG_0274 by
n d, on Flickr
Random beach picture
IMG_0268 by
n d, on Flickr
IMG_1193 by
n d, on Flickr
Typical Hawaii “Hours: noonish till closing”