Hawaii and the end of our travels

This little dog loved riding the waves in, but held his tail between his legs whenever they paddled back out. When his master decided to surf without him for a bit, he barked angrily from the shore, begging to go back in.

Haunama Bay - the best place on the island for snorkeling, says our guide book. There were many tame tropical fish, but it was swarming with people. You could hardly paddle anywhere without getting a fin kicked in your face. It reminded me of an amusement park. We found a much nicer place just a half mile's walk from the little beach house we are renting.

We found a short little hike up to an old lighthouse. It was crowded though. Before I remembered where I was, I kept thinking, why are there so many pushy, loud Americans here? We've been beeped at several times :(

We've had perfectly balmy weather here. I love the sharp mountains and the aqua ocean, but I'm not a big fan of Hawaii overall. It is a bit seedy and there is a certain lack of kindness. Scott says I shouldn't make generalizations based on just this island though.

View from the only little hike we took here (we spent most of the time walking the beach, swimming, snorkeling, and boogie-boarding - an activity that is apparently frowned upon where you are an adult ;)
 We giggled like little kids as we rode 18" waves all the way to dry sand (and people's feet as they were sunbathing).

Scott's surfer dude side

Today on our last afternoon, we went for a little drive to see the north part of the island.

Happy that we are headed home tomorrow.

Pretending I know yoga

Bird dance, yoga pose, gang banger signal, or an itchy knee?

Crab! (Both of us - I was a little grumpy today)

 Elizabeth, watch out for the shark teeth in the next shot!

Ben! Hurry up and find a summer job, or else.  :)

The little black dots are sharp little sea urchins. We had to be very careful of not stepping on them when we snorkeled.

We were seeing a whale in the rock formations. We actually saw whales way out in the ocean breeching today!

A tsunami punched this hole in the rock in 1946 on April Fool's day.

Perhaps thinking about the garage needing siding, the deck needing railings, the water pipes needing repairs, and the taxes needing to be done....

We have to wake up at 3 a.m. to catch our flight back to LA, then Denver, then Missoula, where Elizabeth and Ben will be waiting, even though it is a school night and it will be midnight. Can't wait to see them!!!