BACK to reality :}

Can I go back to Hawaii now? There are WAY more issues to solve here at home than I want to deal with today! NOT TO MENTION that I'm still not completely off of Hawaii time! The good news is that all of our luggage fit into (Thanks Margie & John!!) the carriage that took us home after it all successfully arrived into New Orleans!! YAY!!! I think we are taking the kiddies back home to the red stick today!! We'll see if anything else actually gets done. Man, reality is a BUMMER!! :D

The picture is yet another Hawaiian sunrise :)....almost LOST from my camera card [OH NO!!] ...but that is another story.

Home again...

Can we sleep yet? Where are we? What day is it? The plane was FULL...seriously, not ONE open seat....ewwww! Little sleep was had by anyone. CAN YOU SAY JET LAGGED?????

I'll leave you all with this pic taken on one of my peaceful morning walks on the beach.

Oceanside morning walks...

I took this picture today on my last a.m. stroll this trip! I didn't miss many mornings to grab minutes of solitude and quiet... I surely will miss it!

We were off to the airport tonight...leaving at 8:40pm :P We took advantage of the extra minutes in the airport to grab one last Hawaiian-pineapple-laden drink! Aloha beautiful islands of Hawaii! Until we meet again....

Breathe deep! Eyes wide open!

Basically spent today soaking up sunshine and trying to memorize the scenery!! Dips in the waves were important too! Also wrestling with suitcases---BOY, was THAT fun!!! :)

Hang Loose!

BUSY day running around Honolulu to get a bit of shopping in....finally got that shave ice (and I think mainland southerners have improved the concept)....stopped to get a few pics of Rabbit island (there is a cool story that goes along with it)....and to see if any whales happened to be frolicking about!! Noteworthy purchases include our attempts to increase our orchid collection...macadamia nuts (OF COURSE!)...and our first ukulele!!

Swimmin' with the fishies! :)

An EARLY morning rise began our day running to the beautiful Hanauma Bay for hours of staring at the creatures of the reef! It is one of my favorite things to do on Oahu! You MUST get there early to get the icy but clear water and best view of the fish.

The current was STRONG today so snorkeling in deep water made me VERY happy to have some fins of my own!! Wish I had an underwater camera so I could share the real sights with you all!

We took a LONG nap today as the exhaustion of constantly being in and out of the water is obviously getting us .....and reminding how out of shape we are!!! *ROFL* pathetic, right??!!

Surf's UP!!

My brave SO took a surfing lesson which I attended as resident photographer! :) His quote after the event was "that is WAY harder than it looks!!!" He got about halfway up at least 3 times--I was proud!! The surfer babe instructor told us that for your "first" surfing lessons they should really be done on Waikiki beach since the waves there break slower and further out. He guaranteed a successful stand out there!! Maybe next trip????

Anyone recognize this scenery from 'Lost'??? Well, perhaps you should??!??!!!