Tossed and turned from 4:00 this morning until finally peeling ourselves out of bed at 6:00 to indulge in our Kauai ritual of making tropical oatmeal with our remaining pineapple and apple bananas. With things packed two days ago, we only needed to straighten up and sweep out the cabin before throwing our bags in the car. Prior to locking up, we grabbed the Poke Bentos and our coveted sweet potato haupia pie that we bought yesterday, knowing that on Christmas day, we’d be relegated to eating something ugly at the airport and we were going to have nothing to do with that.

Down the bumpy dirt road and once more through the tree tunnel to Poipu. Luck would have it that a passing pod of whales was swimming by. The only things missing are the sun and a rainbow. Caroline jumped back into the sea for one last communion with the fishes and with that, we headed over to drop the snorkel gear, fill the tank of the rental car, and drive to the airport. We are in the outdoor waiting area after only needing a few minutes in security on this slow day. Pop open the bento lunches and split dessert. Boarding was just 15 minutes after our last bite before catching the short hop over to Oahu before the long haul back to Phoenix. Vacation in Hawaii is now over, Mahalo.