Last Day

Our flight left Sunday at 10 PM.  We had to check out of our place by noon, so we decided to rent a car and explore more of the island.  We had one last breakfast and enjoyed one last view from the balcony. 

Our first stop was Ho'okipa Beach Park.  We stopped here on the road to Hana, but it was pouring rain so we didn't get out.  There were tons of people surfing here both times we went. 

This beach is nicknamed "Turtle Beach" because there are always a ton of turtles.  It took us a minute to see them because they looked like rocks from far away.

The beach was covered with turtles. 

Keith was so excited to see the turtles. 

We watched the turtles for a while.  It was fun to see them swim in and then make their way up the sand. 

Our next stop was Maluaka Beach. It was beautiful.  We didn't want to get wet so we just walked around.

By this point we were starting to get hungry and were looking for food.  We saw what looked like a food truck above the beach.  We went up there and were told that we had to be members to eat there.  It was hard to find food because the beaches are public, but usually the food around them was with a resort, so you could only eat there if you were staying there. 

After that we drove out to the lava fields.  We drove along a narrow road that was surrounded by lava rock for probably two miles.  It's not the prettiest to look at, but it sure is interesting. 

We didn't pass any food options, so after the lava fields we searched for places to eat once we had service again.  It was late afternoon by this point and we were hungry.  We went to Kihei, where there were some food options.  We went to a fish and chips place.  It was really good.  

After we ate we drove over to McGregor Point Lighthouse. 

It was more like a stand than a lighthouse, but it was still fun to see.

We stayed there and watched the sun set.

We had a great view. 

I was glad we got to see one more Hawaii sunset.

After that we drove to Lahaina.  It was about twenty-five minutes away and the drive along the coast with the orange sky was beautiful.  It was dark so we couldn't see much, but they had the area affected by the fires fenced off.  It's heartbreaking how much damage was done.  They had crosses along the highway with pictures of people who died in the fire.  It was very sad to see.  After that we went to the airport to turn in the car and catch our flight.  It was so sad that our trip was over, it went by so fast.  I was nervous about flying overnight and not being able to sleep, but I was able to sleep most of the flight.  The flight from Maui to Seattle didn't have very many people on it, so Keith and I got a row to ourselves, it was great. We were excited to get home and see the kids, but it sure was hard to leave that island paradise.  I have wanted to go to Hawaii for a long time and this trip was amazing.  I can see why everyone loves Hawaii so much and I am already trying to figure out how we can go back!