Sunsets

This is what you expect to see in Hawaii. Beautiful white beaches and palm trees! On our last day, our flight didn't leave until almost 11 pm, so we checked out of our house and had a whole day to do a few more things. We couldn't really swim (though I really wanted to, because as I've mentioned, the water was WARM and I've never been anywhere else where you aren't freezing on the beach!) unless we wanted to pack wet and sandy clothes in our suitcases. So we just waded and looked in lava-rock tide pools and watched the airplanes fly in low over the beach. 

Light and shell-y. So different from the black sand beach we went to on the south side of the island.

We loved these pools in the rocks. Very sharp on your bare feet, so we were glad to be shoed at this point.

Sandy baby-toes!

We ate lunch at a restaurant by the beach, and these birds were helping themselves to someone's pineapple-slice that had been left on the table. I don't blame them—the pineapple here was so good!

A single tree.

There were plumeria blossoms all over the ground, so Clementine and I availed ourselves of two of them.

Mine went in my hair. Hers went in her…ear.

Then she fell asleep in the car for once, dear little lamb.

We enjoyed two beautiful sunsets in Kailua. You always think people must be exaggerating how beautiful and perfect the Hawaiian sunsets are, on travel brochures and things.

But no. They aren't.

I was hoping maybe we'd see "the Green Flash." We didn't, but I see I did get a cool green lens flare here, so that will have to do.

I was sitting on a wall watching this sunset while Sam and Abe were looking at some shops nearby (and I was nursing Clementine, of course) and started talking to a nice guy next to me, also watching the sunset. He asked the baby's name and when I said "Clementine" his mouth DROPPED open and he said "Clementine?? Clementine??! and elbowed his wife and said "Did you hear that? Clementine!" Then he said to me, awed, "How did you THINK of that?" Haha! It was very flattering to receive such admiration for Clementine's beautiful name (however little I actually deserved it, since I didn't actually…make up her name! Ha!)

It was so strange to remember that it was actually Christmas time. Sometimes something would remind us, like these Christmas lights, or decorations in a store, or that song, you know the one, which shall remain nameless so as to not get it stuck in your head…oh, fine. Mele Kalikimaka. It was playing in stores and restaurants everywhere.

We looked in some tide pools and saw a bunch of cool crabs and anemones…

and a sea cucumber! Who would have thought? I've only ever read about them in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea—the Disney Read-Along Record version. They're more…fat and blobby-looking than I imagined them.

Abe had spotted a place selling Dole Whip earlier, but by the time we walked back that way, all the tourists had cleared out of that area and we were sure it would be closed. But, in an Abe-centered miracle (he loves Dole Whip), the owner was still there cleaning up and let us buy some! They have it at Macey's at home, usually pineapple flavor, but we've also tried lemon and mango and raspberry. But here we got to try watermelon and lychee! SO good.

Then we went to the airport and started the first of two lonnnnnng flights home, upon which we will not dwell (but this little cutie was as good as could be expected)—

and we had a very rude awakening upon getting back to our car looking like THIS at the park-and-ride lot. The horror! I could hardly bring myself to leave the shuttle bus. The driver kept telling me to cover up the baby. Ha! SHE was the warmest one of all of us, let me assure you!

I can't say I didn't do a little daydreaming about this view in the following days. But we were really very glad to be back home where we belonged!