Aloha! - Hanauma Bay and Up, Up, and Away!

We had a quick breakfast of tropical fruit and whipped cream (decadent!) at Morning Galaxy, then caught the first bus to Hanauma Bay. We were actually early enough on the route to get two of the last available seats. Everyone getting on at future stops had to stand. There was a line at the Bay, but not too bad. Maybe 20 minutes.

Cat and I rented snorkel equipment, but discovered it's more difficult than it looks to snorkel from the beach. Our flippers kept getting filled with sand which hurts. A lot! It's forbidden to touch the coral (with good reason), which makes the whole activity even more challenging. I must have been doing something wrong, because I kept getting water in my snorkel. I finally gave up and swam for shore.

When we got back to our mats, a man carrying a baby came over to let us know that a mongoose had stolen something from one of our bags. Turned out to be our lunch...well, the bread, anyway.

We "sunbathed" for a bit in the shade while thoroughly coated in SPF 50. That gets boring fast, but it was very exciting for the couple who snagged our prime location when we left. After turning in our equipment, we hiked back up the hill, siteseeing and taking pictures along the way. We were disappointed that the trail to the "toilet bowl" was closed, since we'd been told it was something we definitely should see. Last, we got some pineapple shaved ice, and wandered back to the bus stop to wait.

After we got back to Waikiki, we finished packing all our stuff. As usual, we each wore only maybe a third of the clothes we'd brought. I managed to break a nail in the process, so I zoomed down to the nail salon (next door!) had it fixed and had fresh polish applied. Can't go to a high school reunion with a broken nail, you know!

We still had a few hours left before our airport shuttle, so we wandered toward the beach and Diamond Head looking for a place for a light dinner. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so a lot of restaurants were closed. We finally found a bar and grill attached to a hotel, and had some sandwiches and drinks.

Our shuttle driver got us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. There was an announcement while we were waiting that something was wrong with the video system on the plane and that they were trying to fix it, but it wouldn't affect the safety of the flight. Sure enough, neither the video system nor the reading lights were working. Most people just went to sleep. It was the quietest flight I've ever been on. We took off at 8:50 p.m. Hawaii time and landed at 4:30 a.m. Los Angeles time.

My awesome and terrific brother-in-law (you know who you are) picked us up at the Flyaway terminal in Van Nuys.