Hawaii, Day 6 (and back home)

[May 28, 2010] We got up this morning, got ready for the day and then started packing up. We were checking out of the hotel early so that we could just go snorkel on the side of the island near the airport all day. We ended up on a beach where spinner dolphins are commonly seen. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any :( However, it was a very fun beach. Not really a sandy beach, pretty much just huge lava rock that drop right off into the ocean. So you had to be very careful as to not kill yourself while getting in and out of the water. Which, I proved to be bad at. Well, I guess not, since I'm still alive. See, I have this thing where I tend to overestimate how deep the water actually needs to be before I can start snorkeling - you can snorkel in very shallow water. So, when I should have just pretty much face planted into the water and been on my snorkeling way I was instead trying to climb down lava rock with fins on my feet into deeper water. I finally decided it was deep enough and squatted down to start the snorkel when a huge wave washed up over me and I slipped. I used my left had to catch myself and it sliced across some coral. OUCH. I jerked up, started shaking it and told the hubs I had cut my hand. He asked if it was bleeding and at first I said no - without having even looked at it yet - then finally pulled it away from my right hand to see a tiny little slice in it near the bottom of my palm. Yes, it was bleeding. Not like gushing blood or anything. Just a little. I was frustrated with the whole situation so decided to just dive in. It works a lot better that way. This was an amazing place for snorkeling. There were tons and tons and tons of coral and reefs there. Some of which were so colorful. There were a few that were bright pink and red, a few green ones, some orange. Absolutely gorgeous. Of course, the typical fun colored fishys were there too. Nothing really new in the fish department. I did see and grey and white polkadot fish though, that was different. When we were rounding into the end of our snorkel time I was sad we hadn't seen any dolphins or even a turtle. When some other snorkelers started freaking out about a turtle. Then, I was sad because I was missing the turtle. We were debating on whether or not to jump back in and try and find him. I sat there wondering aloud, "I wonder where the turtle is" I barely got out the last word when Cory and I both saw a turtle pop his head up right where we were! So we rushed back into our fins, goggles and snorkel and back in we went. It must have been close to a resting time for them or something, because as I followed one for quite some time while Cory fetched our last camera, there were several more to encounter. Even...(wait for it)....a baby one! It was so cute [fascination for anything smaller than its larger form]. We swam with the turtles for quite some time before deciding it was time to end our last snorkel :( It was sad. Then the question of "I'm getting on a plane in about 4 hours that is the beginning of an 18 hour traveling trip and I'm checked out of my hotel....how am I going to shower." No worries, we found an outdoor beach shower...that was 'conveniently' located facing the busiest street in Hawaii. Oh well, these people are never going to see us again. We showered in our swim suits, of course, and even used shampoo and conditioner (compliments of the hotel). It was quite hilarious. People stared a lot. Then there were one room bathrooms beside the showers so we were going to change there. The female bathroom's door would not open. So, then, I had to go into the male bathroom with Cory - again, people staring. It wasn't that bad. We dried off and changed quickly. It was still hilarious though. After a 'nice' shower we found a little restaurant nearby to eat at. We got to sit outside at a little wooden table with a red umbrella. There was a man playing an instrument and singing songs in front. We were facing the ocean. The waves could still be heard despite the traffic, live entertainment and shatter among us. The sun was lowering back down in the sky sending off that orange and pink glow across the water. It was a nice ending to our Hawaii vacation. After we ate our food we were off to return our rental car and then shuttle back to the airport. The paperwork on the car was surprisingly quick. As was the security line at the airport. Before I knew it I was boarding the flight back to LAX. Bittersweet. What I didn't realize then was that the bitter part would be having a woman holding about an 18-month-old sitting in the row with us, a couple with a literal new born (we're talking maybe a few weeks old) sitting behind us, and a couple with a probably 12-month-old sitting across the row from us. One of those babies was always crying. For the whole 5 hours. Best freaking birth control in the world. It's a little frustrating too. I'll try real hard not to make judgments on any of those folks, but flying isn't the most pleasant thing. Even if you enjoy it, you can't deny all the pressure and slight discomfort in your head. Imagine how that feels to a baby? Why in the world would you fly with your baby unless you absolutely had to?! I'm talking zero other choices. It boggles the mind. I was so happy to land in LAX. Luckily we didn't have a lot of down time, I grabbed a muffin from a shop and by the time I finished it we were ready to board our flight to Minneapolis. Cory and I both pretty much slept for that whole flight, which was nice. Not comfortable, but made it seem not as long. The Minneapolis airport is super nice! This was a good thing because we had about 3 hours of down time here. There were a lot of things to look at and do. After lunch and a lot of wondering it was finally time to board our flight back to St. Louis! Then the airlines realized THEY'D overbooked THEIR flight and needed 5 individuals to take a later flight...and we 'weren't taking off until they did.' I'm not sure I can express my frustration with this situation. Who's freaking fault is it that the flight is overbooked?! So our flight ended up leaving about 30 minutes late as people finally folded into taking the later flight. However, the pilot said he'd 'fly faster' to get us there on time. And he did...so whatever. We landed right on time. We found our brother and sister-in-law, loaded into the car, went and got food then finally made the 2 hour drive back home. Ah, had no idea it'd feel so good to be here. And I had to make up of a whole week without Aiko kisses. So kiss attacks were in order!