Traveling Home From Hawaii

We had an early flight home.  It left at 7:00am, which meant we had to be up by 5:15.  We did get everything ready to go last night--showered, packed, charged--so we got up, got dressed, and had a bit to eat.  Brenda got up and helped make food so we'd have something to eat on the plane.  Our rental car drop off went smoothly (as mentioned in an early Hawaii trip post), although baggage check was a bit of a problem.  We were checking two bags and one weighed over 50 pounds.  While I was dropping off the car, Kent had to rearrange all our stuff, including the twelve boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts I bought at Costco to give away to people when we got home.  Then, when we got to security, we realized I had packed a too large bottle of sunscreen that precipitated a bag search.  Fortunately, we still had plenty of time and made our flight.

Traveling from Hawaii back to the mainland was much nicer than going the other way in the nighttime.  We read, the kids played on their Kindles, and we ate pretty much everything we brought to snack on.  Although the flight was long, it didn't seem as long as the flight over.  We had only an hour in between flights, and made it home in time to haul bags upstairs and climb into bed.  As exciting as it is to leave on a trip, it's equally wonderful to come home.

I made an ironic discovery in my purse on our way home.  Brenda has written us a thank you note.  We'd been staying with her for a week and she wrote us a thank you.  What's up with that?  It was very sweet and made me feel like she might actually let us come and stay again.  I want to have the note in future, but I don't want to have the actual note, so I'm including it here.

Dear Kent, Katherine, Brandt, and Blythe,
Thank you for coming to stay with us in Hawaii!  I felt like I was the one on vacation!  Thanks for buying me food, entrance tickets, and treats.  i will remember my walk with Blythe along Waimanalo Beach; my stroll along the marina in the early morning with Brandt when we spotted jellyfish for the first time (thanks to Brandt's sharp eyes); our many shaved ices, laughing together, seeing whales, and sunburns.  I hope you will come again next as you know there is still more to do and see!  I also want to thank you for all the kindness you have shown our kids (and us) over the years in way to dinners, phone calls, and other thoughtful gestures.  It has meant a lot to us.  Have a good trip back!  I hope you have a little sand left in your shoes and bags so you can think of your trip to Hawaii as you shake it out!
See you in a couple of weeks!  Love, Aunt Brenda