Final Day of Our Break

Monday was our last day in Hawaii.  Fortunately, because it's West of the mainland they fly red-eye flights back, so we were able to get a full day of sun and relaxation before heading out.

We decided to return to the quiet beach we had visited on Sunday.  Although the marathon was over, we were counting on the fact that it was Monday to keep the volume of people down.  We headed up Diamond Head Road, using the shortcut we found on our return the day before.  This route takes the bulk of the hill off and reduces the distance by as much as 3/4 mile.  Oh yea!

By the time we got there it was already over 80 degrees and we were very hot.  There were a few people on the beach, but not too many.  We found a nice space by a small wading/swimming hole created by the reef.  We had just settled in when a man walked up with two dogs and decided to set up "camp" right next to us.  Really!?!?  The entire beach and he had to pick there. 

He proceded to tell us that one of the dogs didn't have "towel etiquette" ... nice.  For a while all went back to quiet until another beach goer arrived with another dog.  For the next hour we had to listed to their owners whistle and yell at them to keep them in control.  It brought to mind a favorite saying of Tony's.  "Dogs are like kids.  If you can't control them, don't have them."

We did learn the "story" of the beach.  Until 9-11, the beach was the unofficial nude beach in the area.  But after 9-11 the brush and trees between the lighthouse and beach were cleared.  The lighthouse is the home of the admiral of the Coast Guard and after the brush was cleared he and his wife weren't too excited about seeing everybody's "plumbing."  The police do patrol the beach, but mostly on 3-wheelers so you can hear them coming ... and they only come down at low tide.  We heard a rumor that they were in the area, but we never saw or heard them.

After several hours we were done so we returned to the hotel where they gave us a room to shower and get ready for our flight home.  We bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed one last sunset from the deck before heading out for a quick bite and the airport.

While watching the sunset we talked about what made this break so special ... because it was.  First, we realized it's been years since we've been on vacation, just the two of us, without an agenda.  The last time we were away alone was London in Feb.  While there every day was filled with lots of walking and sightseeing.  But here we had no agenda, just time to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.  Second, we didn't rent a car.  This was an on-again, off-again decision, but in the end it was the right one.  When you have a car I think you feel obligated to use it.  Without a car we didn't feel the need to "go see" things ... and waste time driving around.  We found walking from place to place very relaxing.  And last, taking the time each day to get a bottle of wine and sit on the deck watching the sunset was a perfect, relaxing close to each day.

There are things we did miss being on an American beach vs. a European one.  The biggest was no alcohol.  It's not so much that we have to drink, but a nice glass of wine helps relax you a bit.  Personally I had a difficult time relaxing/napping on the beach.  On Monday we did sneak a bottle with us and it helped me relax and unwide a bit.  The second, as I said before, was that I had to wear a top.  We found a way around this on the beach we found, but we had to work at it.

So with our break coming to an end we called the taxi that brought us in and made our way to the airport.  Our hopes were that we would get some sleep on the flight back to Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, the First Class seats were as crowded as on the way over and neither of us slept much.  As well, we had a tremendous tailwind that got us into LA almost an hour before our scheduled arrival.  That made our layover even longer!

We landed home to rain and cold weather ... which didn't fit well with my sandals and cotton dress.  Oh well.

By the time we got home all we could think about was sleep and warmth.  Tony's napping and I'm cozied up by the fire as I type.  Now it's back to busy preparing for the holidays.