Last Day in Paradise

I swore I wasn't going to take any more sunrise pictures, but every morning the clouds are different. My devotions are on my phone, so I just happened to have my camera with me. Couldn't resist this one.

You may have noticed that we didn't spend a lot of time hanging out at the hotel. This morning we did, and still had time for showers before late check out at 1.

There were a couple waterfalls not far from our hotel that did not require hiking. This is Opaekaa. Probably more spectacular in sunshine or if you got closer. We spotted a picnic table in the shade when we arrived, but by the time we finished looking at the falls, someone else had claimed it.

Beautiful countryside. Not sure if you can make out the kayakers below. That would be a great way to see the falls.

Wailua Falls was more impressive. The road ends there. Along the way were cars parked off to the side. No view, and signs warning of dangerous cliffs, do not pass this sign. But someone at the overlook consulting her phone said there are ropes tied along the cliffs to assist in descent and that is how people hike in. We couldn't see anyone down there, but could see where a trail somes out. Hawaiians seem to be pretty relaxed when it comes to rules. They make them and post the signs to please government regulations and then ignore them at will.

No picnic tables at Walua Falls, but there was a guy selling pineapple bread (beside a sign that said no vendors.) We backtracked to Lydgate Beach Park just north of our hotel to eat our pineapple bread and finish our fruit from yesterday along with other goodies. They even had a handicapped spot where we could pull up in the car and use a paved path to our table.

I walked down to the beach. I'm pretty sure that's our resort you can see through the branches across the bay.

At last we headed to the airport to return our rental car and await our flight. It has been a wonderful week. Mom is a great travel companion, perhaps because our eating patterns are similar, we both want to know what is around the next corner, and she is no more eager for the shopping malls than I am. Note the lack therof in my accounts. Shopping is the one thing we didn't do, partly because of accessibility and largely due to lack of interest. We each came home with a sea-shell necklace from our luau. I also bought a sundress at the Blue Dolphin excursion office before our boat trip. My colors, my style, my kind of price. That is the extent of our souvenirs.

Now it is back to real life. Shutterfly has a free photobook offer on, so I have to get going on putting together a book for Mom.