Hawaii-Monday, Day Ten

Since I didn't have the time nor internet access to post a recap of Monday, our last day in Hawaii, I will do so now.

Our last day we woke up with a thrill of excitement as it was our last full day on O'ahu, because we would be leaving Hawaii that night for Phoenix at 10:55. From Phoenix, we would go back through Charlotte, and, after being picked up by our dear Mothers and close friend Jenny, we would finally be home. I printed out the tickets that morning, which was the earliest I possibly could, mostly because I had a nightmare when we first arrived that their printer was malfunctioning and ran out of ink and Kate and I were stranded in Hawaii for another couple of weeks. :-)

The day started rather early, because Embla had horse camp at 9:00 which was 30 minutes away in Waipahu and we did our best to help get them ready. Kate and I did not go with Arnheidur, George and the children, for we preferred to stay behind and pack for our return journey.

Before they left, Embla presented us with two beautiful hand-stamped paper bags full of hand lotions, chocolate covered macadamias, some slippers for Kate and a some bath gloves for me. Arnheidur had also included two hand-stamped thank you cards for us. I was so surprised and touched by her sweet gifts! We hadn't even been expecting them, and that is because she had assembled the gift bags the night before when we had been sleeping. Since I am a big postage stamp collector, she also gave me a giant bag full of old domestic and foreign stamps to add to my collection. Arnheidur sells rubber stamps as well, and so she gave me some new stamp sets to try out when I got home. I couldn't thank them enough for their generosity and willingness in letting Kate and me come take care of her home and two children!

That morning was a very, very quiet one, and I savored every moment of it! Kate and I both packed and cleaned the house a bit for when they came back, and also made sure we had everything that we brought with us, because the plan had been that we would be picked up by George and Arnheidur later on and would be out seeing the North Shore all day until our departure that evening. It should be mentioned that after cleaning up the kitchen and straightening the house a bit, Kate and I made the most fantastic smoothie I have ever eaten. We used the leftover frozen pineapple, mango, and kiwi from their welcome home breakfast, as well as some bananas to thicken. It was so utterly delicious, and it was a good thing we had that late snack, as you will see by and by. We went for a last walk up the beach, and talked a good deal.

When George and Arnheidur came back home at 10:45 am, we were ready for them and George heloed us stow our belongings in their van. We closed the door for the last time, hoping that we remembered everything we had brought. With the exception of a last-minute panic when I realized I left Mother's running shorts in the dryer and, later on, Kate's suspicion of her leaving her very nice water bottle behind, we left nothing that we knew of. We drove to the North Shore, which was a relatively short drive-O'ahu is not as big as I thought! Before we got there, we stopped at the Dole plantation ( a big 'tourist trap') which turned out to be a really neat place to go. We saw how they grew, sampled some of the succulent pineapple, fed the giant pool of fat Koi near the dole gardens, and watched a demonstration on how to cut a pineapple correctly (with the special pineapple knife they sell for 5.99, of course!). Since both of our Fathers keep bees for the OWNER of Dole foods, it was only appropriate for us to go there. "We have a connection to Dole that no one else here has!"


Next we journeyed to a Soap Factory, a very fragrant shop full the heady fragrance of bars and bars homemade soap. We were able to imprint a soap sliver with a stamp that said, "North Shore Soap Factory" as a souvenier to take home. Next was a coffeeshop that sells Kona coffee as well as chocolate grown right there in Hawaii. We even got a tour of the coffee process and saw how the cacao bean is grown, from plant to wrapper. Then I sampled some coffee, and made up my own Baldguy-worthy iterpretations of the flavor and aroma. "It has a mellow dirt beginning, a hazelnut middle, and a bitter chocolaty finish."

Then everyone had shave ice save Kate and me, because, to be honest, we were a bit tired of the stuff. I was starting to get really hungry, because it was well past lunchtime. Not for chocolate, shave ice, or coffee, but real food. In the car on the way to the beach, I offered Kate one of the chewy granola balls I had made earlier and then asked her if she was hungry and she said she was hungry as well. We both decided that if we went shopping with Arnheidur later we would ask to get something quick to eat. They let us off for a little while at the North Shore, where everybody goes surfing, and Kate got some great pictures and I took some video of some guys surfing for Father to see because he is a big surfer. We headed back to the Ewa Beach area for Embla's soccer practice, and as we drove I even got some footage out the window of the actual mountain pass that the Japanese planes passed through on their way to bomb Pearl Harbor.

Arnheidur dropped George and the children off at her soccer practice at 4:00, and then she took Kate and me shopping at some of the thrift stores in the area, because we LOVE thrift stores. At the first one, most of the skirts I liked would have been too big at the waist, and Kate noticed the same thing with the skirts she looked at. However, she did find some cute skirts for her little sisters to have as well as a cool looking middle eastern coat made of a silky material for Emily. These simple thrift store items would save us late on, so remember them. They're very important.

Our next stop we found nothing we liked, I think that for me it was mostly because all I could think of was how hungry I was , because it was now 5:45, and that yummy smoothie was long gone. My brain goes nuts when I don't have protein. I was surprised I could even remember my name at that point! Thank goodness I remembered that there was a subway near to the Goodwill store we had just perused and we asked Arnheidur if we could go in and she said that that would be fine. The ladies working at subway must have thought that I just woke up from a nap because I was so out of it! Their experitse at quick assembly and lightning fast service didn't help matters.
"What kind of sandwich would you like?"
"Um, whole wheat bread, please."
"No, what SANDWICH would you like?"
*mentally knocks self on head*
"Uh, turkey breast with.....ah, provolone?
Then she talked at the speed of light at the condiment and veggie section.
"Mayo, Mustard, Honey Mustard, Vinaigrette, or Salt and Pepper on it?"
"Um......honey mustard?"
When we got to the veggies I almost wanted to say, "Just put everything on it. I'll eat it!"
but I just tried to name just a few of my favorite vegetables for her to put on it to speed up the process. The whole thing, from bread to paying, took about 3 minutes, and we were out of there.

After being horrified to learn that Arnheidur had nearly crashed trying to park in the parking lot, we hurried back to pick up George and the children. The sun was setting, and we were racing it because the park closes at sundown. On the way we forced ourselves to eat our 6 inch subs, and I don't think anything has ever tasted so good. After getting very near to the park, Embla called and was wondering when her Mamma would be there, and so Arnheidur had Embla count to 100 in Icelandic with her on the phone and before she got to 40, her Mamma was there to pick her up. I asked if we had time to stop by Foodland, and they said that would be fine, since George needed to get some milk and eggs as well. We got some power food-veggies, granola bars, almonds, and some apples to take on the plane so we could avoid the mediocre $7 airplane snacks and terminal food. We headed off to a Italian restaurant but we girls were not very hungry so we just ate a few garlic knots (heard that before?) :-) Then we were off to the airport. We walked over to the security checkpoint, and, after a bunch of pictures were taken of everyone, we said goodbye and thanked to them all for their hospitality an willingness to entrust two teenagers of their home and children. Arnheidur made sure we made it through security alright, and, seeing that everything went okay, waved a final goodbye. As we left the security checkpoint, a petite Japanese woman asked us if we had any fruit with us. I looked at Kate and said "no", but, as soon as I had said it, I remembered that I had those apples in the carry on. How stupid!
"Oh, actually I have apples."
I said to her.
"Oh, well yes, that would be a fruit."
*mentally smacks self on forehead*
She said any fruit from Hawaii was not allowed to be taken on the mainland, so she had to conficscate them. I later realized, as we were sitting waiting to board, that those apples were WASHINGTON brand granny smith apples, grown in Washington, and were not from Hawaii. In fact, we amusingly thought, if they were really worried about the ecosystem of Hawaii, they wouldn't let the apples from the mainland into Hawaii in the first place. Our section was called, and we hopped on the plane.
To be continued...