Bittersweet

Today was our last day in Hawai’i. We’ve had such a good time and are feeling so relaxed that we hate to leave. At the same time, it will be good to be home again.

The day started with some leftover scattered light showers from last night, which cleared by lunchtime. As usual, we ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant. When the skies clouded over again, we decided it was a good time to print our boarding passes and pack our suitcases so we could go back outside when the sunshine returned. That was a good plan, and it gave us time to spend nearly two hours at our hotel pool. It was another relaxing afternoon.

The resort torch lighters run (yes, run) around the resort about half an hour before sunset, lighting the tiki torches that line the walkways. While we were sitting along a walkway waiting for the torch lighter, I was admiring how beautiful it is here–at the resort and in Hawai’i.

The foliage is beautiful everywhere we look.
The fountains, the palm trees, and the sunlight on some outdoor table umbrellas provided another pretty sight.
The torch lighter was right on time. I took this picture of him lighting one of the tiki torches.
He literally ran on to light the series of torches down the walkway.

After the torch lighting, it was time to return to our balcony to view our final sunset on this perfect vacation.

The sailboats were gathered for the nightly viewing and the cloud bank was above the horizon for a change.

Ted and I enjoyed our Saturday evening dinner at the Bali Restaurant so much, we decided to go there again for our final meal in Hawai’i.

The restaurant advertises its “oceanfront dining,” and this was the ocean view from our table. Our waiter told us we had the best table in the house, and I’m sure we did. What a gorgeous dinner setting!

Our airport pick-up time is 5:25 a.m. tomorrow. Our flight to LAX boards at 7:18 a.m. and we’re scheduled to arrive at STL at 10:36 p.m. local time. It’s been a wonderful week, and we’re looking forward to our next visit to Hawai’i. Next time, we’re going to Maui, because we’ve been told we’re “Maui people.” Aloha, Hawai’i.