Up and dressed and so dreading the car return and having to haul luggage through 3 check points…and all that it entails. And, not to mention the fact that we both have 3 suitcases. That’s an addition of 2.

Joy and I sat on the balcony, and prayed together. We thanked God for the time we had spent together…the fun we had had…the laughs we had laughed…and the sweet memories that will stay in our hearts forever. Joy had spent more time sitting on the balcony than I, and she said that she had seen the whales from there. Now, I’m not saying I did not believe her…but I had not seen one. So, as we were praying, I asked the Lord to please allow me to see one more whale. (Cause, it is just not right for one sister to see something and the other not see it and then the one who did see it would always be saying that she had seen it and you had not and there could possibly be some tension there…if you understand what I mean.) And, no, I did not tell the Lord that part, because He has much more important things to think about than 2 old sisters trying to out do one another…besides He already knew all about it…and I didn’t want Him to think I was being petty or anything…I’m just saying…
ANYWAY…I looked at my watch and saw that we had about 10 minutes before we had to leave, and I glued my eyes out on the ocean and I stared with all my might! I did not even blink until my eyes were dry. And, then…sure enough…there it was. A whale! I saw him glide over the top of the water…and then, as if to say, “He told me you’d be watching,”…his beautiful tail flipped up out of the water…and disappeared back into the deep. Thank you, God!

And, when Joy came back outside…I said, “NAH-NAH NAH-NAH NAH NAH…I SAW A
WHA-ALE!” Not really :0). But, I did tell her, and then we saw another one…or maybe that was just a swimmer. We had to go…

Now, being the big sister and taking care of my little sister as I always do and have done all my life…unselfishly, I might add…I again took the wheel, and let her enjoy about 15 miles of ocean view as we drove back to Kahului. And, she said she saw another one…but, I’ll never believe that one!

I dropped her off with our bags…and went to return the car. Easy-Peasy! The H*rtz bus took me back to the check-in. Now, it is usually so horrible to go through the agricultural check and the check-in…and then the check of the carry ons and us and trying to manage all those bags through it all. But, do you know what God did? He directed me where to put Joy off…and when I got back I saw that D*lta was opening up their curbside check-in right next to where she was sitting with our 6 bags! I asked in my sweetest Southern accent if I could check in there, and the D*lta man said, “You sure can. Where are your bags?” I pointed to Joy sitting there upon the bags acting like she was some kind of princess or something. He went and got the bags, checked us in, gave us our boarding passes, said that he would take care of the agricultural check, and said he would make sure our luggage got to where it needed to be! I never even had to break a sweat! Oh, God is so good! He cares about all the things that we struggle with…even luggage in a busy airport!

We boarded the plane. It was about half full, so, I moved to the 3 seats behind ours, pushed up the arm rests, got my pillow and went to sleep!

Arrived LA, boarded another plane bound for Atlanta. I watched the movie “Precious” on the screen in the seat back. Oh! My! It is a wonderful movie…except for the language. Very bad language…but aside from that-it was a wonderful story. The girl who played Precious was very good, but Monique, who played her mother, was fantastic! She sure deserved her Oscar!

Arrived Atlanta…3 hour layover…then on to Dothan. And, guess who we saw when we entered the terminal? That’s right! There stood Pop…waiting for his girls to come home! It was so good to see his sweet, smiling face. We gathered up our luggage, and entered the cool, rainy Dothan weather. Our sweet Pop at the wheel, we talked about the trip, and told him some of the highlights. We’ll share our pictures and talk of all the fun things we did. But, the sweetest memories can not be put into words. Because they are felt with our hearts…inside that little room that holds things that only sisters can feel. That room that holds the sweet things, and the hard things, and the unpleasant things, and the silly things…just things that only your sister would understand. And, we will treasure them the rest of our days. “Pop, you gave us a much bigger gift than you thought. You are a good and kind man. From you and Mom we learned about giving of self…and living life to the fullest. You have blessed us, and we are so grateful.”

And, That’s All She Wrote!

Up and out on this our last full day in Paradise. Much to do…gotta squeeze every bit of fun out of this day (as Pop would say)! Since I have not eaten breakfast a single time since I have been here, why start today? Joy has a purchase she needs to make so we are headed to Lahaina…then to Paia and Makawao…and back to Ka’anapali.

Top down and ready to go. First stop, Lahaina. Jewelry store. ‘Nuff said.

While waiting on a minor adjustment to be done on something Joy or I may or may not have bought…we went next door…to Kimo’s (where I got sick on Sunday) and had the Hula Pie, which is a wonderful tradition here in Lahaina.


We finished our business in Lahaina and headed back Upcountry to Paia. I love this gallery and I try to visit everytime I come. They have some wonderful painting and pottery. Also some jewelry and fiber arts. Oh, and obviously I picked up the wrong lipstick…must have been Joy’s…’cause I do not wear anything that dark.

Did a little shopping and then Joy wanted to go back to Makawao, so we did. She picked up what she needed and we headed back to the motel. We wanted to visit the beach before leaving tomorrow. Oh, and someone has to pack up all that stuff!

On the way to the beach, we saw a wedding in the courtyard of the hotel…

Joy trying to decide if she’s going to stay or get on the plane with me tomorrow…

I wrote my name in the sand…and let it wash away. Each time I visit I do this before I leave…and I have always returned. Hope it works this time, too!

Do you see that big wave behind me? That breaking wave? Looks like when it breaks it will come all the way up to where I am, doesn’t it? If you were behind the camera and you saw this giant wave coming up behind the person standing there smiling so pretty for the camera wouldn’t you tell them so as to keep them from being drenched and perhaps being swept out to sea? Yeah…I would, too. Joy wouldn’t.

I forgave her and let her get in this picture with me.

We walked on down to the Whaler’s Village and had dinner at a very nice restaurant. We were fortunate that we were able to be seated outside. I had pistachio crusted mahimahi, risotto, and steamed vegetables. When I made a picture of this, a man at the next table said, “Do you always make pictures of your food?” “I am a blogger,” I said, “and my readers want all the details of this trip!” Obviously, he was of little culture and understanding about the ways of the world. :0)

And, walking to the hotel, we left footprints in the sand…

…and the waves rolled over them…

…and they were gone…

It’s here…our last day in Paradise! Can you feel my despair? I want to stay another week! It’s been heavenly!

Been out and about all day…and now…somehow….I have got to get everything back into my suitcase! I’m thinking it’s 100% possible that I am going to come home with more luggage than I left with! I’m just saying….

So, until I connect with you again from Sweet Home Alabama…ALOHA

*Just a few pics from the beach—Why, NO, I’m not ashamed to show you a pic of me in a swimsuit!

Here’s Joy and I…

That’s sister asleep in her chair!

And, here I am soaking up the rays!

Joy and I left around 11 and went to an art show by some of the islands leading artists. We found several things that begged to go home with us. And, in the Spirit of Aloha…we agreed to take them to Alabama. Well, wouldn’t you have done the same thing?

We found some wonderful jewelry pieces also, and beautiful quilts with ancient Hawaiian designs. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the art that was displayed there…and finding a piece of two to buy!

Realizing that we never ate breakfast or lunch, we decided to go to Kimo’s, a restaurant
in town. It has a wonderful back deck that sits over the water. Why, LOOK! Here we are now!

This one of my most favorite places to eat when I am here. And, they have a dessert called Hula Pie, that is extraordinary. So, we had a plan. We had a cool, fruity drink (the kind safe for kids to drink) and then ordered lunch. Joy had fresh fish and I ordered coconut crusted mahimahi with a Caesar salad and rice. The fish was covered with
a mango, onion salsa. It all smelled divine, and I was starving!

Surely you put fresh orchids on your plates, don’t you? Well, the first bite burned my throat…and the second bite did, too. There would be no 3rd bite…because I felt so sick so quickly that we had to leave. Instead of doing the things we had planned, we hurried back to the motel. I was nauseous, and weak, and then I started itching. I was obviously very allergic to whatever was in the salsa. So, I was in the bed for the afternoon. Fortunately I had some benedryl with me and took it…but it sure put a kink in the day. I am still itching, but feeling MUCH better now. Not to worry, Pop…I’m fine!

Tomorrow is our last day…so we will be up early with much to do and see! Then heading home on Tuesday! And, yes, I know I haven’t posted Saturday, but I will!

Good-night!