It's hard to say goodbye! But we had an awesome vacation and on Day 13 it was time to get back to reality. We left the house around 10:45am to head to the airport. Chris and Naomi and the girls drove their car as well, to see us off and help us drag all of our luggage to the airport. We said our goodbyes at the Honolulu airport departures drop off zone. Teagan jumped in the car and gave her buddy Greta one final kiss. We finished our goodbyes and moved our luggage into the airport. Matt took the rental car back while I waited with the kids. We had to go through agriculture inspection and then check in at the airline counter. The security line wasn't too bad and we made it through fairly quickly. We needed some lunch so with limited options and patience we stopped at Burger King (even though its one of my least favorite fast foods). After eating we headed to our gate and tried to keep the kids entertained while waiting.
cousin goodbye kisses
Waiting to board
Studying her flight plans in a BK crown
We had an amazing view out the window on take off (and by 'we' I mean Matt and Teagan - I was across the aisle and didn't get to enjoy it until I looked at the photos). You could see downtown Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head. Within a few minutes you could see Hanauma Bay and the edge of the Koko crater.
Stunning views from the air
Honolulu
Waikiki to the left, and Diamond Head in the middle
The distinct U-shaped bay is Hanauma bay, and just to
the top/right of it you can see Koko crater
The flights home weren't particularly eventful. The first leg was Honolulu to LAX which was manageable. Declan was asleep before take-off but after about that first hour nap he didn't sleep. I gave up trying since he was playing well and happy to flirt with the girl sitting next to us. We had dinner at LAX and after a short wait we were taking off again. The LAX to Chicago red-eye (12am PST to 4:30am CST) was not as much fun. Declan fell asleep but it was so warm he struggled to stay asleep and kept waking up and fussing. He was overtired and well past his bedtime and he had been an angel up until that point but it finally caught up with him. Part way into the flight I finally got him into a deeper sleep and it went smoothly for him from that point. Teagan did fine in the beginning and fell asleep quickly but did cry for a few minutes at the end when she was woken up. She was also just very tired and out of sorts. I think Matt might have dozed, but I was only able to rest my eyes at best and didn't get any actual sleep. Our Chicago layover went well. Although the kids were tired, they were well behaved. I think they got just enough sleep on the previous flight to keep them going. Once we got to our gate I got Declan to sleep in my arms which was what he needed. He briefly woke up from the quick shot of frigid air when we walked out to our plane and was back asleep before we taxied. Actually, Declan was successful on all five flights in sleeping through taxi and take-off. We got into Rochester around 9:30am EST on Day 14 (Tuesday). The rest of the day was spent getting ourselves and our luggage home, taking a 5 hour nap, eating the wonderful home-cooked meal that Mame left in our fridge along with lots of fresh groceries, and starting the unpacking and laundry process, then it was back to work/daycare for all on Wednesday morning.
So long Hawaii.....
...hello snowy New York
While we had a blast on vacation, there was something comforting about being back to normal life and back to routines. The kids were up hours early each day and that wore on everyone over time - no one was sleeping enough. We were so active many of the days that we just longed to get back the normal pace of life. We are so grateful for the amazing hospitality that Chris, Naomi, Greta, and Abbie showed us - they were wonderful hosts and great tour guides. We had so much fun with them and we are so grateful for the time we got to spend with them and the memories we created.
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