Woe is me -- our last day on Maui! I've grown much more attached to it this time, probably because I'm more familiar with it now. If someone tells me "that's in Kihei", or "that's in Kula", or "you know the Chinese restaurant down by Safeway?", I know. I remember Puamana from last time. I remember the drive from Kahului and the paved walk that connects the Ka'anapali hotels and all those beaches. I've gotten used to having an adventure every day, waking up near water, being drenched in sunshine. And maybe because things were more familiar this trip, I've let them in a little more and they've become more a part of me. I'll miss them.

We carefully packed all our shells and sea glass and stowed them in our carry-ons this morning, then had our Hana banana bread for breakfast before checking out. Byron didn't steer us wrong; it was great.


We drove through Lahaina one last time :-( , and headed south. We stopped at the Scenic Overlook (yeah, like all the other places on Maui aren't scenic...) to take pictures of Molokini and Kaho'olawe. There was a row of what looked like whale researchers along the edge of the overlook, all comfy in their lawn chairs and baseball hats. One woman was looking seaward through what appeared to be a surveyor's telescope, calling out the position of a whale. The others, with regular binoculars, confirmed her sighting. Nice work if you can get it. We left them and drove into Kihei and found Kalama Village (so much easier to do in the daylight...) for those lotions Keri needed. Success!

We had lunch at Marco's, turned in the rental car at the airport, and took pictures of Haleakala from the parking lot as we waited for the shuttle. It was surprising to see the top free of clouds. The volcano wearing a lei, instead. And before we knew it there it was, our last picture of Maui.

Till next time...!