(So this is posted a few days late.)
We had to get out of the room at 11am. We got up at 8am, had a final breakfast, packed up the luggage, then moved the luggage to the car.
We turned in the keys. Said goodbye to Ali. Who's Ali? Well, he's the guy from Wyndham that we met when we were in Oahu and he was working there. Then wierd and randomly, he transferred to this resort on Kauai and when we went to the office to get laundry supplies---there was Ali!
After checking out the resort was kind enough to let us hang around until we need to leave for the plane which was to leave at 9pm. So we went to the pool area and lounged. Russ cooked lunch. We drank the remaining drinks. We snacked, slept, swam, hot-tubbed.
Eventually it was time to go, so we used the resort's Hospitality Room, showered, and hit the road for Lihue. We stopped for one last dinner at Duke's. The Ahi sashimi was amazing...
As were the Lava Flow girlie-drinks...
...and another Hula Pie!
We hung around for a bit to watch what we could of sunset over the bay...
Then we got to the airport. We changed into (gulp!) blue jeans and sweat shirts. Then got aboard. It was a 6 hour flight to Seattle. The boys and mom slept, but I cannot sleep on a plane. So, 6 hours later we arrived in Seattle around dawn.
Now, Russ has many nicknames. One is Mr. Fidget. He is--quite truly--physically incapable of just sitting down and...waiting. If he has a doctor's appointment at 3pm and arrives at 255 (which would be a rarity) he would be unable to sit and wait for that 5-minute span. He would find himself compelled to go somewhere and do something -- drive to the grocery store and shop, or rebuild a carberator, or in fact ANYTHING -- other than sit and wait.
So, we're in Seattle with about 6 hours until our connecting flight. Russ (as mentioned) was unable to tolerate the notion of just hanging about in the airport resting, so he insisted on renting a car and touring Seattle. Because getting our luggage from the carousel, getting to the rental center, renting the car, loading the car...then at the other end gassing up the car, returning it, getting back to the airport, getting our tickets, checking the luggage...would leave us with a total of about 15 whole minutes to tour the city with. So....naturally...off we go!
We drove about 20 miles in order to get to a Starbucks, because apparently the dozen in the airport were not adequate. Then off we went to downtown Seattle, during morning rush-hour, in the rain, with very little time to return to the airport. We maneuvered the one-way streets...and found our way to the Space Needle.
Mom took a look and said, "You don't expect me to go up there, do you?" She posed for a picture, then off we went....
To the airport? No...we still had 3 or 4 minutes. So it was off to another Starbucks!
As it happens, this was apparently the original Starbucks that started the entire foolishness and since Garry is a junkie, Russ thought it would be nice to stop and let Garry go in and pick up a coffee cup souvenir. (It was a nice idea actually.)
Finally it was back to the airport. We checked in and got on the plane to St. Louis. After a 4 hour flight, The Three of We had to change planes there, but Mom Edna left us to catch a bus back home. We kissed and hugged her goodbye and We Three scooted onto our plane just as it was boarding. Another 3 hour flight and we were back in Baltimore.
It was cold! Not the weather to which we had become accustomed! We got home just in time to fall into bed and try to get some sleep because in 5 hours we have to get up at 430am and go to work. Hooray!
So...the adventure is over. It was great and we look forward to our next one.
..but wait until you hear what happened next...
