Hawaii: Hapuna Beach, Waimea, Departure (Day 11)

Our last morning in Hawaii, I snorkeled a little and caught this big pufferfish (over 1 foot long) on camera:

Also there were some white fish that blended with the sand and some other fish that just hung out in a cove near the hotel:

At the end of the week, we returned our snorkel gear. We ended up buying masks, rather than renting, and bought a set of fins for me because it was only $10 more than we'd paid for the rental. Now I can snorkel here at home! I just need Alisha to drop some tropical fish into the bathtub and get out of the way.

Our only sad moment for the entire vacation was after we'd checked out and were enjoying the cool ocean breeze in the open-air lobby of the hotel with this view:

It was one of the most picturesque views I'd ever seen in person, but a part of me spoke up and wished I could instantly be transported back to the hospital NICU. Not many people would be sitting on a tropical beach and wishing they were in the depths of a hospital, surrounded by chaos and artificial lighting, but I did. I told Alisha and both of our eyes got a little watery.

We take Roscoe with us everywhere we go. We set his picture on the center console in our rental car so that we'd feel like he was coming with us through all of these adventures. We even celebrated his 11-month birthday on the beach that morning by writing our names and the date into the sand, then decorating it with Plumeria flowers from a nearby tree:

After checking out of our last hotel, we drove up the hill from the beach for 10 minutes to Waimea at 2500ft elevation. That's right: 10 minutes to climb 2500 feet. It was a quaint little town with this old church that was pretty neat looking:

That night we watched the sun set as the waves rolled in, then boarded the plane from the outdoor airport in Kona. We flew overnight back to California to be back just in time for church the next morning.