My Hawaiian Vacation, Pt. 12

After all that non-stop dawn-to-dusk activity, a certain level of exhaustion started to set in, so the next day or two were blissfully low-key. Well, low-key for some of us, anyway. As previously mentioned, my aunt and her friend did get up in the middle of the night to watch the sun rise from the top of Haleakala. And she was thoughtful enough to send us sleepy-heads a picture:



There's some sort of interesting optical effect going on there, clearly, but don't ask me what it is.

Otherwise, let's see... We did some shopping, although I was disappointed to find that the large bookstore in Lahaina that my guidebook recommended had closed. (A moment of silence, please, for the vanishing American booksellers.) And I finally had the chance to do something I'd been longing for from the start of the trip: lounging around on a poolside chair with a drink in one hand and a trashy novel in the other. Ahh! Adventures are fun, after all, but sometimes you just need some relaxation. Isn't that part of what vacations are for?

We also spent more time at the beach, of course. Unlike the hotel on the Big Island, the one in Maui was located on a sandy beach you could swim at. Well, sort of. There was a very strong undertow that made going too far out inadvisable, but that was fine by me, as I'm not really much of a swimmer, anyway. Mostly, I frolicked in the surf. Frolicking being yet another part of what vacations are for.

In fact, here's a picture of the beach behind the hotel. I snapped this one quickly with my phone camera, somewhere between bouts of lounging and frolicking, when a friend e-mailed me complaining she was bored and stressed, and asked me to "send pictures of Hawaii or something."



We finished up our last full day with a sunset dinner cruise, which was also pleasantly relaxing. I do love the sunsets in Hawaii. Not that ours here in New Mexico aren't also spectacular, but they are notably lacking in ocean.

All of this sounds like an anticlimactic note to end on. But, wait! We're not done yet! Stay tuned tomorrow for exciting last-minute underwater adventures!