FIFTY STATES AWAYToday is our last day on this island, it has been a beautiful experience, one that has tested us in ways we never thought imaginable. We are both exceptionally pleased to have completed the mini challenge that we set ourselves, to survive the whole 5 nights in our eco lodge with some interesting house guests. Our flight is at a comfortable 2.55pm, they say we should make it back to the mainland around midnight Californian time, it’s supposedly a mammoth 6 hour flight.
After having the last of our healthy breakfast here and packing up the car we are both filled with a tinge of sadness to be leaving, what has become a sort of paradise to us. This has been the first place, since arriving in the US that we have stayed more than 2 nights, so we have sort of grown attached to our room.
We decided to head out a bit earlier to reach the airport so we could stop in and have dinner at our friends again on the way out, a sort of last supper. After another delicious meal and a good send off we hit the road, Airport bound to return the car and catch our flights. It was an even weirder experience catching a flight from here, again it’s just a series of points that are under wooden huts, but we were soon on our way. It was a pleasant surprise upon boarding to be told that the flight should only take 4 and a half hours wohoo!
The flight got underway and after all the food and faff we were treated to a spectacular sunset, my first experience of such a thing on board an aircraft. Arriving back at Oakland late into the night we drove the 30 minutes to San Francisco to crash out after a demanding day.
Our final thoughts on our trip to Hawaii? Magical! We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the new challenges, the weather and the unmatched landscapes. We’ve toughed out more than we thought we would, making it our home and taking part in some interesting activities. It was not the white sand beach (although there are some on this island), tourist trap holiday that most imagine, but we feel it’s helped us grow a lot. If we think back to what we hoped to get out of Hawaii I would say it was delivered, it was varied, not too touristy and exciting. We will always hold a certain fondness for this place, the relaxed attitudes, stable climate and positivity to be had is rich and almost certainly unforgettable and we wouldn’t change a thing.
As we bid goodbye to Hawaii, we set off to continue the rest of our journey through the remaining 25/26 states, both physically and emotionally. Watch this space, there’s so much more to come!
