Well, today (Tuesday in Hawaii, Wednesday at home) we are on our last day and thinking about heading back.

Our last day in Seattle gave us a few hours to head to the city to see some of the activities around Seattle Centre – Bill and Melinda Gates’ Foundation, Space Needle, and Chihuly Glass and Garden. We took the train from the airport to the city (note to Sydney rail authorities – a $3 ride) and a bus up to the Centre. Our first destination was the Gates’ Foundation, which is really quite inspirational in its goals and efforts, and the way it encourages ordinary folk to engage in making a difference in the world. I guess it is helpful if you have a few billion in change you can throw at it, but you do get the sense that they are truly invested in what they can achieve.

The Space Needle still had long queues, and given our limited time, we went to the Chihuly Glass and Garden exhibition, a wonderfully creative display of glass art. I am pretty sure Chihuly had an exhibition at the National Gallery a few years back which was also stunning.

Soon it was time to find the train and head back to the airport, drop off the car, and tend to the business of checking in. Seattle airport is not the the best in the world, and it services domestic and international through the same terminal, so can get a bit tricky! We had been advised that the process can be extraordinarily long which is why we allowed plenty of time. As it turned out the exercise was not that bad, so we had plenty of time to wait for our flight. While we waited, I observed a very large gentleman sitting opposite. He was pretty big, taking up two full lounge seats and a fair bit of the seats on either side of those. I took a private wager on which would be the lucky passenger to have the seat next to him, thinking most likely it would be me. Luckily I lost that bet, though I did have one of those awkward  neighbours who wanted his seat as well as a bit of mine. Luckily he went to sleep almost immediately, so I stealthily lent on him so that he spilled over into the aisle rather than over me.

Because our flight was late arriving, we stayed at a cheap pub near the airport so we could pick up a hire car in the morning to get us to Turtle Bay. Now, usually I am very diligent about checking reviews for car hire and tours, but somehow I missed this for the car hire. While the pickup was from the airport, the business is miles away, and what a dodgy looking outfit it looked – part used car lot, part car hire. The car is fine, but when I later read the reviews it was full of nightmare experiences, and very few positives. Hoping for the best on our return.

Our time here at Turtle By has gone far too quickly. The resort itself is pretty swish – comfortable, good restaurants, pools and beaches and golf courses. And it has been great to have the whole family here: Fiona, Don and Casper, Steve and Jess. Steve is en route to mainland US where one of the mates is having a 40th celebration. The others are kicking on in Hawaii for a few more days, while we head home.

We did a Pearl Harbour tour of the Arizona memorial which was very moving, and included a look at the Bowfin, a WW2 submarine. That was with Fiona and Don and Jen. Fi and Don have a car as well and this has been helpful for all of us to get around. So we have been to Waikiki, Diamond Head and a full drive around the island – Oahu.

Yesterday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre which celebrates all the various Polynesian peoples and islands. We had a wonderful time with this, and young Casper lapped it up, enjoying the drumming and the sticks and the dances. He loves the Haka, especially putting his tongue out.

This arvo, Steve, Don and I are playing golf. Steve has been on all the courses and of course is a pretty handy golfer. I will take my Nurofen before I play, otherwise it might be a painful flight home. I am mentally prepared for this game to be somewhat embarrassing for me. Surprisingly, Steve and I had similar scores – mine in the low 70s and Steve in the high 70s. I suppose that means that I won! Steve contends that he won as he played 18 holes to my nine, but I am not having it

At times I feel a little guilty at the extravagance of this holiday, but in the end, we have celebrated our family. We love them all to bits and it is a good thing to celebrate the achievements of this year – Fi and Don’s marriage, their 40ths coming up next month, and my 70th, in December.

We get home on Friday, and have a few chores to sort out, including getting our new motorhome registered and ready for travel. In August we are embarking on a fairly big road trip through Queensland and Northern Territory to Uluru, South Australia and back through the Riverina to home in late September. By then we will be hankering for some home time.

If you have managed to read this far – thank you for taking the time and effort.

Mahalo