Today was a free day on our itinerary (see? I am capable of organising such a thing! 😉)

We started with a sleep in and a later breakfast (although not too late, as the buffet breakfast closes at 9.30am). We then split up to divide and conquer: Jarrod and Sam wanted to do a last session in the hotel gym, Ross and Zac went out for coffee and exploring , and I took Tim, Abi and Belle souvenir shopping.

We reconvened back in our room for lunch, which we picked up on our way back from shopping (Island Vintage Coffee açai bowls again!). Some of the kids were keen to find a 7/11 for a free slurpie (only on offer one day a year when the date is the same as the store name), Ross and Sam were keen to go hiking, and I was keen to explore the Ala Moana shopping centre, but we are just running out of time.

Instead, we marched down to Waikiki Beach for a final swim. After over an hour in the beautiful water there, Ross and most of the kids went exploring and hiking along the beachfront up towards the Diamond Head end of Waikiki , while Jarrod, Tim and I returned to the hotel. Tim had a uni meeting online to attend, and Jarrod needed to start packing – he leaves us in the early hours tomorrow morning as he has a 7am flight from Honolulu to Seattle and then on to Dublin and then to Manchester to meet a friend working over there.

Our hotel gave us vouchers for evening drinks by the pool each night, which we haven’t used each day, so we decided to spend some time there tonight. While there I googled the store we intended to buy Belle a ukelele from, to discover they closed at 7pm and don’t open until 11am tomorrow (long after we’ve gone!) So Belle and I left everyone else at the pool and hot-footed it down to pick up the souvenir she had been planning on for months.

Then I walked everyone down to the beachfront to watch our last Hawaiian sunset. When I was here with friends last year, the sunset was just magnificent and I wanted the family to see it. The photos don’t do justice to what we were able to see.

We then headed back to the Yard House for dinner – our final dinner as a party of eight! And then back to the hotel to begin the sad task of packing to go home.

12/7/23 Footnote: Seeing as I fell asleep before posting this, I will add that Jarrod left at 4.30am this morning on time and was at the airport well and truly ready for his flight. And when I asked the concierge to organise two taxis for us a few hours later, they provided two limos. The kids were at first concerned it was going to cost me a bomb, but they cost no more than a taxi ride, so the kids then decided such a ride helped them cope a little over their sadness at the holiday ending 😂

I am so SO thankful for everything we have been able to see and do, all we have experienced, and for the good health and safety we have enjoyed. There were no incidents except for one dropped açai bowl and Belle left a pair of socks on the first flight. We just wish we had more time to fit more in, but everything went so well, it is just hard to believe it is all over after all those months of dreaming and planning.