Friday Summary
All good things come to an end, as was this tone on Friday. Even with late checkout, we still only have until about noon at the Sheraton before we have to pack the car and head out. We take our time going back to Kahului, stopping here and there to take in as much of Maui while we still can. It's still tough, though, and isn't one of our better days.

There's always a little bit more flurry of activity on our last day. We like to eat breakfast and do the online check-in for our red-eye flight so we can upgrade to better seats while they're available. Factor that in with last minute packing and getting everything to the car and out the door by 12pm, it adds some extra stress to an already unpleasant event.

But we manage, since we know that we'll be back soon. We started our descent south on Hwy 30, stopping at various points along the way. First was the Cannery and then to Barnes and Noble across the street. Not looking for anything in particular, just killing time.

Further south, we stopped off at Front Street in Lahaina, but we didn't stay too long. It was starting to feel more like time to leave, so we kept moving. About halfway between Lahaina and Kahului is the Papawai Scenic Lookout just past Ma'alaea. Its just a small stop, with room for only about a dozen or so cars. Its more symbolic for us, if anything, and we usually find a couple fresh off the plane just starting their vacation, perhaps for the first time to Maui. Lucky ducks.

Another stop we normally make on the last day is over at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului. Its more of the type of bigger shopping mall you'd find in your hometown, and depending on timing, we'll stop and have lunch in the food court. This year, it was Panda Express. We also made a stop off at KMart, which we read a lot about in some of the guidebooks. Maybe a stop to make early on in our next trip.

With a lot of time still to spend, we started driving around along Kahului Beach Road along the shore near Kahului Harbor. We found ourselves on a few side streets and then at a small beach park with just a few spots to park. Courtesy of Google Maps, we later found out it was Waiehu Beach Park. We didn't stay too long there, either.

So, it was off to the airport, which I guess paid off being a very early for our flight. There weren't too many people in line when we got to the airport, but it felt like we were waiting forever. There was only one person at the ticket counter checking luggage, and by the time we were taken care of, the line had gone from 8 to more than 80. Again, more stress than we really needed.

With a few hours before our flight, Cindy and I walked over to Stinger Ray's in the terminal. The food is okay and having one last tropical drink before the flight helps a little. There was a sign in the main cafeteria area at the Kahului Airport that Sammie Hagar's restaurant will be opening up later in the summer. Might be something to check out next year.

And so it ends, our first of two flights back home. Awaiting us, 50 degree weather and high winds in Chicago. How pleasant.

Itinerary - Friday, April 25th

• Breakfast buffet at the Sheraton
• Check out of the Sheraton
• Stop at the Cannery and Barnes
• Walking around Lahaina
• Stop at Papawai Scenic Lookout
• Lunch at the food court Queen Kaahumanu Center
• Walking around KMart
• Watching the water at Waiehu Beach Park
• Dinner at Stinger Ray's at the airport
• Red-eye flight to San Francisco

Friday Timeline

8:33 AM HST

Waking up on our last day on Maui (this year anyway)

Well, we knew this morning was coming, might as well get it over with.

10:33 AM HST

Eating breakfast

One last breakfast at the buffet. We won't be eating this well in the morning for awhile.

11:54 AM HST

Finished checking out **sob** Going to the Cannery

One last long walk across the main lawn at the Sheraton to check out for this trip.

12:31 PM HST

Shopping in Lahaina

We walked around for a while, stopped over at the banyan tree (wishing it a happy birthday) and grabbed one more scoop from Ha'agan Dazs. No heavy duty shopping this time.

2:08 PM HST

Stopping at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului

Walked around the mall, playing with some of the toys at Sharper Image. We went up stairs to the food court for lunch, where we all had Panda Express (for the first time, believe it or not). We looked around for a little more and then head on our way.

3:40 PM HST

Stopped off at KMart

We kept hearing about great deals at KMart, and how they have some of the best prices on quality leis on the island. They also have something we couldn't find anywhere else on Maui, Little Caesers Crazy Bread. There weren't any already made, and we didn't feel like waiting so we kept on with our day.

5:07 PM HST

Standing in line at the United counter at OGG

We had a 9:30pm flight, so we were more than early. I already said my peace on how awful our wait was just to check our bags, and with all the issues with air travel and prices these days, it would be nice to see the airlines try to at least help out with customer service in situations like this.

6:06 PM HST

Finally through with checking our bags and done with security

The majority of the past hour was just waiting to check our bags. Security took no more than 10 minutes.

6:20 PM HST

Sipping on a Blue Hawaii @ Stinger Rays in the airport

One last meal, one last tropical drink. We've eaten at Stinger Ray's before and it's pretty good for food in an airport. Its either that or the cafeteria food, so this usually wins out.

8:54 PM HST

Almost time to board. Way too many hyper keiki running around here.

Boy, the kids around here this late at night were in rare form. Way too much talking and crying and whining. Not my favorite.

9:22 PM HST

Sitting on the plane, first of two to get home.

Signing off for the night, and for the trip. Aloha.

Related Links

• Blog Post - The Final Hours - Leaving Maui
• Photos - Papawai Scenic Lookout