Day 4

I woke up at 6am with the itch to run. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was not quite up yet and the air was filled with the scent of gardina.

I ran down to the Hana highway and turned right towards Paia. The sleepy little town was empty and quiet. In the stillness of the early hour, I treasured the blessed view that surrounded me. I watched as the fog gently glided in between the majestic green mountains that stood directly ahead of me. There is nothing like the natural beauty of Maui. Green and blue never looked so good.

I ran past the cemetery and soccer field. Just past the field is a nice beach that I wasn't planning on going to, but thank goodness did. I took off my running shoes and ran along the water's edge, letting the salt water waves sweep over my ankles and sometimes up to my knees. It felt so good. On the way back, the sun was coming up over the mountains, casting a beautiful glow across the water. I was listening to a playlist that Katie had created on my ipod. I didn't know what song was coming next. I smiled with great pleasure when "Blessed be your name" filled my ears and heart. It was an inspiring scene and I played it twice, just so I could praise Him longer. Just before leaving the beach, I sat down on a old tree stump to pray. No matter what is going on, in pain, sorrow or joy...God is good.
We spent the rest of the morning packing up our stuff and making plans with Lori, Hannah & Ren. Megan had her heart set on snorkeling. I didn't want to disappoint her, so after checking out of the B&B, we all piled in our rental cars and headed down to Kihei. At Snorkel Bob's, we learned that the south shore waves weren't very good today for snorkeling. The lady working there suggested that we rent the gear from her and drive up to Lahaina where the water isn't as rough.
Okay for us, but our new friends decided they would wait and snorkel another day. We said good-bye and raced for the beach. We had about 5 hours until our flight left.
Snorkeling was fun, but I cut my foot on the beach and almost broke my mask trying to adjust it. The fish were pretty and Megan loved it!
It was worth getting sand in every single crevice of my body to make her happy.

We returned the gear and decided to stop by a drug store (longs) for a few things. Now here is where a funny story begins, but first you must have some prior information.

*MB needed a backpack before we left on the trip. Katie generously volunteered hers. It worked out fine until.....the day we went to Hana and discovered the pack had a broken pen inside that leaked ink all over the unfortunate items that were put inside. Among the destroyed were 2 white towels that belonged to the B&B (don't worry, I paid for them) and MB's favorite shirt.

On with the story. We decided to throw out the backpack. Since the airport is NOT a smart place to trash a backpack, MB conviently found a dumpster in the longs shopping center. That was that. It would never ruin another garment again! With about 1.5 hours to go, we returned the rental car and took the shuttle to the airport. Then came the question that I never would have thought to ask...
"Do you have the car keys?"
"Our car keys?" I asked, wondering if he was talking about the rental or the trooper.
"Yes, ours." he replied.
I dug around in my bag until I remembered that I had given them to him before we left SFO. We both feared the worst.
"I need to go back and look."
I quickly gave MB $20.00 and told him to get a cab. I took his bags and said, "We'll get through security and hopefully I'll see you at the gate before 7 o'clock."

The girls were worried and asked, "Is dad going to miss the flight?" "What are we going to do if we can't find the keys?"
I tried to tell them everything would be fine. It's not the end of the world. If he misses it, he'll get the next one. If we can't find the keys, we call a locksmith to come out and make a new one. Gotta problem? Think. There IS an answer.

Luckily, MB showed up at the gate with plenty of time to spare and dropped the keys on table that was next to me. We were all relieved. We flew from Maui to Honolulu and then to SFO. I had hoped to take the United flight from Maui to SFO, but everything was full. I was happy to find that Delta flight because it had 80 seats open. No problem.
Now this takes us into Day 5. Will little rest and a 3 hour time change, we were all very tired. MB drove us home from SFO while the rest of us slept. It's always tough to drive when everyone else gets to sleep. I was thankful...for so many reasons.