Of course, the story starts on a snowy, would-be-spring day on the East Coast. Having again failed in my efforts to get packed early I don't get to bed until well after midnight -- roughly four hours before we need to get up. Hopefully I can nap on the plane!
The GO Airport Shuttle people had already pushed back our departure time by 15 minutes yesterday when suddenly there's a voicemail that there's some dense fog out in the next county over and they're running another 15 minutes late. Yikes, I'm loving the extra cuddle time with the cats, but it also makes me a bit nervous about getting to the airport on time.
True to his word, the driver delivers us to BWI with time to spare. Phew. It's still early and we breeze through check-in and security, arriving at the gate an hour before take-off time. Unfortunately the plane still needed to be towed from the other side of the terminal at the last minute, which coupled with a slow boarding process makes for a late start.
Lucky for us, they've changed the gate assignment and instead of needing to switch terminals at Dallas we are dropped off at the gate next to our connecting flight to Maui. Just enough time to grab lunch at Au Bon Pain (Sandy: ham & cheese, me: turkey club) and pick up some munchies before walking directly onto the plane. Couldn't have timed it better if we tried!
The second leg drags on for what seems like infinity -- partly due to American Airlines' archaic in-flight entertainment system and my underestimating how long the flight would be, but I'm able to finish the 400+ page novel I started this morning AND takes a few naps. Not bad!
During our initial descent I am glued to the window and wow, does Maui ever look amazing! We come in from the north, passing over Kahalui all the way down until we've almost reached the southern tip of the island, then turning 180 degree for the final approach. From the deep blue ocean with its cheetah print reef system, to Kihei's Kam beaches and the velvety green cliffs signaling the start of the road to Hana it's almost like a bonus helicopter ride. Love coming in while it's still light outside!
We're back !!!
After picking up our luggage I quickly change into shorts & a t-shirt, then pick up our car from Dollar; a black Volkswagen Jetta. The GPS I brought is having some difficulty putting a route together, but we soon find ourselves on familiar roads and I'm able to direct Sandy to the Ka'anapali Ocean Inn hotel without getting lost.
Maui's gotten a lot of rain recently and it shows! We've never seen the hills this lush before
Upon learning we are repeat costumers the gate attendant bids us "Welcome home," and even though they must be trained to say just that it feels so good.
"Our" driveway:
No ocean front suite for us this time, but a standard unit facing the luau that's about to start when we walk in. There's a decent view from the balcony, but the ocean is calling my name so we'll save that for another day.
Hotel kitty ... looks like a rough and tumble version of our own cat, Phoenix.
Sandy has a few Cheetos to ward off residual nausea from flying on a hot, stuffy plane before walking over to the Sheraton.
Beach by the hotel:
I'm a bit worried because the water on our side of Black Rock is pretty choppy, but once we get to the other side the waves gently lap the sand and I quickly don my snorkeling gear to get a quick swim in before we run out of daylight.
Last year I got some great footage of the giant turtles there, but lost it when our house got broken into so I've been praying that I would see them again this year.
It doesn't take long; two minutes in a large turtle appears from over a ledge to my right, getting thrown about by the current near the rock wall. I leave him be since I don't want to end up smashed against him or the rocks. Shortly after, I find two other large turtles with a man in pursuit ... not cool! I think they're spooked by his frantic paddling.
Later one of the turtles comes over to where I've been afloat and stops for a split second when he gets within 3 feet of me. We look at each other, then he must've decided I'm no threat because he swam directly underneath of me -- so close I'd worried his shell might brush against my stomach. Wow! Unfortunately buying a new underwater camera is on the to-do-list for tomorrow so this experience will stay between the turtle & me.
Tired after a long day of traveling I don't stay out for a very long time, instead just relaxing on my beach towel for a while waiting for the torch lighting ceremony to begin.
What's really surprised both of us is the amount of beach erosion that has taken place since we were here last year.
Also the waves coming into shore at the end of the day are a bigger, meaner shore break than we've ever witnessed here before. I've no sooner said "My god, just look at the size of that wave -- it's like a wall of water!" or it is upon us. Instinctively I lunge for the camera bag and yank it off the sand just as the wave soaks everything else we have brought with us. Oh well, we had a good laugh about it!
Brrr with the wind it's a chilly walk back to our hotel without a dry towel or anything to wear. I wish I could've stopped for pictures but I was afraid to take the camera out with everything else getting coated in sand.
For dinner we head into Lahaina (again sans GPS ... I'm starting to know my way around!) to Cheeseburger in Paradise. The 20 minute wait is over after just a few minutes of perusing the menu and we're led to a table directly in front of the live musician. Ok, he is actually pretty good -- I think his name was Brooks McGuire? It does make it challenging to sustain any length of conversation though.
Sandy gets a mushroom & swiss burger while I order the cheeseburger babies with guacamole. After all, this is where my love of guacamole started; now I eat it on all kinds of stuff. Except, they forgot to bring me the guac initially but I made up for it by using almost the entire cup on my two remaining sliders when they finally bring it out. Yum! The only downside is that I'm now too full to have shave ice for dessert ... a tragedy: must try again tomorrow!
Jet lag hit fast and hard, so now it's down to business: no browsing the quirky art galleries, only a quick stop at my beloved ABC store where they sell a strange collection of basic necessities, tons of Hawaiian candy and tacky souvenirs that I'm unashamedly very fond of. To my absolute delight they still sell the same turtle earrings I bought (and subsequently lost) last year ... can't wait to wear them again! The sales clerk informs me they apparently also sell a matching necklace so I'll definitely need to check that out next time we're there.
We hit some roadwork on the way back to the hotel which really sucks because a) it feels like the exact same thing happened in the same spot last year, and 2) we're both struggling to stay awake. I didn't even bring my laptop to get an early start on my blogging ugh. I'm so glad when traffic opens up again!
Can't believe we were able to make sure great use of our first day here! Now off to bed so we can do even more tomorrow.
Breakfast: muffins and banana at home
Lunch: Au Bon Pain Dallas Fort Worth airport
Dinner: Cheeseburger in Paradise
Mileage for today: 33
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