Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Hawai'i (2010)--Day 21
5/8/2010
Random Notes
After yesterday's cloudiness in Lahaina, waking up to clear skies this morning was much appreciated. I took in another early morning meeting at the Lahaina Alano Club, starting the day off right.
Only two days are left for this trip--trying to practice ODAT (One Day At A Time) but it gets tougher as the trip home draws closer.
What is that boat which sails out every night, anchors in the ocean past the reef and then the crew goes lights out for the night? Why are they (or he) sleeping out there every night? I later found out it's the Maui Princess, and wonder if there isn't a slip available at the Lahaina Harbor. Is it cheaper to anchor out in the open water every night?
Sitting out here early in the morning, sipping coffee, writing, listening to the ocean, watching staff cleaning the pool/hot tub area--it's peaceful. I don't know how to duplicate that feeling in Duluth. The closest I can get is doing the same on our apartment balcony but the sound of traffic on the nearby freeway mutes the mood somewhat.
We prefer Maui to Oahu. By a long shot. After this year's trip, Oahu no longer has any real appeal to me. I say this with the understanding that if I'm away from Oahu for more than a year, I'll probably start missing it again! Why? Because it's where we first set foot in Hawai`i? Because of memories of our first night, running from the Outrigger Village (since converted to the Embassy Suites Beachwalk) to bury our feet in Waikiki sand for the first time? Is this a memory-based thing, of wanting to relive our first experience? Well, we can't relive what was 14 years prior. It has changed. Not for the worse. It's just different now. The mystery is gone, for one thing. We no longer look ahead wondering what Hawai`i will be like as we did prior to our first trip. We now know what it's like. It's wonderful.
But when it comes to Maui, there is still this almost wide-eyed fascination every time we land on the island. Even though we're far more familiar with Maui than we are with Oahu, for some reason this familiarity adds to the appeal, adds to our love. When Patty said "You're home" when we got to Lahaina, I knew exactly what she meant. I believe it has a different meaning to her and that the appeal for her isn't quite so strong. In the simplest possible terms, I love it here. There are very few, if any, instances when I find myself thinking "I want to be somewhere else", no matter what traffic I find myself in--and Maui traffic, at its busiest, feels like a suburb of a large city. I can relax here, can breathe here. Even if nothing happens, it's still a wonder to me. Nearly a spiritual experience.
Best "new" restaurant, that being a place we hadn't ate at before, goes to Casanova. It's an easy choice. In fact, Casanova also gets my vote for best restaurant on Maui.
Kapalua Walking Tour
We did part of the Kapaula Walking Tour today, the part which winds its way uphill and ends at a small lake. There is a lot of the trail we didn't explore--Patty was pretty tired and my foot had developed a blister, a consequence of not wearing socks with my walking shoes. It sprinkled a bit during the first part of the hike and I had to keep putting my D90 back into the bag. I'd love to walk this trail on a sunny day. There are many shades of green on this trail which would come out spectacularly with some sunshine.
East Ocean (gaaak!)
Clouds have rolled in once again back in Lahaina, so we had some lunch, took a nap, shower and drove down to Kihei for dinner at East Ocean, a Chinese restaurant which certainly underwhelmed us. Sorry, James & Molly, this place didn't make the grade. In short, I found it to be the worst Chinese food I've ever had, given my limited exposure to the cuisine. It was the worst meal either of us had during this trip.
Patty insisted on recovering from this entirely forgetful experience by stopping at Dairy Queen.  Laundry was once again needing to be done and I made a huge mistake by leaving a fully-recorded mini-DV tape in my cargo shorts. Shit!! There was some very good footage on there including last night's drive to and from Makawao. I'm letting it dry overnight but there is little doubt the tape is ruined.
Previous: 5/7/2010--Our Trip to Hawai'i (2010)--Day 20
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