Trip to Maui!

In August, we took a very last minute vacation to Hawaii to celebrate the sale of the shop and decompress after three to four months of non-stop busyness. The photo above, taken on our last day in Maui, pretty much sums it up. It was awesome!

We stayed at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, "Hawaii's Most Hawaiian Hotel". I highly recommend it. Since we booked through Costco Travel, we received free breakfast buffet at the hotel's mixed plate restaurant. They served regular breakfast items along with rice, fish, and pork combos. And of course, the freshest, juiciest, most delectable watermelon, pineapple, and cantaloupe.

The first few days, we just wanted to enjoy the gorgeous ocean. The beach right in front of the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel was very calm. Nothing like the monstrous surf I'd always heard about. The water was cooler than I expected. It was about the same temperature as the Atlantic at the Jersey Shore during the summer months. It was also less clear than the Caribbean, which was surprising.

We could see two islands across the water. The tops of the island mountains seem to collect clouds from the air. The air temperature was absolutely perfect. That's really saying something coming from me! It always seemed to be on the verge of raining, but rarely did. Here's Francis performing a trompe-l'oeil on the boogie board we bought at Kmart.

We rented a cool little cabana with padded lounge chairs and an umbrella. We enjoyed drinking beer under the cabana and watching the ocean. The sun was super intense in Hawaii. Thank goodness our landlord Jane warned us. Even so, we both got sunburned.

Our favorite part of our vacation was when we snorkeled with sea turtles! Our hotel happened to be located just a quarter of a mile away from one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. It is a large outcrop of black volcanic rock that juts into the ocean, a haven for coral, seaweed, fish, and sea turtles. (Also a haven for teenagers and 20-somethings who like to jump off the rock into the ocean.) We were close enough to the sea turtles to touch them. In fact, some people were even hand feeding them seaweed. One dude accidentally kicked a turtle because he didn't see it. I especially liked when they came up for air. The shape of their eyes makes them look very wise, and sort of sad.

After getting a little sunburned, we decided to take a break from the beach one day and visit a small park that was more inland.

The Iao Valley needle was made from some sort of combination between lava, rock, upland water, and erosion. The valley was the site of many battles between native Hawaiians back in the day. Some dude was playing a traditional Chinese instrument at the top of the path, which was appropriate because the area, with its sharp, severe landforms and rich greenery, looks very similar to China.

After the Iao Valley, we pulled off the highway into another park right on the coast. Locals were having barbecues and kids were swimming in a little tide pool. It was a romantic English-major's dream come true! Me and my man...side-by-side...quietly reading until the sun set over the ocean. If only that happened more often. *hint hint Francis*

After the park, we grabbed dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. Francis was in heaven. He chatted with the owner in Spanish and admired her homemade food. He thoroughly enjoyed a few crispy tacos with two heaping spoonfuls of spicy salsa on top.

Later that night, Francis woke up at 1:00am with an itching sensation on his chest. It became steadily worse. Unbearable, even. We wondered what it could be? Sunburn? I know my sunburn never itches like that. Allergies maybe? Then we realized...the spicy salsa! He must be having a bad reaction to the unusual peppers in the salsa(it wasn't your standard habanero or jalapeno.) We jumped in the car and rushed to Safeway for some Benedryl. Nearly three hours later, his itching finally calmed down.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed taking a hula class taught by a hotel employee. The hotel offered lots of free classes on traditional Hawaiian culture. The dance I learned told a story. We acted out fishing in the Ka'anapali Bay and eating our catch with friends. Francis sat on the side and observed. He reported afterward that there was a stark difference between the gentle, fluid movements of the Hawaiian lady versus the robotic movements of me and the other two white ladies in the class. Haha!

We decided not to drive the entire Road to Hana, the famous trek that most tourists make. Instead, we drove only part of the road and stopped at two waterfalls recommended by the hotel staff. I saw tons of familiar tropical flowers growing wild in the forest!

Francis showing the size of the monstera leaves, to scale.

Gigantic, girl-eating plants.

Francis got into the murky pool beneath the waterfall. It was beautiful, but too cold for a wimp like me. Our donation to the waterfall was Francis's sunglasses. They fell off while he was swimming. Apparently, a local kid comes by every evening and fishes out all the items that tourists drop into the pool during the day. I hope he likes the sunglasses.

After our hike and swim at the waterfalls, we bought some fresh fruit from a stand in the parking lot. Mini-bananas and coconut juice, straight from the source. The coconut juice had a strange flavor. I think it would have been better chilled.