So I went to paradise and it was lacy
What a ride. Got in about 34 hours ago. There about 600 pictures, so if you want to wait for the photo essay, it will be on facebook in a few weeks. But for those who think the book is better than the movie, here's how it all went:
Tuesday
Ride to the airport early for 8am flight. Easy check in, fairly smooth flight to Chicago. I know this because I have a hard time sleeping on planes and I was passed out most of the way there. I was also sitting a row behind Evan, Lida, and Sam, so I had nobody to talk to while we were up in the air. In Chicago, we got off the plane and looked around for our gate to connect to. On the way, we spotted wicked cheap prices on booze. Could that really be right...2 for $33??? It was....for international flights. Oh well. Did some stretching and then got on our huge plane to Maui. It was one that sat 2-3-2 (my first two isle plane!!!) across. Me and Lida were sitting in one of the sections with two seats directly in front of Sam and Evan. Did some reading, watched Glory Road, Cosmo said that I'm Sexy Sexy, not Cute Sexy, did a little napping, looked out the window, took a lap around the cabin.....9 hour flights are rough. But it was worth it.
Unfortunatly, they've stopped giving leis to everyone as they walk off the airplane. Oh well. All our bags arrived safe and sound and we found our way to the rental car easy enough. I nice red Jeep (a Larado) that easily held all our luggage. We made a stop at KMart for initial supplies, but couldn't get too much because storage room was limited. Then it was off to see our cottage!
As soon as we left town, it was easy to see the beauty in Hawaii. The only road to Kaanapali (the town we were staying in) picked up the coast just out of town. To my left, Pacific ocean w/other islands in the distance. To my right, a huge mountain that disappeared into white clouds. Between the mountain and the road was the occasional sugar cane field. A few fields were on our left as well, but after a few miles a left turn would have taken us off a cliff. We all wanted to stop at one of the many scenic lookouts, but we had milk in the car. Eventually we came to Lahina, which was right next to us and had lots of shops and restaraunts, particually on Front street. More on that later though. We had come to our street.
We pulled into the complex with all the cottages, ours was number four. We saw number one, but next to it was 25 or some such oddity. The numbering was all messed up. Me and Sam found a map of the place and realized there were three parking lots, and we needed to be in a different one to avoid hauling our shit everywhere. As soon as we opened the front door we all were amazed at how beautiful the place was. You go in through a front porch with a swinging bench hanging from the ceiling. There was also a rap-around bench that acted as the wall opposite the door. The rest was just windows with screens. We opened the lock to the main door and dropped our bags. Amazed, we looked around, awestruck that it was actually ours. The house was a perfect square and actually none of the walls extended to the ceiling. It was like a solid tent had been pitched and dividers made the rooms.
Walking in through the door, the was just an open area with a desk in the corner on the left. If you looked at it and looked out the window, you could see the Pacific. If you stayed along that wall, you'd then bump into our kitchen table. If you faced back to the middle of the house, it centered up with the middle of the kitchen, but the walls didn't extend out that far so they pretty much formed a U on this half of the house. If you kept going another 3 feet you'd be in the middle of the living room, with two couches. The two couches were squared off in the corner of the house. Sam slept on one of those because she hates sharing beds and didn't mind the couch. If you turned right and went around the corner, you'd find yourself in the "bedroom" me and Lida shared. I say "bedroom" because there was no door leading into it from that side, just an opeing where a door should be and a wall made of blinds. That same sort of "wall made of blinds" was also on the other side leading to the bathroom, but it had a door. The same section of wall that formed part of the kitchen had closets for us. In the bathroom was a large bathtub that had jacoozi jets and a toilet. From there, was entrance number one to our huge shower.
Yes, the shower gets in own paragraph, its that awsome. First off, it was prolly about 8' x 6'. Yes, that's right, FEET. with a bench along the wall away from the shower head. There was an overhead shower head and a lower rincing spout like most showers have, but there was also one of those detachable shower heads that you could use to walk around with. Definatly took advantage of that and the bench. Moving on...
If you go out the other door to the shower, you come to the tinyest toilet room ever, probably the most fitting room to ever be called a water closet. Through the other door there led to Evan's bedroom (only bedroom with doors on both sides of it). It had the sink from the toilet room in there as well. Through his other door on the right and you were back at the start of the house. There are pictures, I know that was confusing, and Evan did a walk through in video mode.
Anywho, we put a few things away and then back to Front street to get some food at Bubba Gumps. Front street is a busy place and right along the water. So while we ate dinner, the sun was setting and B&G keeps its back wall without glass in the windows to make sure you get a great view of the water. Really good food too. Funny licence plates and shirts hanging up everywhere. After dinner, we walked around and went into a few of the shops there. Crazy Shirts actually dyes their green shirts w/money, the blue ones w/blue Curacou, and the brown ones w/coffee. Prolly why they cost $30, but it's interesting. Lots of neat little stores that have jewelry, shot glasses, towels, all kinds of shirts. Just various touristy things to buy. That night Sam wanted a painted coconut that said "Happy Birthday Maui '06" and dolphins on it, so I got it as her birthday gift. But I wouldn't let her keep in until the next day, cause that was her actual birthday. After looking around for a bit, we headed home. Put on scrubs for a bit, but we were tired and just went to bed around 8:30ish Maui time.
Wednesday we were all up really early. In fact, most days we were. It worked out though cause then we never waisted a day sleeping. We drove to beach and just walked along it until we came to the Fisherman's Warf shops. Lots of neat stuff- fake talking parots, funny t-shirts, artwork- the normal touristy stuff. From there, we went back to the Jeep and drove to the other parts of Front street (its a long street). There was this tree that actually looked like several trees but all came from the same root system. As soon as I climbed onto one of the branches, I noticed the "no climbing" sign, so Evan took a picture and I hopped on down. After a little while, we called Pat and Kevin and told them to meet us as our cottage. From there we walked down, crossed a street and went to the beach. Ahh, the tanning begins. Tossed a football, too windy for frisbee. The water is just so perfect there. Warmer than anywhere I've ever been to, crystal clear...it's everything it's made out to be. And the tide really is that much stronger. After showering and such, we went out this place called Moose McGuilacuty's for dinner. Still happy hour, so I had an adult Hawaiin punch with my food. The food was ok, nothing special, but they brought Sam dessert for her birthday. From there, we went back to the cottage and had a little celebration of our own. We played water pong (didn't want the beer to spill on anything so we just put water in the cups, and everyone endup drinking something else anyway), card games and just had a an all-around fun night.
Ok, so maybe a night of drinking wasn't the smartest thing before going on a boat. Cause this morning, it was snorkling trip day. Of course, seeing as most of us turned in around 10 (still not adjusted, so people got tired early). Anywho, our captain was pretty hilarious, reminded me of my Uncle Shelly. I elected not to take a dramamine because I didn't want to get tired and felt I wouldn't get bad motion sickness. And I was right up until we pulled into the bay of Molakini (the island w/the reef where we were going to be snorkling). Things got really choppy and suddenly my pinkies got really tingly. Spreading through my forarms, skipped over my sholders and into neck. Once we anchored, I felt better once we anchored, but still not so good; I just wanted to get into that water. It helped for about a second and a half.
I wasn't so good at the old snorkling thing at first, and inhaled some salt water. Add that into being nausious and I threw up a little bit in the water away from other people. Apparantly nobody else noticed. But from then on, I started to get the hang of not using my nose to breath. And the view...oh it was amazing. Any color fish you can imagine. I though I saw eels way far down and this was confirmed later. It was just so gorgous everywhere. I couldn't eat much lunch (they grilled us a lunch of burgers and whatnot on the boat) but took a dramamine so my return trip would be better. Our second time in the water, there was a shark. Just a small one, about four feet long (White Tipped Reef Shark) and it keeps the big mean ones away. I only saw a glipse of its tail, but Evan got some awsome pictures of it. Sam jumped on top of her boogy board. It was sweet. On the ride back I felt a million times better. A whole family of sea turtles swam right by our boat so the captain stopped the boat for us and we got to see a whole lot of them nice and up close. Got some great shots of them.
The plan was to nap when we got back, get up and go for food. This was around 4. Apparantly, Lida woke up around 8, figured it was too late for dinner and we were all still asleep, so she went back to sleep. I did the same thing around 8:30. Sam and Evan did the same thing around 9. Oh well, so much for getting time adjusted.
The next day was a blank slate, so we hit up this flea market in the morning. Actually, we went to breakfast first. Lida made a friend in one of the waitresses. The first sentence she said to Lida ended in her calling Lida her girlfriend. Now I know some girls just talk like that, but before we left she told Lida that she was "a keeper". So anyway, on to the flea market. We got these great decorations that cast an awsome shadow on the all when you light a candle in front of it. Tarah's gift: check. There were also these awsome salts that smelled like fruits and such. You can burn them, put them in baths, or just leave them out for the scent. Mother's day gift: check. (Sorry folks, saved sovaniers for immediate family only because I didn't have enough money to start doing friends, hope you'll all forgive me and take this as initiative to go see Hawaii for yourself)
That evening, we were going to go to the restaraunt Kevin and Pat work at, so we went to McKenna to find some beaches. The first one we stopped at had great sand but the surf was a little too rough and you could see much in the way of snorkling. We went on down the road to "big beach" where the water was a little better. Didn't take much to swim out where it was deep eitehr. Lida fought her fear for a little while, but eventually we headed back to the shore and played some frisbee. On the beach, there was a bit of a shelf where the soft sand fell of into the harder packed stuff. Yes, I sent Evan off said "cliff" so he could make an epic diving catch. Good fun that sand is.
After a while, we picked up and headed over to Bada Bings. Turns out its just a regular Italian restaraunt, not a strip club that serves as the meeting place for Italian mobsters. Probably for the best. Impossible parking lot (like most in Maui really), got in a tough spot on a one way but I got out alive. The food was pretty good, though the alfredo sause bordered on being a solid mass of cheese.
As you may recall, I mentioned there was one road into our town. Said road had a traffic jam on it. One lane in each direction, no sholder...we were there a while. We had a great view of the moon reflecting off the water, but still. This is the one night we needed to sleep because we needed to leave at 1:30 for the sunrise volcano ride the next day. Didn't end up getting to sleep until around 10. Getting up was a little painful, but so worth it.
We drove back to the begining of the Hana Highway (which you'll hear more about when we get to Monday) because that was where the sunrise tour up Holiksomethingorother began. Got there at 3am cause we thought we were leaving at 3:30. Vacant lot. But there is the van, w/a trailor for what appears to bikes. Around 3:30 the guy shows up, unlocks the shop, we check in and get our rain gear. Quality stuff, would come in handy up top, not for the rain, but for the cold. Anywho, it takes an hour or so to get to the top so our guide is finding out where we're from and all that jazz. He was a little wierd, but pretty funny. Then he tells us all the stupid questions other tourists have asked him.
Q: What's the elevation at sea level?
A: How tall are you?
Q: Is there water on the other side of this island?
Q (woman from europe): Does this bike have airbags?
A: That depends on the woman riding.
(same woman, not realizing he was refering to boobs): What do you mean?
(pointing at chest): Those are the only pads you've got
*international incedent ensues*
*Newlyweds needing some clairfication*
Q: Which side of the island faces the Atlantic, and which side faces the Pacific?
A: Please don't reproduce.
There was something else that involved a bet between two redneck brothers from Alabama, but I can't remember it. Anywho, back to the top of the volcano.
It was dark and cold when we got there. Eventually, we was the sun come up over the clouds and light up the crator....truly breathtaking. For more, wait until you see the pictures.
Now to be clear, I was scared of riding a bike. Haven't done it in a while, and I was never very good at it. And now I'll be going down a narrow windy road where cars are fairly frequent because lots of people want to see the volcano. And for the record, this road is in the guiness book for most verticle miles in the shortest stretch of land or some such thing. Let's just say I was holding on tight. Evan went first, then Lida, then Sam, then me in the rear. The scenery was just awsome. Not just the view all the way down, but along the road were some blooming lilac trees and farms and all that jazz. The place we stopped at for breakfast was overpriced, but we needed to eat. Now we had the bikes technically until 4, but we were done around 10ish. Go figure.
On the way back, we restocked at Wal-Mart (where else?). A few more things to snack on, more water, stuff like that. After resting a bit at the cottage, I went for a run. A little over two miles, but I forgot about the hill that was on my way back. Didn't pace myself well and almost died when I got back to the cottage. But that shower felt mighty good. We decided to stay in for the evening and I grilled the hot (aka turkey) dogs we had. MMM. Played some more cards. Pass out.
For those keeping score at home, it is now Sunday. For once, our activity of the day (the Luou) isn't until the evening. Also for the first time, it isn't sunny and 85. Silly New England flooding. So we had planned to go to a craft fair and then to the beach, but really, it was on and off rain and the sun would only peak through every so often. We still went to the craft fair, cause hey, who needs sun for that. I got my dad a Hawaii Fire Deptarment shirt (check) and another generic Maui shirt for Dan (check). The girls got coffee for their mom and Evan got a gecko crossing sign to go w/his gecko shadow thing. Supposed to be a sign of good luck and a guardian, so maybe things will go well in his new appartment. After the craft fair, we decided to go exploring.
Of all the times we came down our street to the Honopoli Highway (the one road in and out of town), we had always headed back to the center of Maui either toward Front street or towns beyond Lahina. So I turned right. After passing the Kapalua golf course (actually hosts PGA events) we came to a windy cliffside road not unlike the Hana highway. Places to turn off and take in the views (only no waterfalls). What there was, however, was a blow hole. Much like a gieser (and it might as well have been)only instead of water being stored underground, it comes in with the waves from the ocean. But still, water+pressure+small hole= water flying up 30 feet or so. Evan didn't have his digital camera, but I had plenty of film with me. I hope I didn't let the gang down there. It's so wierd now, but even in just taking still shots, I found myself slipping into journalism mode when taking pictures this trip. Where do they need headroom? Is there context to the shot? What images tell this story? It was scary. Anyway it was a nice little excursion, we saw a few great views of the ocean and cliffs, and learned that rocks poop.
That night was the Luou. We had seats on in the first row, which meant that instead of being at a normal table with chairs, we were at a lowered table sitting on pillows. Right down in front, in the middle, with a great view of the stage. All you can eat, open bar, amazing dancing, right on the water front as the sun set over the water, and we even watched them dig up the pig from the underground oven before they served it. It was magic. That night, everything was just perfect. We all agreed it was probably the best thing we did all trip. There's a really great picture of me holding a bunch of glasses in my hand with the woman behind me giving me the evil eye. I initially was holding Evan's drink so he could take pictures, then Lida finished her's and stacked it on top, the Sam did the same and before you know it...one guy, three empty drinks and another one on the way down. I did have more to drink than the others, but part of that was cause Evan was driving and also Sam didn't like a few of her's so she passed them my way. Not like I was gunna stop her. But really, the whole dancing ceremony and atmosphere was just mindblowing. Evan and I also developed a bit of a crush on the girl in the white skirt. If you saw her move, you'd understand.
Now its Monday and that means it's Hana Highway day. You can only go about 10-15 mph (unless you're a local who just flies and doesn't care) and about 40 miles long. Along the way are all these places to stop and pull over to take in a view, see a waterfall, hike a trail, walk along streams and rivers...all the stuff you see in postcards basically. We used the Maui Revealed book as our guide and it didn't disappoint. This is something you'll have to wait for the pictures to finally understand because I'm not a good enough writer to desribe a 200ft. waterfall. Or what it's like to climb up about 800 feet of slippery rock to find an isolated pool and waterfall all to yourself and go swimming there. Although you can laugh right now at Lida being unable to hold it in any longer (all that rushing water...) and having to pop a squat right there in the river. With me and Sam still downstream. Just had to hop up on a rock and close my eyes, definatly didn't want to be in the river for that. Ok, back to other stuff we saw. As we went along, the locals were less friendly. Gee, people who live in a remote section of an island that is near impossible to get to don't want company from tourists? Well the signs went from "No tresspassing" and "Beware of Dog" to "Get Out" being spray painted across gates clossing up a driveway. And when I say shanty, I mean houses made of aluminum just propped up. Dirt roads that filled with rocks and dips leading down to the coast.
Then there was Blue Pool. To get there, you go down a paved road, but 1/3 of the way down it becomes dirt. Before this is a sign that pretty much says if you don't have 4WD, its raining, or about a million other things to not go any farther. The road is bumpy and filled w/ditches, but our Jeep can handle it. Then we come to a sign that says "Road Closed" and a river (maybe 3 inches of water?) is flowing over the river. What do we do? FORD THE RIVER! And not a single Oxen died. We've got the video to prove it. The second river was nothing compared to that. We get closer and there are all these no parking signs everywhere (again, locals want us out) but one guy got smart. Left a sign out that said $2 parking and while I'm sure nothing would happen if we didn't, we paid out of curtisy. That guy must be raking it in. Anyway, to get there we had had to cross this river on foot. There was no avoiding it and at some point it went up to our waists. Slippery rocks below. While crossing, I stepped on a rock that slid just a tiny bit, but that's all it took for me to lose my balance and fall. Now I planned on swimming anyway, but I needed to save my camera. I held it up and landed with the hand I was holding a towel with. Evan says he didn't see the camera go under, so I guess the splash alone must have been enough, but my camera died right there. I was halfway through my last role of film, but I hope it's fixable. I can get the film out in a dark room, but I'm just disappointed in myself for falling and breaking it. Nonetheless, Evan still had his camera and we got some great shots of a magnificent waterfall. Swam under it and everything. Even Lida (after much struggle over the coldness) swam around for a bit.
After there we went down to a red sand beach and suprised a few nudists. Ooops. Filled up a bottle of Aquafina with red sand and headed on back home. On the way back, we were treated to the most gorgous view of the sun reflecting off the water. We had to stop so Even could take a picture. Everthing there is just so tranquil sometimes, its scary.
Tuesday was the last full day. Parasailing. Remember how I said things were tranquil? Well that's exactly what being up 800 feet is. Calm, quiet, great view....could you ask for more? Sam and Evan went first, and they asked if we wanted them dunked. Oh of course we did. Sam was...unhappy with that. Her face was priceless. Naturally, me and Lida accepted that meant we'd be dipped as well, but I kind of wanted to be anyway. The water was so warm that it was actually quite nice and they only put you in up to your waist. That was our last planned event, and it was awsome. From there, went on over to the beach for one last tanning session. Evan did a little more snorkling. Lida got burned for the first time all trip. I was just sad to see the water go. No other beach will live up to that. They won't have the warmth, or the clarity or the view or something.
For dinner that night, we all put on something a little nice and went down for our last seaside view. You never really do get tired of watching that sunset on the water as you eat. Especially when the beach is no more than 10 feet away.
The travel home I'll save for another entry. This one is just getting there and what we did. It was the trip of a lifetime. I don't know how the rest of the summer is going to compare or how I'm going to survive my dad. But for 9 days and 8 nights, all that was behind me. We lived in that moment and did everything we could to make it great. And it was.
Tuesday
Ride to the airport early for 8am flight. Easy check in, fairly smooth flight to Chicago. I know this because I have a hard time sleeping on planes and I was passed out most of the way there. I was also sitting a row behind Evan, Lida, and Sam, so I had nobody to talk to while we were up in the air. In Chicago, we got off the plane and looked around for our gate to connect to. On the way, we spotted wicked cheap prices on booze. Could that really be right...2 for $33??? It was....for international flights. Oh well. Did some stretching and then got on our huge plane to Maui. It was one that sat 2-3-2 (my first two isle plane!!!) across. Me and Lida were sitting in one of the sections with two seats directly in front of Sam and Evan. Did some reading, watched Glory Road, Cosmo said that I'm Sexy Sexy, not Cute Sexy, did a little napping, looked out the window, took a lap around the cabin.....9 hour flights are rough. But it was worth it.
Unfortunatly, they've stopped giving leis to everyone as they walk off the airplane. Oh well. All our bags arrived safe and sound and we found our way to the rental car easy enough. I nice red Jeep (a Larado) that easily held all our luggage. We made a stop at KMart for initial supplies, but couldn't get too much because storage room was limited. Then it was off to see our cottage!
As soon as we left town, it was easy to see the beauty in Hawaii. The only road to Kaanapali (the town we were staying in) picked up the coast just out of town. To my left, Pacific ocean w/other islands in the distance. To my right, a huge mountain that disappeared into white clouds. Between the mountain and the road was the occasional sugar cane field. A few fields were on our left as well, but after a few miles a left turn would have taken us off a cliff. We all wanted to stop at one of the many scenic lookouts, but we had milk in the car. Eventually we came to Lahina, which was right next to us and had lots of shops and restaraunts, particually on Front street. More on that later though. We had come to our street.
We pulled into the complex with all the cottages, ours was number four. We saw number one, but next to it was 25 or some such oddity. The numbering was all messed up. Me and Sam found a map of the place and realized there were three parking lots, and we needed to be in a different one to avoid hauling our shit everywhere. As soon as we opened the front door we all were amazed at how beautiful the place was. You go in through a front porch with a swinging bench hanging from the ceiling. There was also a rap-around bench that acted as the wall opposite the door. The rest was just windows with screens. We opened the lock to the main door and dropped our bags. Amazed, we looked around, awestruck that it was actually ours. The house was a perfect square and actually none of the walls extended to the ceiling. It was like a solid tent had been pitched and dividers made the rooms.
Walking in through the door, the was just an open area with a desk in the corner on the left. If you looked at it and looked out the window, you could see the Pacific. If you stayed along that wall, you'd then bump into our kitchen table. If you faced back to the middle of the house, it centered up with the middle of the kitchen, but the walls didn't extend out that far so they pretty much formed a U on this half of the house. If you kept going another 3 feet you'd be in the middle of the living room, with two couches. The two couches were squared off in the corner of the house. Sam slept on one of those because she hates sharing beds and didn't mind the couch. If you turned right and went around the corner, you'd find yourself in the "bedroom" me and Lida shared. I say "bedroom" because there was no door leading into it from that side, just an opeing where a door should be and a wall made of blinds. That same sort of "wall made of blinds" was also on the other side leading to the bathroom, but it had a door. The same section of wall that formed part of the kitchen had closets for us. In the bathroom was a large bathtub that had jacoozi jets and a toilet. From there, was entrance number one to our huge shower.
Yes, the shower gets in own paragraph, its that awsome. First off, it was prolly about 8' x 6'. Yes, that's right, FEET. with a bench along the wall away from the shower head. There was an overhead shower head and a lower rincing spout like most showers have, but there was also one of those detachable shower heads that you could use to walk around with. Definatly took advantage of that and the bench. Moving on...
If you go out the other door to the shower, you come to the tinyest toilet room ever, probably the most fitting room to ever be called a water closet. Through the other door there led to Evan's bedroom (only bedroom with doors on both sides of it). It had the sink from the toilet room in there as well. Through his other door on the right and you were back at the start of the house. There are pictures, I know that was confusing, and Evan did a walk through in video mode.
Anywho, we put a few things away and then back to Front street to get some food at Bubba Gumps. Front street is a busy place and right along the water. So while we ate dinner, the sun was setting and B&G keeps its back wall without glass in the windows to make sure you get a great view of the water. Really good food too. Funny licence plates and shirts hanging up everywhere. After dinner, we walked around and went into a few of the shops there. Crazy Shirts actually dyes their green shirts w/money, the blue ones w/blue Curacou, and the brown ones w/coffee. Prolly why they cost $30, but it's interesting. Lots of neat little stores that have jewelry, shot glasses, towels, all kinds of shirts. Just various touristy things to buy. That night Sam wanted a painted coconut that said "Happy Birthday Maui '06" and dolphins on it, so I got it as her birthday gift. But I wouldn't let her keep in until the next day, cause that was her actual birthday. After looking around for a bit, we headed home. Put on scrubs for a bit, but we were tired and just went to bed around 8:30ish Maui time.
Wednesday we were all up really early. In fact, most days we were. It worked out though cause then we never waisted a day sleeping. We drove to beach and just walked along it until we came to the Fisherman's Warf shops. Lots of neat stuff- fake talking parots, funny t-shirts, artwork- the normal touristy stuff. From there, we went back to the Jeep and drove to the other parts of Front street (its a long street). There was this tree that actually looked like several trees but all came from the same root system. As soon as I climbed onto one of the branches, I noticed the "no climbing" sign, so Evan took a picture and I hopped on down. After a little while, we called Pat and Kevin and told them to meet us as our cottage. From there we walked down, crossed a street and went to the beach. Ahh, the tanning begins. Tossed a football, too windy for frisbee. The water is just so perfect there. Warmer than anywhere I've ever been to, crystal clear...it's everything it's made out to be. And the tide really is that much stronger. After showering and such, we went out this place called Moose McGuilacuty's for dinner. Still happy hour, so I had an adult Hawaiin punch with my food. The food was ok, nothing special, but they brought Sam dessert for her birthday. From there, we went back to the cottage and had a little celebration of our own. We played water pong (didn't want the beer to spill on anything so we just put water in the cups, and everyone endup drinking something else anyway), card games and just had a an all-around fun night.
Ok, so maybe a night of drinking wasn't the smartest thing before going on a boat. Cause this morning, it was snorkling trip day. Of course, seeing as most of us turned in around 10 (still not adjusted, so people got tired early). Anywho, our captain was pretty hilarious, reminded me of my Uncle Shelly. I elected not to take a dramamine because I didn't want to get tired and felt I wouldn't get bad motion sickness. And I was right up until we pulled into the bay of Molakini (the island w/the reef where we were going to be snorkling). Things got really choppy and suddenly my pinkies got really tingly. Spreading through my forarms, skipped over my sholders and into neck. Once we anchored, I felt better once we anchored, but still not so good; I just wanted to get into that water. It helped for about a second and a half.
I wasn't so good at the old snorkling thing at first, and inhaled some salt water. Add that into being nausious and I threw up a little bit in the water away from other people. Apparantly nobody else noticed. But from then on, I started to get the hang of not using my nose to breath. And the view...oh it was amazing. Any color fish you can imagine. I though I saw eels way far down and this was confirmed later. It was just so gorgous everywhere. I couldn't eat much lunch (they grilled us a lunch of burgers and whatnot on the boat) but took a dramamine so my return trip would be better. Our second time in the water, there was a shark. Just a small one, about four feet long (White Tipped Reef Shark) and it keeps the big mean ones away. I only saw a glipse of its tail, but Evan got some awsome pictures of it. Sam jumped on top of her boogy board. It was sweet. On the ride back I felt a million times better. A whole family of sea turtles swam right by our boat so the captain stopped the boat for us and we got to see a whole lot of them nice and up close. Got some great shots of them.
The plan was to nap when we got back, get up and go for food. This was around 4. Apparantly, Lida woke up around 8, figured it was too late for dinner and we were all still asleep, so she went back to sleep. I did the same thing around 8:30. Sam and Evan did the same thing around 9. Oh well, so much for getting time adjusted.
The next day was a blank slate, so we hit up this flea market in the morning. Actually, we went to breakfast first. Lida made a friend in one of the waitresses. The first sentence she said to Lida ended in her calling Lida her girlfriend. Now I know some girls just talk like that, but before we left she told Lida that she was "a keeper". So anyway, on to the flea market. We got these great decorations that cast an awsome shadow on the all when you light a candle in front of it. Tarah's gift: check. There were also these awsome salts that smelled like fruits and such. You can burn them, put them in baths, or just leave them out for the scent. Mother's day gift: check. (Sorry folks, saved sovaniers for immediate family only because I didn't have enough money to start doing friends, hope you'll all forgive me and take this as initiative to go see Hawaii for yourself)
That evening, we were going to go to the restaraunt Kevin and Pat work at, so we went to McKenna to find some beaches. The first one we stopped at had great sand but the surf was a little too rough and you could see much in the way of snorkling. We went on down the road to "big beach" where the water was a little better. Didn't take much to swim out where it was deep eitehr. Lida fought her fear for a little while, but eventually we headed back to the shore and played some frisbee. On the beach, there was a bit of a shelf where the soft sand fell of into the harder packed stuff. Yes, I sent Evan off said "cliff" so he could make an epic diving catch. Good fun that sand is.
After a while, we picked up and headed over to Bada Bings. Turns out its just a regular Italian restaraunt, not a strip club that serves as the meeting place for Italian mobsters. Probably for the best. Impossible parking lot (like most in Maui really), got in a tough spot on a one way but I got out alive. The food was pretty good, though the alfredo sause bordered on being a solid mass of cheese.
As you may recall, I mentioned there was one road into our town. Said road had a traffic jam on it. One lane in each direction, no sholder...we were there a while. We had a great view of the moon reflecting off the water, but still. This is the one night we needed to sleep because we needed to leave at 1:30 for the sunrise volcano ride the next day. Didn't end up getting to sleep until around 10. Getting up was a little painful, but so worth it.
We drove back to the begining of the Hana Highway (which you'll hear more about when we get to Monday) because that was where the sunrise tour up Holiksomethingorother began. Got there at 3am cause we thought we were leaving at 3:30. Vacant lot. But there is the van, w/a trailor for what appears to bikes. Around 3:30 the guy shows up, unlocks the shop, we check in and get our rain gear. Quality stuff, would come in handy up top, not for the rain, but for the cold. Anywho, it takes an hour or so to get to the top so our guide is finding out where we're from and all that jazz. He was a little wierd, but pretty funny. Then he tells us all the stupid questions other tourists have asked him.
Q: What's the elevation at sea level?
A: How tall are you?
Q: Is there water on the other side of this island?
Q (woman from europe): Does this bike have airbags?
A: That depends on the woman riding.
(same woman, not realizing he was refering to boobs): What do you mean?
(pointing at chest): Those are the only pads you've got
*international incedent ensues*
*Newlyweds needing some clairfication*
Q: Which side of the island faces the Atlantic, and which side faces the Pacific?
A: Please don't reproduce.
There was something else that involved a bet between two redneck brothers from Alabama, but I can't remember it. Anywho, back to the top of the volcano.
It was dark and cold when we got there. Eventually, we was the sun come up over the clouds and light up the crator....truly breathtaking. For more, wait until you see the pictures.
Now to be clear, I was scared of riding a bike. Haven't done it in a while, and I was never very good at it. And now I'll be going down a narrow windy road where cars are fairly frequent because lots of people want to see the volcano. And for the record, this road is in the guiness book for most verticle miles in the shortest stretch of land or some such thing. Let's just say I was holding on tight. Evan went first, then Lida, then Sam, then me in the rear. The scenery was just awsome. Not just the view all the way down, but along the road were some blooming lilac trees and farms and all that jazz. The place we stopped at for breakfast was overpriced, but we needed to eat. Now we had the bikes technically until 4, but we were done around 10ish. Go figure.
On the way back, we restocked at Wal-Mart (where else?). A few more things to snack on, more water, stuff like that. After resting a bit at the cottage, I went for a run. A little over two miles, but I forgot about the hill that was on my way back. Didn't pace myself well and almost died when I got back to the cottage. But that shower felt mighty good. We decided to stay in for the evening and I grilled the hot (aka turkey) dogs we had. MMM. Played some more cards. Pass out.
For those keeping score at home, it is now Sunday. For once, our activity of the day (the Luou) isn't until the evening. Also for the first time, it isn't sunny and 85. Silly New England flooding. So we had planned to go to a craft fair and then to the beach, but really, it was on and off rain and the sun would only peak through every so often. We still went to the craft fair, cause hey, who needs sun for that. I got my dad a Hawaii Fire Deptarment shirt (check) and another generic Maui shirt for Dan (check). The girls got coffee for their mom and Evan got a gecko crossing sign to go w/his gecko shadow thing. Supposed to be a sign of good luck and a guardian, so maybe things will go well in his new appartment. After the craft fair, we decided to go exploring.
Of all the times we came down our street to the Honopoli Highway (the one road in and out of town), we had always headed back to the center of Maui either toward Front street or towns beyond Lahina. So I turned right. After passing the Kapalua golf course (actually hosts PGA events) we came to a windy cliffside road not unlike the Hana highway. Places to turn off and take in the views (only no waterfalls). What there was, however, was a blow hole. Much like a gieser (and it might as well have been)only instead of water being stored underground, it comes in with the waves from the ocean. But still, water+pressure+small hole= water flying up 30 feet or so. Evan didn't have his digital camera, but I had plenty of film with me. I hope I didn't let the gang down there. It's so wierd now, but even in just taking still shots, I found myself slipping into journalism mode when taking pictures this trip. Where do they need headroom? Is there context to the shot? What images tell this story? It was scary. Anyway it was a nice little excursion, we saw a few great views of the ocean and cliffs, and learned that rocks poop.
That night was the Luou. We had seats on in the first row, which meant that instead of being at a normal table with chairs, we were at a lowered table sitting on pillows. Right down in front, in the middle, with a great view of the stage. All you can eat, open bar, amazing dancing, right on the water front as the sun set over the water, and we even watched them dig up the pig from the underground oven before they served it. It was magic. That night, everything was just perfect. We all agreed it was probably the best thing we did all trip. There's a really great picture of me holding a bunch of glasses in my hand with the woman behind me giving me the evil eye. I initially was holding Evan's drink so he could take pictures, then Lida finished her's and stacked it on top, the Sam did the same and before you know it...one guy, three empty drinks and another one on the way down. I did have more to drink than the others, but part of that was cause Evan was driving and also Sam didn't like a few of her's so she passed them my way. Not like I was gunna stop her. But really, the whole dancing ceremony and atmosphere was just mindblowing. Evan and I also developed a bit of a crush on the girl in the white skirt. If you saw her move, you'd understand.
Now its Monday and that means it's Hana Highway day. You can only go about 10-15 mph (unless you're a local who just flies and doesn't care) and about 40 miles long. Along the way are all these places to stop and pull over to take in a view, see a waterfall, hike a trail, walk along streams and rivers...all the stuff you see in postcards basically. We used the Maui Revealed book as our guide and it didn't disappoint. This is something you'll have to wait for the pictures to finally understand because I'm not a good enough writer to desribe a 200ft. waterfall. Or what it's like to climb up about 800 feet of slippery rock to find an isolated pool and waterfall all to yourself and go swimming there. Although you can laugh right now at Lida being unable to hold it in any longer (all that rushing water...) and having to pop a squat right there in the river. With me and Sam still downstream. Just had to hop up on a rock and close my eyes, definatly didn't want to be in the river for that. Ok, back to other stuff we saw. As we went along, the locals were less friendly. Gee, people who live in a remote section of an island that is near impossible to get to don't want company from tourists? Well the signs went from "No tresspassing" and "Beware of Dog" to "Get Out" being spray painted across gates clossing up a driveway. And when I say shanty, I mean houses made of aluminum just propped up. Dirt roads that filled with rocks and dips leading down to the coast.
Then there was Blue Pool. To get there, you go down a paved road, but 1/3 of the way down it becomes dirt. Before this is a sign that pretty much says if you don't have 4WD, its raining, or about a million other things to not go any farther. The road is bumpy and filled w/ditches, but our Jeep can handle it. Then we come to a sign that says "Road Closed" and a river (maybe 3 inches of water?) is flowing over the river. What do we do? FORD THE RIVER! And not a single Oxen died. We've got the video to prove it. The second river was nothing compared to that. We get closer and there are all these no parking signs everywhere (again, locals want us out) but one guy got smart. Left a sign out that said $2 parking and while I'm sure nothing would happen if we didn't, we paid out of curtisy. That guy must be raking it in. Anyway, to get there we had had to cross this river on foot. There was no avoiding it and at some point it went up to our waists. Slippery rocks below. While crossing, I stepped on a rock that slid just a tiny bit, but that's all it took for me to lose my balance and fall. Now I planned on swimming anyway, but I needed to save my camera. I held it up and landed with the hand I was holding a towel with. Evan says he didn't see the camera go under, so I guess the splash alone must have been enough, but my camera died right there. I was halfway through my last role of film, but I hope it's fixable. I can get the film out in a dark room, but I'm just disappointed in myself for falling and breaking it. Nonetheless, Evan still had his camera and we got some great shots of a magnificent waterfall. Swam under it and everything. Even Lida (after much struggle over the coldness) swam around for a bit.
After there we went down to a red sand beach and suprised a few nudists. Ooops. Filled up a bottle of Aquafina with red sand and headed on back home. On the way back, we were treated to the most gorgous view of the sun reflecting off the water. We had to stop so Even could take a picture. Everthing there is just so tranquil sometimes, its scary.
Tuesday was the last full day. Parasailing. Remember how I said things were tranquil? Well that's exactly what being up 800 feet is. Calm, quiet, great view....could you ask for more? Sam and Evan went first, and they asked if we wanted them dunked. Oh of course we did. Sam was...unhappy with that. Her face was priceless. Naturally, me and Lida accepted that meant we'd be dipped as well, but I kind of wanted to be anyway. The water was so warm that it was actually quite nice and they only put you in up to your waist. That was our last planned event, and it was awsome. From there, went on over to the beach for one last tanning session. Evan did a little more snorkling. Lida got burned for the first time all trip. I was just sad to see the water go. No other beach will live up to that. They won't have the warmth, or the clarity or the view or something.
For dinner that night, we all put on something a little nice and went down for our last seaside view. You never really do get tired of watching that sunset on the water as you eat. Especially when the beach is no more than 10 feet away.
The travel home I'll save for another entry. This one is just getting there and what we did. It was the trip of a lifetime. I don't know how the rest of the summer is going to compare or how I'm going to survive my dad. But for 9 days and 8 nights, all that was behind me. We lived in that moment and did everything we could to make it great. And it was.