Maui
I wanted to add some Maui stuff while it was semi-fresh in my mind, and before it becomes completely irrelevant. Let's see.....
1. Getting to and from Maui is difficult and expensive
The flight from NYC to Denver was the worst. Stuck with a sick (hung-over) passenger who delayed takeoff and then some jerk off in front of me who decided he needed to be reclined for the ENTIRE FLIGHT despite the fact that he wasn't sleeping and had the whole exit row to stretch out in. The flight back from Maui to San Fran was similarly dismal, stuck with a mechanical problem that stranded us on the runway over an hour and a stinky girl in the middle seat next to me whose dreads invaded my seat and tickled my bare arms the entire flight. Ick. The flight from Denver to Maui with Robin was great- she's an excellent seat partner and got me upgraded to Economy Plus, which my unusually long legs appreciated. Apparently the entire plane was Economy Plus from San Fran to New York, which was fantastic in terms of service and legroom. I highly recommend a San Fran connection to Maui from the east coast.
2. We had the best hostess
Rachel met us at the airport with leis. She gamely drove all the way back to pick up Carey, whose flight came in a few hours later. She completely opened up her home, let us lounge, cook, eat, sleep and groom in as much room as we could occupy. She lent Carey and me her car for an entire day so that we could have an excursion. She provided her boyfriend and cool male friends so that Carey didn't die of estrogen overload. She took us to all the local places and introduced us to all her peeps, so we didn't feel like tourists- more like invited guests. And she's funny and smart and sweet.
3. Beauty
Beauty all OVER the place. The sand on the beaches was soft and the water was clear and warm but refreshing. Even though there wasn't any surplus of trash receptacles and no one seemed shy about thwarting open container laws, the beach was immaculate. No trash or cigarette butts. I really appreciated that.
The symphony of birds that woke us up in the morning was unbelievable (I awoke to it the first morning as if in some loud but pleasant dream). Every sunset deserved to be painted. The vegetation was as varied as it was gorgeous.
4. The people
How can you not be laid back and in a good mood in Maui? They would talk about "doing things with aloha," which seemed to mean doing it with kindness, patience and warmth. Kinda hard to walk that walk 24/7 no matter where you are, but I was definitely not in New York anymore.
The other thing about the people? They were almost all male. DUDE(s). Men everywhere. Surfers, beach bums, locals, laborers, transplants. Men. When I was with Carey they just stared, but the second I stepped away with Holly or Robin they swarmed. I bet Carey's happy in some small part that we're back in the land of Manhattan supermodels, finance DBs and a dominant female to male ratio.
5. The stuff
It makes sense when you look at Hawaii on a map. It's in the middle of the ocean. Almost everything is essentially an import. Goods are expensive. Fish, sugar, fruit and fish are cheaper. But everything else? I'm used to New York prices, man, but bags of freakin' potato chips were 2 for 7 dollars! Of course, factor in a free day at the beach and 2$ happy hour mai tais and I think I can make it work.
6. Our excursions
Carey and I did a few things that no one else was up to or interested in. We spent a night at the Best Western Oceanfront. We had a teeny tiny room next to the ice machine with no view and a standup shower. But they had tempur pedic beds, which was heavenly, especially after the air mattress. The big draw was privacy to be all schmoopy, a fancy restaurant attached to the hotel with sunset views, and its location steps from the beach. We took a 2 hour walk on the beach in the moonlight after dinner that was more lovely than I can describe, with a sky so clear that the moon made a path from the horizon to the crashing waves. The sand was soft and the water felt even warmer at night.
The next morning the hotel activity person arranged for Carey and I to go snorkeling at Molokini Crater with a company called Blue Water Rafting. We took a speed boat (emphasis on the word SPPED) out to the crater and had about an hour and a half to snorkel. We saw the most lovely and amazing coral, fish (about 20 different kinds easily), 2 different eels, and a six foot reef shark! That one gave me a jolt, but he was very non-aggressive. When we got back in the boat, I started getting a little seasick waiting for everyone to board, but it wore off after we started going back at mach freakin' 9.
The trip to see the sunrise at Haleakala Crater was also epic. The pictures say more than my words can, but going up there in the dark and seeing the world get colored in by the rising blush of the sun was worth the freezing temps and 4am wake-up time. On the way down we got to see the amazing views and stopped at this great inn for breakfast.
We had the car, so we kept going, following the coast on the road to Hana. The road is famous for its twists and turn and staggering beauty (I think I'm starting to wear that word out). It was so fun stopping here and there along the road to explore this forest or that waterfall. I would recommend a bathing suit, bug spray, and hiking boots for this one.
If we'd had more time, I wanted to take surfing lessons and go horseback riding (which was crazy expensive as usual). Yet another reason why the place was amazing was that you could have a lie-around restful vacation or an activity-packed adventure excursion. On top of everything, we were there with friends, and there was a steady stream of incidents and accidents and hilarious moments. I only get to see Robin once or twice a year and Rachel even less, but they're worth waiting for. Throw in a sweet crazy Holly and some great island guys and Maui itself isn't the only thing I have raves for.
Fabulous. Just fabulous.
1. Getting to and from Maui is difficult and expensive
The flight from NYC to Denver was the worst. Stuck with a sick (hung-over) passenger who delayed takeoff and then some jerk off in front of me who decided he needed to be reclined for the ENTIRE FLIGHT despite the fact that he wasn't sleeping and had the whole exit row to stretch out in. The flight back from Maui to San Fran was similarly dismal, stuck with a mechanical problem that stranded us on the runway over an hour and a stinky girl in the middle seat next to me whose dreads invaded my seat and tickled my bare arms the entire flight. Ick. The flight from Denver to Maui with Robin was great- she's an excellent seat partner and got me upgraded to Economy Plus, which my unusually long legs appreciated. Apparently the entire plane was Economy Plus from San Fran to New York, which was fantastic in terms of service and legroom. I highly recommend a San Fran connection to Maui from the east coast.
2. We had the best hostess
Rachel met us at the airport with leis. She gamely drove all the way back to pick up Carey, whose flight came in a few hours later. She completely opened up her home, let us lounge, cook, eat, sleep and groom in as much room as we could occupy. She lent Carey and me her car for an entire day so that we could have an excursion. She provided her boyfriend and cool male friends so that Carey didn't die of estrogen overload. She took us to all the local places and introduced us to all her peeps, so we didn't feel like tourists- more like invited guests. And she's funny and smart and sweet.
3. Beauty
Beauty all OVER the place. The sand on the beaches was soft and the water was clear and warm but refreshing. Even though there wasn't any surplus of trash receptacles and no one seemed shy about thwarting open container laws, the beach was immaculate. No trash or cigarette butts. I really appreciated that.
The symphony of birds that woke us up in the morning was unbelievable (I awoke to it the first morning as if in some loud but pleasant dream). Every sunset deserved to be painted. The vegetation was as varied as it was gorgeous.
4. The people
How can you not be laid back and in a good mood in Maui? They would talk about "doing things with aloha," which seemed to mean doing it with kindness, patience and warmth. Kinda hard to walk that walk 24/7 no matter where you are, but I was definitely not in New York anymore.
The other thing about the people? They were almost all male. DUDE(s). Men everywhere. Surfers, beach bums, locals, laborers, transplants. Men. When I was with Carey they just stared, but the second I stepped away with Holly or Robin they swarmed. I bet Carey's happy in some small part that we're back in the land of Manhattan supermodels, finance DBs and a dominant female to male ratio.
5. The stuff
It makes sense when you look at Hawaii on a map. It's in the middle of the ocean. Almost everything is essentially an import. Goods are expensive. Fish, sugar, fruit and fish are cheaper. But everything else? I'm used to New York prices, man, but bags of freakin' potato chips were 2 for 7 dollars! Of course, factor in a free day at the beach and 2$ happy hour mai tais and I think I can make it work.
6. Our excursions
Carey and I did a few things that no one else was up to or interested in. We spent a night at the Best Western Oceanfront. We had a teeny tiny room next to the ice machine with no view and a standup shower. But they had tempur pedic beds, which was heavenly, especially after the air mattress. The big draw was privacy to be all schmoopy, a fancy restaurant attached to the hotel with sunset views, and its location steps from the beach. We took a 2 hour walk on the beach in the moonlight after dinner that was more lovely than I can describe, with a sky so clear that the moon made a path from the horizon to the crashing waves. The sand was soft and the water felt even warmer at night.
The next morning the hotel activity person arranged for Carey and I to go snorkeling at Molokini Crater with a company called Blue Water Rafting. We took a speed boat (emphasis on the word SPPED) out to the crater and had about an hour and a half to snorkel. We saw the most lovely and amazing coral, fish (about 20 different kinds easily), 2 different eels, and a six foot reef shark! That one gave me a jolt, but he was very non-aggressive. When we got back in the boat, I started getting a little seasick waiting for everyone to board, but it wore off after we started going back at mach freakin' 9.
The trip to see the sunrise at Haleakala Crater was also epic. The pictures say more than my words can, but going up there in the dark and seeing the world get colored in by the rising blush of the sun was worth the freezing temps and 4am wake-up time. On the way down we got to see the amazing views and stopped at this great inn for breakfast.
We had the car, so we kept going, following the coast on the road to Hana. The road is famous for its twists and turn and staggering beauty (I think I'm starting to wear that word out). It was so fun stopping here and there along the road to explore this forest or that waterfall. I would recommend a bathing suit, bug spray, and hiking boots for this one.
If we'd had more time, I wanted to take surfing lessons and go horseback riding (which was crazy expensive as usual). Yet another reason why the place was amazing was that you could have a lie-around restful vacation or an activity-packed adventure excursion. On top of everything, we were there with friends, and there was a steady stream of incidents and accidents and hilarious moments. I only get to see Robin once or twice a year and Rachel even less, but they're worth waiting for. Throw in a sweet crazy Holly and some great island guys and Maui itself isn't the only thing I have raves for.
Fabulous. Just fabulous.