ALOHA!

Aloha!

"Aloha!" ~ Hawaiian for goodbye, hello and love

I asked for Maui and I sure got it. And for most things you demand to have it's not what you anticipated...

"HA #29"
October 13th 2005
The flight over was fine. Hawaiian Air had no delays, no problems. Managed to watch Fantastic Four. Found our luggage, grabbed our rental car (pictured), and checked in at the hotel. The room was decent enough. Nothing to write home about, but it'll do for 4 days.
We roamed around Lahaina (the region) unitl we grew bored. Char and I were just brainstorming about which restaurant to have dinner when Slammin' Sami Smith called my mobile phone. Our cousins that just wed and enjoying their honeymoon.
And no... we didn't crash their honeymoon.

We met up and ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We chatted about our respective days and off to sleep.

The Road to Hannah's Hell

October 14th 2005
So.
Charlene & I woke up with the resolve to splash in the the pools of Ohe'o. Seven sacred pools, loosely translated. We had ambitious plans, really. To the pools, back track to the winery, and creamery too. Yes, all 3. That all ended when Highway 31 was no longer maintained by the state at a certain point. It's an innocent looking sign. If I had the foresight, I would have taken a damn picture of it. But it's content was powerful enough. The next 28 miles of terrain was the most treacherous and grueling I HAVE EVER driven on. Char had the pleasure of riding shotgun. She was quite GREEN. Not green w/ envy but nausea. I'm 100% positive that any further and she would have hurled. The entire time I'm thinking, this is easily a page out of National Lampoon's Vacation movie. No lie?!

Ironically, I said probably the goddamn park and pools are closed; just like Wally World in the same movie. Close, but no cigar! The pools were closed to swimming but could be viewed. Lovely. 2.5 hours hell-ladened road to discover we can't swim in the pools. We hiked down to the pool area. Only a half-mile hike. We decided to take the longer hike to the Waimoku Falls (2.1 miles) Walked through the famed Bamboo Forest. I can't say I ever did that! Oh - and bitten 50x by blue mosquitoes. Lil' bastards. We trudged thru vegetation, mud, roots, rocks and bamboo back to our poor rental car that we treated like a mule.

Our situation hasn't improved much. We were located on the far side (east) of island. F*ck, it might as well been the moon. Our choices were... head east/north to Hana or back the way we arrived. Char vetoed that option. We rolled on to Hana!

Hana is a speck of town. The only reason to write about it is the infamous highway to it! The Road to Hana is 617 turn, 56 single lane bridge and 35 miles of asphalt. Why in heaven would anyone purposely drive it is beyond me. Once we ate lunch in Hana, we scooted outta town. Char was at the helm of the car because her motion sickness only strikes her when she's the passenger. I busted out the video camera and entertained myself. We arrived at the hotel with nerves frayed and tired minds. Sure enough it was 530p, which was the agreed upon time to meet up w/ Sami and Craig for dinner. This time it was at the Hula Grill & Barefoot Bar . Great atmosphere (live music), synergy, and food. Couldn't complain. The girls loved the real sand floor so that they could put their feet in it.

The Snorkels

October 15th 2005
After we ate breakfast at the Pioneer Restaurant, we snorkeled with Sami & Craig at Black Rock (near the Sheraton Maui). Once we drank enough salt water and grew tired, we chilled pool side at the Hyatt. We split up to eat dinner. We went to Leilani's. Good food, and selection. That was our day in a coconut shell!

Rise and shine, campers!

October 16th 2005

Char and I woke up early to go to the top of Haleakala Crater to watch the sunrise. We poured over the map to see that a winding road led the way. Amazingly, I drove. After a minor parking fiasco, we finally got situated. Oh and we witnessed a jeep get ran over by a van and trailer rig. The sunrise was gorgeous and almost a religious experience. Cold as all get out. The sun was so brillant and warm. We came back to Lahaina to eat breakfast at Burger King. Lovely, I know. Strolled over to Live Wire Cafe. Finally, we laid by the pool until it was time to ready ourselves for our luau.

Old Lahaina Luau , was reported as the best on Maui. Great show (not the best), open bar, and all-you-can-eat buffet were all bonuses. Sami and Craig went with us. We had a blast. Our table mates (4) were sisters from Wiscosin. Fun gals!

Rest & Relaxation

October 17th 2005

Lazy day! Woke up late, and checked out of Lahaina Shores hotel. We drove up the Kaanapali Coast. Checked into the Sheraton Maui. Laid by the pool, walked along the beach, and met Sami & Craig for drinks.

It was their final night on Maui/honeymoon. We retired for the night.

The Needle Points the Way

October 18th 2005

Early morning again! Drove to I'oa State Park. We hiked up to the I'oa Needle, and the surrounding area. We visited the Heritage Center. We then popped into the Maui Tropical Garden. There was 2 spider monkeys named Carlos & Montana. WE bought another drink book entitled Maui on the Rock 2. How appropriate. We ate lunch at a scary McDonald's. Next... we putted at mini-golf. Finally rolled back to the hotel for pool time!!

After dinner at Subway [exciting, aren't we?], we watched the movie Domino .

Pool Time

October 19th 2005
Got out of bed late... struggled to the beach for snorkeling in the morning. Plenty of fish, but no turtles. Scaled back to the pool. I read my book and Char camped.

Sometime in the afternoon a bloody bird landed on my knee! Holy Hannah. Quite the sight.

We snorkeled one more time in the afternoon and found our turtles! in the wild; fantastic. Off to dinner! We tried Bubba Gump Fish Co . Great food, hefty price tag. After being bloated w/ food we camped out in the room and watched T.V.

On the road again

October 20th 2005

We packed up and checked out of the Sheraton Maui. Our destination... east Maui again. We braved the road trip to the Tedeshci Winery . It was great. It's the only winery on Maui. Enjoyed a 30 minute free guided tour, and some great tasting. I bought some Maui Splash. Great taste, less filling.

We hopped back to the Surfing Goat Dairy . We loved it. Bought some cheese. Off to our new hotel. The Aston Kaanapali Shores.

"Who's room is it anyways?"
We arrived at 2 pm. 1 hour before check in. For once our hotel room wasn't ready for early check-in. We were asked to come back in an hour. To our amazement, she gave us complimentary drink coupons.

ONE HOUR later- We enjoyed a slow drink. I called the desk... no room yet. Wait a bit more. Call back. The room is ready and sure enough our room was assigned. We grabbed the keys and headed to room #611. That's what Mark said, the front desk guy. I burst into the room expecting to see our luggage waiting for us. Not so! Someone's else room?! Holy crap! We wheeled on our feet and quickly exited the room. All I saw was a room that was lived it. Underwear and swimsuits strewn about. Goodness.

Back to the front desk, another free drink coupon for 2, and recoded keys.

4:30pm read on the alarm clock. 2 1/2 hours since we first arrived. WOO HOO! We collected our thoughts and headed out. We bought various food items for breakfast and lunch at the Star Market (across the street). Off to dinner. We ate Giovanni's for pizza & garlic bread. Returned to the condo and ordered a movie, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I liked it but it was a book I read in highschool by Douglas Adams.

Last night...

October 21st 2005

We head out tomorrow. We soaked up the sun in a rented cabana for the day. Not too shabby. We met a couple from Alabama- Billy and Sarah. It was an odd set of circumstances. The tiny cafe we 4 found ourselves was crowded. There was a table for all of us. However, we didn't do it by design.

It worked out. I fabricated a convo out of thin air and sketchy details. Nice people.

We blazed out of Maui with thoughts of our own beds, cats and home. (The pic was taken by Char inside the jet)

Aloha!!