Day One....
We made it to Maui! Long day. We left home at 4:30 AM to catch a flight to Denver. We then flew 7 hours to Maui on a direct flight. We arrived on time at 12:49 PM Hawaii time...which is 4 hours behind Utah time. While in Denver, one of my condo contacts called me. She would not let me off the phone until I rented her condo. So i did with not a whole lot of info. It seems expensive because we are here only two nights and you have to pay a cleaning fee on top of rental fees. And by the time you put taxes and credit card usage fees in...well more than I had hoped to pay. BUT...we are in Maui...right across from a very nice, sandy beach. I cannot complain too much.
It is hotter here than expected. That is why August and September are slow months. We arrived to 90 degrees and quite windy. We rented a car and immediately went to find the condo. It was easy to find. We could not get in until 3:00 PM...so we went and grabbed some lunch. We ate at a nice deli/restaurant just down from the condo. After eating, we then went to a Safeway to buy snacks and breakfast supplies. We then went to the condo only to find the cleaning lady there still working on it. It was really hot inside and I could not get the AC to work. Big problem...for Denise. We all know how she hates to perspire because she is afraid she will melt ( like Elphiba in Wicked). Anyway, Denise visited with the lady while I registered our car for parking. After the cleaning lady left, I contacted the owner about the AC. It is a window mount thing that sits behind a timer switch. I could not get the timer switch to budge. I needed a pair of plyers. Bottom line, the owner, who lives in LA, called a condo owner who Ives here. They came over with plyers, turned the switch, and whala...cool air. The neighbors seemed really nice and told us to rent their condo next time.
Well...we did get into our swim suits and go for an awesome swim in the warm pacific waters. It was awesome. Even Denise got in. The surf was rough because of the winds. But that made it kind of fun body surfing and all. On the shore, the wind made it tough due to the fine sand blowing. So we did not stay too long. The condo has all the beach gear that we need.
In the evening, we drove south through Waleila...where the rich stay. Pretty awesome. We stopped at a beach and watched the sun set. Very pretty. There were about 3 couples (and party guests) who were just married. Fun to watch them. We then drove north to another supermarket where Denise bought some fruit and I bought an awesome shaved ice. We will be going there each night to conclude our day!
It was lights out pretty early because our bodies thought it was 4 hours later....and of course we are awake today quite early.
Well, today we are going to Sacrament meeting in a nearby chapel. We will then come home, change our clothes, and then off on a drive to the top of the volcano and hopefully on a easy hike to some waterfalls. We will see! Love you all.
It is hotter here than expected. That is why August and September are slow months. We arrived to 90 degrees and quite windy. We rented a car and immediately went to find the condo. It was easy to find. We could not get in until 3:00 PM...so we went and grabbed some lunch. We ate at a nice deli/restaurant just down from the condo. After eating, we then went to a Safeway to buy snacks and breakfast supplies. We then went to the condo only to find the cleaning lady there still working on it. It was really hot inside and I could not get the AC to work. Big problem...for Denise. We all know how she hates to perspire because she is afraid she will melt ( like Elphiba in Wicked). Anyway, Denise visited with the lady while I registered our car for parking. After the cleaning lady left, I contacted the owner about the AC. It is a window mount thing that sits behind a timer switch. I could not get the timer switch to budge. I needed a pair of plyers. Bottom line, the owner, who lives in LA, called a condo owner who Ives here. They came over with plyers, turned the switch, and whala...cool air. The neighbors seemed really nice and told us to rent their condo next time.
Well...we did get into our swim suits and go for an awesome swim in the warm pacific waters. It was awesome. Even Denise got in. The surf was rough because of the winds. But that made it kind of fun body surfing and all. On the shore, the wind made it tough due to the fine sand blowing. So we did not stay too long. The condo has all the beach gear that we need.
In the evening, we drove south through Waleila...where the rich stay. Pretty awesome. We stopped at a beach and watched the sun set. Very pretty. There were about 3 couples (and party guests) who were just married. Fun to watch them. We then drove north to another supermarket where Denise bought some fruit and I bought an awesome shaved ice. We will be going there each night to conclude our day!
It was lights out pretty early because our bodies thought it was 4 hours later....and of course we are awake today quite early.
Well, today we are going to Sacrament meeting in a nearby chapel. We will then come home, change our clothes, and then off on a drive to the top of the volcano and hopefully on a easy hike to some waterfalls. We will see! Love you all.
Tough time on the beach....
A Maui sunset....
The Maui breezes...and looking back out our condo....
Looking at the beach from our condo....
Day Two....
Hey everyone.. Day 2 is in the books. Very nice day. After a hot night...this condo will not cool down...we got up and went to church with he island folks. Large congregation. All speakers began with alooohhhaaaa! It was nice. After Sacrament Meeting, we came home, changed our clothes and went on a road trip. I thought we were headed to two places...a volcano and a rain forest. Well, we drove for about 1.5 hours from sea level to 10k feet above sea level. Switch backs, very slow. We got to the top in swim shorts and tee shirts only to be in low 50 degree weather with very high winds blowing. But...IT WAS AWESOME! We were above the clouds. I felt like I was flying...only in my car. It was so cool.
When we came back down the volcano, we were headed to a hike through a bamboo Forrest that had many waterfalls.. Unfortunately, part of it was not paved and we could not chance it with the rental car. So we punted and went to the other side of the island to a place called Twin Falls. We did a .75 mile hike back into a series of falls. It was hot and a bit humid...so the pool of water that we waded in felt really nice. It was awesome also.
We had a nice afternoon. We finished the night with dinner and a shaved ice again.
Getting home looks good tomorrow night. We have the condo until 4:00PM. So we plan to have lazy day snorkeling and hanging out on the beach. Should be fun.
Love you all!
Not prepared for the cold at the top of the volcano....Cold travelers....On top of the island...above the clouds.Bamboo.....A mermaid near the waterfall....Waiting for a rock to hit him in the head!
Wet, but happy travelers....
Day Three....
Well...another hot sleeping night in our condo! The little air conditioner in the front room can't seem to get the air to the back bedroom...even with 3 fans blowing. Ugh....but the bed is comfy so...trade offs I guess.
We both woke up around 5:30 AM...still on mainland time I guess. That will probably be good as I am sitting in the airport hoping to get on a plane to LAX or SFO. I will want to be on mainland time. We have 3 shots at planes tonight...8:45 PM to LAX, 9:30 to SFO, and lastly 10:30 PM to LAX. Get to the mainland...that is the goal. We will figure it out once there.
At 7:00 AM this morning, we were on the beach and I was snorkeling along some nice coral on the south end of the beach. Lots of pretty fish, calm waters, refreshing water. The condo had an OK mask and snorkel that I used. They had chairs, mats to lay on...it was nice. We stayed at the beach for almost 4 hours. I made multiple snorkeling runs. But in my first one, I was poking along, when I turned around to see a large sea turtle along side me...about 10 feet away. His/Her shell was wider than my body and I would guess about 4 foot long. The thing startled me. I was not quite sure how to react. I wish I had a camera. Later on, I returned to the same area only to find two of these large buggers feeding on the coral. It was fun to watch. I needed an ocean fix...I got it today. I wish I had an underwater camera.
I think Denise got the day she wanted...lazy day, in the shade, listening to the ocean reading her book. We returned to the condo to eat breakfast, shower and get packed. Again, she lounged around reading while I logged into work to hammer through some 70 emails. We stayed in the condo until almost 4:00 PM. We then found a pretty good fish and chips place for an early dinner and then off to the rental car return and airport. As I said earlier...we are now in wait mode.
This has been a really nice trip. I would return to Maui to do a couple things that we did not do. I guess driving to Hana is an experience to be had. I would also go to the north side of the island to do some beach hopping. But...absolutely no complaints for this trip.
As we go into next year, we are going to figure out how to bring two children with us. We won't pay for everything...but we will help offset some travel costs...so says Denise...not tight Tim. We want our kids to experience different parts of the world. We will see how this thought plays out. Start planning and negotiating kids!
Well...we hope to see most of you sometime tomorrow!
We both woke up around 5:30 AM...still on mainland time I guess. That will probably be good as I am sitting in the airport hoping to get on a plane to LAX or SFO. I will want to be on mainland time. We have 3 shots at planes tonight...8:45 PM to LAX, 9:30 to SFO, and lastly 10:30 PM to LAX. Get to the mainland...that is the goal. We will figure it out once there.
At 7:00 AM this morning, we were on the beach and I was snorkeling along some nice coral on the south end of the beach. Lots of pretty fish, calm waters, refreshing water. The condo had an OK mask and snorkel that I used. They had chairs, mats to lay on...it was nice. We stayed at the beach for almost 4 hours. I made multiple snorkeling runs. But in my first one, I was poking along, when I turned around to see a large sea turtle along side me...about 10 feet away. His/Her shell was wider than my body and I would guess about 4 foot long. The thing startled me. I was not quite sure how to react. I wish I had a camera. Later on, I returned to the same area only to find two of these large buggers feeding on the coral. It was fun to watch. I needed an ocean fix...I got it today. I wish I had an underwater camera.
I think Denise got the day she wanted...lazy day, in the shade, listening to the ocean reading her book. We returned to the condo to eat breakfast, shower and get packed. Again, she lounged around reading while I logged into work to hammer through some 70 emails. We stayed in the condo until almost 4:00 PM. We then found a pretty good fish and chips place for an early dinner and then off to the rental car return and airport. As I said earlier...we are now in wait mode.
This has been a really nice trip. I would return to Maui to do a couple things that we did not do. I guess driving to Hana is an experience to be had. I would also go to the north side of the island to do some beach hopping. But...absolutely no complaints for this trip.
As we go into next year, we are going to figure out how to bring two children with us. We won't pay for everything...but we will help offset some travel costs...so says Denise...not tight Tim. We want our kids to experience different parts of the world. We will see how this thought plays out. Start planning and negotiating kids!
Well...we hope to see most of you sometime tomorrow!
Beach Mama!!!
Where did this alien come from?
A nice picture on the beach. We had a lot of fun this trip!
Not looking good to get on our flight....which we did not. However, we sneaked on to the next one!
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