I came to realize this morning that it has been some time since my last post AND that I left you hanging on my vacation in Hawaii. Well, that simply will not do.
Maui, day two.
Julia and I woke up early so that she could make it to work on time. We drove to the house where Carolyn was staying and after waving ta-ra to Julia, Carolyn and I watched the sun bring the island to life. We sipped coffee by the window and listed to the birds sing "good morning." For some time, we nursed our coffees and watched the soft, rolling waves stroke the shore.
We then donned our bags and headed out for our day of adventure. On my flight out, the man sitting next to me told me to always wear my swim suit, always have snorkeling gear, and always have hiking shoes. I essentially did all of that, except wear my suit the first day...I learned after that. (Ladies, being that it's so warm, it's far more comfortable to wear your suit and or exercise/style clothing that's loose fitting. Trust me, you will not be or ever feel under dressed.)
A lovely breakfast at a beachside restaurant filled our bellies with the local flavors. I enjoyed an enormous plate of loco moco, which I'm suddenly craving...(my gluten free/mostly carb free current lifestyle probably has something to do with that as well.) Loco moco, if you're not familiar, is a delightfully satisfying and certainly filling meal. Think meat, gravy, eggs and rice...yum. There's no shortage of "yum" in Hawaii.
As we sat and enjoyed breakfast, I text a photo to my aunts, who would soon be visiting Maui as well, and would you believe it? They were going to be staying at the resort adjoining the beach we were overlooking. Once I learned that I replied in my text, "We're warming up the shore for you!"
Carolyn and I jumped back in Rabbit, the car, drove up the coast to enjoy a lovely walk along the shore. The path wound its way alongside gorgeous resorts and landscapes that varied from tropical paradises to what I can only imagine would look like the moon. Stunning, all of it. Carolyn and I talked and talked, all the while keeping our eyes sharp in search of whale spouts.
The little Volkswagen in which we traveled, lovingly referred to as Rabbits took us farther north. We drove beneath incredible pines and through some tight turning roads. The roads took us by a lovely lagoon with what I would consider a forest surrounding its keep. Dogs were diving in and out, chasing after the balls their humans sent a flying.
The beach accompanying the lagoon made me think of the coasts of Oregon. Every corner of Maui surprised me more and more. There's really something for everyone there.
Back in the car and further north we went. We drove by one of the large golf resorts on the north-western coast. There were ENORMOUS evergreens reaching up for the heavens above.
We
We stopped at a little trading post, grabbed some caffeine (of course, it's me traveling, after all), then headed off in search of the northern Blow Hole.
The road was steep and very twisty, but eventually we found a neat little park that ended up being a little shy of the blow hole we were after, but the views were spectacular, so we did not mind.
With the wonderful assistance of a man arranging a circle of rocks, he pointed us over to a trail where we had the view you see above and where, if we had been wearing sweatshirts, we probably could have taken flight. The wind was incredible.
But we didn't want to stay out that way too long as we were hoping to meet Julia in the late afternoon, so back in the car once more, we headed south to see what else we could find.
From one cliff's vantage point we watched a dozen surfers wait for waves while we enjoyed the local flavors of coconut ice cream...........yum. The vendor used her machete right before us gawking tourists as she split open the precious coconuts from their pods. The lady said that she comes up with all of the flavors and there were some amazing ones to enjoy. I had a cinnamon flavored ice coconut cream and Carolyn enjoyed chocolate.
Eventually, happy hour in Lahaina called, so we drove back down the coast to meet Julia once again. Carolyn and I sat and sipped DELICIOUS Mai Tai's prior to Julia joining us at which point we switched to pints.
Maui Brewing company was essentially the only beer we enjoyed while over there. I'm a particular fan of their Pineapple Manna, but their Bikini Blonde Lager and the IPAs we enjoyed were fantastic as well. Ahhhhhh, it was all so good. Anyway, we enjoyed kalua pork nachos and watched the sunset from our happy hour location, although there was some confusion regarding whether or not our table was reserved, we didn't mind and it did little to tarnish our sunset experience.
Until next time dear readers, which I assure you will not be that long from now.
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
