Aloha, Maui 🌺

For the 2nd day in a row, I headed to the airport to take this flight to Maui. My driver was named Farley and he was cracking up at my travel stories – so much so that he asked for this blog address and “can’t wait to read the book.” Yes, I told him I was going to Maui in between jobs and that I would finally start working on the book about my travel shannanigans. I think the working-title (I can’t fly the plane, I’ve been drinking) really pulled him in. Thanks Mom for the suggestion!

Finally arrived from the Mainland around 1pm at Kahului airport. For those who don’t know Maui, that’s the airport on the other side of the island from where I booked 4 nights at Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel (“Hawaii’s most Hawaiian hotel”). I pre-booked a shuttle to take me from the airport to Kā‘anapali, or the west side as locals call it. Speaking of locals, they nicknamed Covid, “Uncle Co Co” and that seems just so Hawaiian to me. 45 minutes later, I’m on the west side! 45 minutes seems really long when thinking about an airport trip on an island but the middle of Maui is sacred land so you must go around and not through. It’s important to respect boundaries.

Checked in and went in search of food before I died of hunger. I decided to eat at the hotel restaurant since I have some food credits. Side note: really disappointed in Hawaiian Airlines’ definition of a first-class breakfast. The meal the previous day was supposed to be braised beef with mashed potatoes and vegetables for lunch service. Cue, the mouth watering. However, since our flight was canceled and we were booked on an earlier flight, we got “breakfast/brunch.” This consisted of a soggy mushroom omelette, sad potatoes, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrot (what part of the world is this acceptable breakfast veggies???!), small croissant and unripe fruit. They even tried to offer a dessert after breakfast…I suspect this was in fact the economy breakfast but plated on a tray to look fancier. I see you Hawaiian Air – the old bait and switch. The only good thing that came out of this is the $300 travel voucher with Hawaiian Air since the original flight cancellation was due to mechanical issues. Conveniently, this is about the cost of upgrading to first class, so maybe I will get to try that braised beef one day very soon.

Today is Wednesday and since I’m still on San Diego time, I woke up at 6:30a with the goal of walking the boardwalk until it ended. In the elevator on the way to the lobby, I got a tip about how terrible the lattes were at the hotel and to head to the shopping mall for “the best lattes.” Having experienced the terrible food the day before, I gladly skipped the hotel coffee and went in search of this best latte at Island Vintage Coffee. They open at 7am and by 6:50a, I was the 10th order in line. I ordered an “island latte” which had hints of macadamia nuts and coconut. It was really good and I’ll probably go back tomorrow to try the other flavors.

You’re all probably wanting to see some photos from Maui. Ok, ok. But before I photo-bomb this post (it is really pretty here), I gotta point out this rainbow I saw while walking the boardwalk. For those that don’t know, my dog died exactly a month ago on October 10th. I smiled when I saw the rainbow and instantly thought it was Lola letting me know she came to Hawaii with me. 🌈🐶

After returning from my walk, I put on a bathing suit to head to the beach. I was disappointed to see the red flags lining the shore (swim at your own risk/no lifeguard). So I put my towel down and stuck my feet in the water. One minute the water was calm and the next a large wave splashed my shorts wet. Yep, not gonna get in the water. I did manage to write the introduction to my novel while sitting on the beach so it wasn’t all wasted. Here are some pictures from Kā‘anapali beach.