Nancy's Maui trip report

[nancymarsz]

Hi all,
Well, I’m back from my long awaited trip to Maui. I'm just recovering from the jetlag. It has done a number on my internal clock. As I posted previously, the decision to book the trip was a difficult one given the fact I was laid off in May and no employment prospects in sight.

I traveled with my brother and his wife. It’s great, he dives, my sister in law lies on the beach and I love to sightsee. We left on Sunday October 11th at 6:30am for a 10:00 am direct flight out of O’Hare in Chicago. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours. Yes 3 hours! After everyone boarded, the plane started to leave the gate then stopped, and we waited for what seemed like a long time before the first officer announced there was a problem with one of the air conditioning units and FAA regulations prohibits them to take off across the Pacific with one unit down. OK, that makes sense to me. Another hour goes by when we go back to the gate so the mechanics can board the plane. The plane is finally fixed all we need is to have the paperwork signed electronically and we can take off. Oh, no, that didn’t happen. United Airlines had a computer system failure, no electronic signature, no takeoff, per another FAA regulation. Finally a head mechanic boarded the plane and physically printed and signed the paperwork. We took off at 1:30pm.

The flight was uneventful with the exception of the guy in front of me who thought he was in first class judging by the way he was stretching (and hitting me in the head) and reclining his seat. It was a long flight despite being a direct flight.

We landed at 6:15pm, Maui time. We get the luggage, the rental car and lots of pamphlets with coupons and discount offers. An hour later, we arrive at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel and check in. I’m told my room is in the newly “remodeled” building. Well, after seeing my room, remodeled is a stretch, but I’ll give you “refreshed”. I won’t be spending a lot of time in the room, it’s clean and it doesn’t smell, and no bugs, so I’m good. We decided to have dinner at the Tiki restaurant on the property instead of going into Lahaina or walking to the Whaler. We call it a night at 9:00pm.

I’m up bright and early Monday, I mean really early, like 4:30am. I walk the beach for a while and sit on the beach listening to waves with one ear and Keali’i Reichel on my Ipod with the other. Breakfast at the Mixed Plate buffet and the rest of the day is spent relaxing at the pool. We have dinner at Moose McGillacudy’s. I got reacquainted with the Whaler General Store too.

Tuesday, again I’m up bright and early. An escorted tour on the Road to Hana is scheduled for today. I booked the tour with Robert’s Hawaii and had a great tour guide, Tai, as in Mai Tai. Eleven hours of heaven. My tour only had 13 people and Tai was able to make more stops for photos than he could with a full bus. I’m not a wine drinker, but I loved “Splash” from the Tedeschi Winery. I brought home 3 bottles. The Road to Hana tour is what brought me to love Hawaii and its culture, from Ho’okipa to Upcountry. I took 150 pictures using my new digital camera. I return to the hotel just in time to run to Black Rock to see the sun-setting ceremony and cliff dive. Awesome. Dinner was at the hotel again, too pooped to go anywhere else.

Wednesday was shopping day. I walked over to the Whaler, got reacquainted with the ABC Store and learned about a bus that takes you to Lahaina for a dollar one way. I caught the bus and took a ride. It was easy. It stops at the Cannery Mall, the Post Office and the last stop is at the Cinema. There, you can transfer to another bus that takes you to the Ocean Center and Kihei. Dinner was at Bubba Gump Shrimp in Lahaina and browsing the Art Galleries.
Thursday was another day at the pool. My brother taught me how to snorkel in the pool, but I wasn’t ready to go into the Ocean. I’ve never snorkeled before so I was a little scared. The waves started to kick up and there was an extreme wave and riptide advisory for the beach. The Ocean was really churning with 10 foot waves. It was pretty intimidating. The weather got hot too. Humidity levels were in the 80% range. Hot and humid would be the norm until we leave. My brother had a night dive scheduled so Lynn and I had dinner at the Whaler’s, Cane and Taro’s. Good food. We also started our Christmas shopping. No time like the present. When Matt returned from his dive, he told us he and his diver guide saved a 4 foot shark. It got tangled up in some rope or heavy duty fishing line and was tied to an old abandoned dock. In its attempts to free itself, the shark ended up being vertical in the water. If they didn’t do something, it would have drowned. So, they cut it loose and it swam away.

On Friday, I had a tour of the West Maui Mountains with Eco Maui tours. Great tour, great guide, Brice. I’ve never seen this side of Maui. Our tour was 2 other people besides myself. We all climbed down to the Olivine Pools, went to Slaughter house and PT Fleming beaches, visited an art gallery, and drove all the way around the west Maui Mountains on a one lane road with spectacular views learning about the fragile state of Maui’s ecology what’s being done to secure the future. In the evening we had reservations for Warren and Annabelle. Warren is hysterical. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. The food, drinks, dessert and show was great for the price.

On Saturday, I took the walking tour of Lahaina, the Banyon Tree and the Lahaina Harbor and finished up my shopping. I had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise and returned to the hotel to relax at the pool. Dinner was at the Hard Rock Café.

Sunday was reserved for getting my room together to pack, last minute shoppin
g at the Whaler,one last walk on the beach, last minute tanning by the pool, and getting ready for the Luau. I made reservations for myself at the Royal Lahaina Luau just down the road from the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. My brother drove me and I caught the Ka’anapali Trolley coming back. The Luau was nice, but I was surprised it didn’t last longer. The show ended before 8pm. I tried Kalua Pork and Turkey, and Mahi Mahi for the first time. It was delicious.
Well, it’s time to leave.

Monday morning we’re all packed and ready to go. We attend the departure ceremony at the Hotel and receive our Kukui Nut lei. One last thing to do before going to the airport, that is a stop at the Island Paperie. For those of you who scrapbook, this is a must see when you’re on Maui. The store specializes in everything tropical for your scrapbooking. Allow yourself at least 45 minutes for serious scrapbook shopping. It’s a small store but there is a lot of merchandise to look through. The owner has great scrapbook ideas on the walls.

Our flight was on-time and we landed in Chicago at 5:30 am Tuesday morning. I’ll post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it. Any suggestions on how to do this, would be greatly appreciated.

[Steve]

Thanks, Nancy. Sounds like you not only had a great time but mader wise use of your time. I was surprised about your room at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. I have never seen their rooms but the exterior and location and grounds are super and I always thought their rooms were too. Thanks for that info.

[Kathi]

Awesome report! Really takes me back. I remember back when I was without a job and thinking I couldn't go to Hawaii - and I went to Maui twice and Big Island as well. It really helped me to be able to get away and put things in perspective - now I have a great job and you will too. So glad you were able to go - sounds like you had an great time!

Here is the link on how to post pictures:
http://www.hawaii.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=142
(How do you post a picture on hawaii.com)

[Lika]

Mahalo for sharing your trip with us Nancy. Sounds like you had a great time despite the late departure.

Lisa