Thursday, February 15, 2007

Details

Some have said I should give details on my trip to Maui. How 'bout this for now?

Day zero I flew from Grand Rapids to Maui stopping only for Chicago, LA and phone calls. On the plane I read a little and slept a little.

Day one we went snorkeling off a clothing optional beach, hiked through a bamboo forest, saw rainbow-barked tree, jumped off a cliff into a the pool beneath a waterfall ate a fish called Ono and wandered the boardwalk of expensive resorts.

Day two we drove around Lahaina-side (which is to say West) Maui, saw where Kate works, saw the Banyan tree that spans a whole block, snorkeled off a clothing required beach, jumped off a cliff into the ocean, and drove a road that often didn't get wider than our car.

Days three and four I took the road to Hana on a motorcycle carving turns and stopping for a black sand beach, roasted coconut, a small farming village and pictures -- lots of pictures. I nearly slept tent-less under the stars. I've never seen so many. But instead my friends Amber and Cortny showed up with a tent. I woke in the middle of the night to watch waves crash against 30 foot lava cliffs by moonlight. In the morning we made oatmeal and opened a coconut, drinking it's milk beneath a Banyan tree. Then we visited the "Seven Pools" (There aren't seven by the way) and jumped off many cliffs until it was time to ride the motorcycle back through the same curves, eat more roasted coconut and take more pictures.

Day five was beach day. We started by walking a half-mile of lava-flow to a place called the Fishbowl where I saw fish that proved to me that nothing any graphic designer has ever done has truly been original. Next we surfed and I chatted with a couple of wonderful Canadians (one being the sweetest two-year old, the other being equally sweet and a bit older).

Day six Charlie and I talked in the morning and went with the Canadians to a couple of fine sights in the hills. That night we went whale watching. This was followed by the men making dinner for the women before going salsa dancing. There were also some wonderful conversations at the Wailea Grand and getting kicked out of the chase lounges.

Day seven was sad. Amber and Corney left. Thankfully I did get to spend some time with one of the Canadians and went to a worship service with the kind of worship music I needed to sing to about then. All I can say is that I wasn't the best example of myself that day.

Day eight I bought souvenirs and called folks back home. We eventually got to hike a ridge. I saw an orchid in the wild and a number of other beautiful sites. That night Kate, Charlie and I talked about motivations and phone calls.

Day nine was church in the morning followed by a trip to Paia for a final souvenir and a side trip to a ghost-town. Kate and I waited for Charlie to get off work. First we waited at the beach. Then we waited at the Wailea Grand. Sadly no cliffs and no Canadians. When Charlie got off work we high-tailed it to the Airport where I flew, tried to sleep, nursed my nostalgia and figured out how to move to Maui.

I'm still working on that last part. And no I'm not joking. As of now the plan is that on the 2nd week of April I stand a pretty good chance of standing on that Island once again.

posted by Scott # 6:30 PM

Comments:

Hi Scott,

Wow, you told me that you experienced Maui, but I didn't hear half of it! Thanks for the update.

# posted by Jim Byrne : 10:19 PM, February 17, 2007