Maui Part Three

So I just realized that you actually read this blog backwards chronologically if you want it to make any sense. That's right, read "Post Maui Vacation" Depression first, then Part Two, then Part Three.


OK, so where were we??? We just finished our first visit to Old Lahaina. Except I forgot one part. It's where we visit the Salvation Army store to see if we can pick up cheap boogie boards and snorkel gear (since we will only be able to use them for 3 days now). Luckily, we found 2 fairly new boogie boards--the same kind that Costco sells for $10 each. No snorkel gear, but we did find a nifty beach umbrella (Costco kind again) for $3. As we were checking out, a man behind us said, "So, will I see you in church tomorrow?" It was another Mormon who noticed Dave's BYU-Hawaii t-shirt. (Can you see it in the picture???) Funny thing was we were buying all the stuff he had just donated. He and his family had returned to Maui to clean out their condo, which they had just sold. They donated a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army and he was waiting to get a donation receipt. Small world!!! Nice guy.

So, the next day was Sunday and we went to church. We loved the ward. Wonderful spirit and wonderful people. The teachers were all well prepared and they were excellent teachers. We met a lot of interesting, warm, friendly people. Wonder if they need any CES guys over here???

Maui does that to you. It's rather intoxicating--the weather, the scenery, the people, the beach, the ocean, did I mention the beach? Lovely. What is it about Sunday afternoons that makes you want to take a nap?

For dinner we made Maui Chicken, which was our Maui version of Malibu Chicken. We took Costco rotisserie chicken and topped it with Costco ham and swiss cheese and microwaved it until the cheese melted. We used Thousand Island dressing as a dipping sauce. Divine!!! Then there was fresh Maui Gold pineapple for dessert.

We decided to drive down the coast to Kihei, which is where we had originally planned on staying. The scenery on the drive down was amazing. Gorgeous blue water, rocky outcroppings, deep blue sky. After visiting Kihei we were so glad we hadn't stayed there. They had just finished 48 hours without power, which meant the stores and restaurants didn't have power either. The three Kamaole beaches were closed and the main road was washed out.Many of the parking lots we saw were full of mud. We saw a couple of cars stuck in a gully of mud. It was a mess. Plus, we wouldn't have been "oceanfront". Now that we've stayed on the beach, I don't think there's any way we'd want to stay anywhere else. Even if the beach itself isn't that great, there is just something about seeing and hearing the waves crash that is magical! We drove back to our room even more thankful for it.


Got back in time to watch the sunset from the balcony. Some of the best advice we received before we left was, "Stop and watch the sunset wherever you are." Amen.

Monday dawned bright and clear. We realized that the sunrises are almost as spectacular as the sunsets from our balcony. We ate breakfast and drove to Coral Gardens, Mile Marker 14 for some snorkeling. It wasn't too bad, especially after we found a sandy path out further so you didn't have to go directly over the coral to get out. Coral scrapes hurt! And they take awhile to heal, we found out. Anyway, we saw lots of cool fish and coral. We did have to take turns, but it was so nice and warm and the cove is protected from the big waves, being onshore wasn't too bad. I went out for about 45 minutes and got motion sick and went back to lie down for awhile on my boogie board.

Then we thought we'd try to find a good boogie boarding spot, so went to Kaanapali Beach. We parked at the south end and walked and walked to find some waves. One thing we noticed was that the water at the south end was brown and gunky, much like the water outside our resort the first day we were there. Yuck. No one was in the water. But when we got to a little point, it changed and there were tons of surfers in the water getting lessons. We went a little north of them and tried boogie boarding, but the waves were not ideal and the bottom was rocky, so we gave up after awhile.

We drove north to see some of the sights there. We went through Kapalua (ritzy), Kahana, up to Honolua Bay (site of the women's surfing championships), and stopped at a roadside fruit stand to buy some papayas. They were out of mangos. Out of season.


We rented the movie "Hairspray" and watched it. It was a lot of fun.

Stay tuned for the last and final installment--Maui Part Four, coming soon!!!