Mahalo

Kim and I just got back from our big Hawaiian vacation.  Kim has always wanted to go but I didn't think I'd ever get there.  It just seemed to be too far away and not worth the effort it would take to get there.  Of course, now that I've been, I can't believe it took me so long to visit.  What a wonderful place.

Our trip had many highlights.  Here are just a few.

• Yes, it takes forever to get to Hawaii  On our way there, we had to take three separate flights to arrive on Lanai.  The final flight was on an eight-seat, single prop plane.  Before boarding, each passenger had to weigh-in on a scale at the gate with their one carry-on.  I came in at 149 pounds with my backpack; I didn't look at what anyone else weighed.  After weighing in, we got placed on the plane based on our weight.  Once we all got past that little humiliation, we walked out, climbed on board, said hello to the 20-something pilot, and took off.  The flight over from Maui was spectacular.  Even Kim, who was terrified when she first saw the plane, admits that this was one of the best parts of the trip.
• I've been wearing zipper pants for years.  But, I don't think I've ever actually had a reason to unzip them and turn them into shorts -- until Hawaii.  You don't know how awesome it was to arrive back on Maui, get to the rental car, take off my sneakers, unzip my zipper pants, and step into my flip-flops.  How freeing!  I might have to do it more often.
• Only in Hawaii can you get in a traffic jam, stop for a minute, and say to yourself "Well, if we're going to be stuck here for an hour, we might as well pull off and sit on the beach."  That happened to us just outside of Lahaina.  While we were stopped for lunch, we heard that there had been a fatal accident on the road back to Wailea and that traffic would be stopped in both directions.  We weren't sure that was true and decided to press our luck.  Unfortunately, the rumor was true.  Normally, a traffic jam would have me cursing my bad luck.  This time, it just so happened that we hit the road block right next to a beach.  So, we turned around, parked the car, sat by the beach, and watched the surfers.  After an hour relaxing, we hopped back in the car and were on our way.  I'll take a traffic jam like that any day.
• I hate the beach but, in Hawaii, I sat on the beach happily wo separate times, once for 4 hours and another time for 7 hours(!).  The reason -- people watching.  The highlight was the guy who walked onto the beach in his jeans, wrapped a towel around himself, and proceed to remove his jeans and underwear and step into his bathing suit.  He went through this whole process in about 30 seconds and never once came close to exposing himself.  I'm going to have to try this -- in my bathroom, of course, until I get it down pat.
• Fish tacos are everywhere.  In fact, I had fish tacos three separate times, the last time from a food truck on the beach at Makena.

The best thing, though, was the 20-mile drive we did along the north coast of Maui.  I thought it would be a neat way to get over to Kapalua with going back through Maalaea.  It wasn't until we were a mile or two into the trek that Kim read from the guide book that we were now on a one-lane road that tourists were advised not to take.  At that point, there was no turning back.  Oh, well.  We're still alive.

What a trip.  I may just have to go back.