The Maui pictures are up and they're depressing to look at, because it reminds me that a scant week ago I was basking in the sunshine at least once in a while with no greater concern than where to go for dinner that evening. I've been telling people that Maui is a dangerous place, because the longer you're there the less you want to leave. But you can only spend that kind of money for so long, so if you really did live there you'd have to adapt to living in a shack well away from the water and paying seven dollars for a box of cereal (and running the risk of getting tired of pineapples). There must be something negative about living on Maui, otherwise everyone would be doing it. The economic aspect is definitely a consideration unless you're already a professional surfer dude or beach bum.



I arrived in Maui after driving in the pouring rain and the dark to Providence, spending a couple of hours flying to Chicago, meeting up with the Lemkes who then accompanied me the rest of the way via LAX, without any delays or lengthy layovers at any point, taking maybe 15 hours to do the whole trip. Scott and Shelley were there to greet us when we got off the plane and pass out leis to everyone, the first of several that all ended up in the fridge, but wilted anyway. People who live in Hawaii must need a separate fridge just for all the leis. S&S, as Jill calls them, whisked me off to the hotel in their rented jeep, the Aston Kaanapali Shores, while Bob & Jill got their own rental car. Mom and her friend Shirley were waiting out front when we got there. The Lemkes didn't arrive for quite a while later, then took a while to check in, so they were useless for dinner what with two jetlagged kids to contend with, so the rest of us all went out to eat at some place called "Fish and Game" just up the street, then got kona flavored ice cream or shave ice at the ice cream place / internet cafe next door. Got to meet Shelley's mother Bev and brother Mark, who had already been in town for a couple of days and seemed to be doing just fine. It was a long day, but no one was complaining.



Wednesday morning was the opportunity to kind of settle in and get our bearings without doing anything too strenuous. It was no problem getting up early since there was a six hour time difference, so I went for a five mile run along Lower Honapillilalailiala (sp?) Drive. Spent some time at the beach near the hotel in the morning and got to try out the snorkeling gear, and there was actually something of a reef and fish to look at right there. We all went down to Whaler's Village to a place called Hula Grill for lunch and looked around at the classy shops a little bit, then went back for round two of snorkeling practice, walking down the beach a ways to Black Rock near the Sheraton for another go. The surf was a little stronger here and I wasn't comfortable enough with the snorkeling yet to be able to concentrate on just that and not avoiding drowning. But it was enough practice that the trip to Molokini on Friday was well-spent. Came back to the hotel and I think ended up having dinner there, as there were all these coupons to use up.



Thursday we got up bright and early to find our way over to Haiku, home of the Haleakala Bike Company, where they would do a trip that would take you to the top of the volcano, then back down a little ways and leave you on your own to go the rest of the way. In retrospect this was definitely the way to go, as the guided tours we passed were puttering down the mountain at about 10mph, and we got plenty of scenery on the way up and at the top. Bob was taking phone calls from work as we went up the mountain, but turned the cellphone off for the ride down. Bev, Shelley, and Scott took the trip with Bob and I, and Shelley's brother, who had his own bike and helmet, rode up the mountain and met us just after we started on the way down, then rode down with us. I had brought my own helmet but they wanted us to wear the litigation-free cyclocross-type helmets as though we would be going down the mountain offroad, which was totally unnecessary, but it did keep your ears warm. Most of the guided tours were in bright yellow radiation suits, I guess so that you'd be easy to find if you went off the edge, but the Bike store let us borrow regular columbia-type jackets and backpacks. It was a long drive up, and we were entertained by the van driver "Tim", who was a 50-ish transplant from California by way of the Alaska pipeline who, like most people in Maui, had about four jobs and plenty of opinions, entertaining us with stupid questions he'd been asked on previous trips, such as "How long does it take to swim all the way under the island?", which were so stupid they had to be true. The views from the top of Haleakala were spectacular, we had good visibility all the way up, and it wasn't even that chilly at the summit at 10,000 feet. It only took about an hour and a half to make it all the way down, and it was a blast. It's too bad you can't use the whole road, but since we didn't start at the very top the number of switchbacks wasn't that great and they weren't that steep. There were even a few uphills once we got on the road back to Haiku. We were back at the bike shop by 12:30. Bob and I stopped at Taco Bell for a late lunch on the way back. We hung out at the pool with Jill and the girls the rest of the afternoon. Scott was coming up to babysit for Jill and Bob so they could go out to dinner alone, so Mom and Shirley and I went to Lahaina, looking for a restaurant that was listed in Frommers but ended up having changed hands and cuisines, so we landed across the street at Moose McGillycuddy's, then did some shopping afterwards at Hilo Hatties.