01.31.07
Day Three
Today we saw another rainbow. Actually, we saw two. Both on our long road trip north to Napili Bay, which would normally be a great secluded beach with snorkelling around the edges except we were hit by a tropical storm and the waves were insane. Big tropical storm whipped through us this time round. Sheets of warm rain and huge wild winds. It rained like crazy this morning, and again this evening as a second storm passed through. Hopefully that’s it for storms, and peaceful weather will be upon us.
We went up to Olowalu, on the way to Napili Bay – the guidebooks are funny about these places – their descriptions are helpful but utterly inaccurate. I wish they would describe the area as ‘less than a shantytown’, because when we try to follow the instructions to go past the general store at mile 15, it would help to know that the ‘general store’ is a clapboard building barely hanging on in high winds, with flustered chickens and an old dead truck out front. And it would also be nice if our guidebook was up to date. We went to go see the Petroglyphs, ancient rock drawings that were 100% worth seeing (for me, anyways).
The guidebook said there was a platform and that the guardrail was unsafe.
There was no platform. Nor was there stairs. There was, however, a guardrail, which was the only marker of the site and you can be sure we did not touch it!! Climbing lavarock to get up to see the petroglyphs in the wild storm winds was kinda fun, tho I was afraid I’d drop the digital camera the whole time!
That was the best adventure. Napili Bay was the same as any other beach except due to the storm it had ridiculously high waves and some apparently suicidal kitesurfers jumping waves near lava outcroppings. We hung out there for a couple hours before turning back to Lahaina and food. I think Napili Bay might be better when there ISN’T a high surf warning.
All this before noon. We went home, played in the pool, and hung out. Dan and I went to the local bar and enjoyed a couple pints of local microbrewed red ale. Red like the sand, i guess. A bitter, full-flavoured ale that was a pleasant experience. So, Maui has good beer.
On the gothic note: I’ve become quite interested in Maui graveyards – we passed two along the way to napili bay – one of rustic crosses where the plots are outlined in large white rocks, graves decorated with leis and tropical flowers, and another totally out of Deadwood, with dull red-dusted crosses and red sand blowing across… a dull and silent place covered in red sand.
01.30.07
First Full Day
First outing we see a rainbow rising up from the shoreline and disappearing into the sky. Maui truly is the end of the rainbow. Maybe that’s why every other business seems to reference Gold. Oh, that and the strange crossover history with bc of goldrush and cowboys in the interior, herding cattle.
The sand here is red in most places and so fine you can’t brush it off completely ever. This morning we ritualistically put our feet in the water and grinned. There are all these little white rocks on the sand that look like bones and fossilized brains. They’re full of holes – dead coral, dan tells me. And those rocks we think we see out there, those aren’t rocks, but lava flow. In some areas it looks like giant grains of pepper, a salt-and-pepper mix of coral bones and lava rocks.
Shopping for a swimsuit here reminded me of shopping for a bra at the bay. A dew-eyed old lady named Lois works the till at Maui Water Wear and is sure to warn me that the sizes are Misses, not Ladies, so I should go large to be disappointed. The stall has disposable panties so you can really see how the suits fit. I broke both my preconceived notions and ended up with a two piece number with the requisite Hibiscus flower motif.
We went down to Wailea Beach and played in the surf. I giggled like a kid and wondered if the strings holding my bathing suit bottom were going to untie and leave me bottomless. This of course did not occur, nor did the dreaded shark attack I thought would inevitably ensue. Ember and I swirled in the surf and played and laughed and winced at the oversalty water.
We went home in this idyll and had barbecue with roasted yams and vegetables, Corona to drink. Wow. What a day.
01.28.07
We are in MAUI
Here’s a recap of the last 24 hours. Left work and we finally got out of town to the border. There’s a futuristic nightmare and I suppose it’ll get worse. 15 minutes to cross which isn’t bad, but the interrogation and the machine that photographs you on your way through, the checking of our plates and the surly man’s questions – I can only just imagine what it’s like for others more target-able than our cutesy cuddly little nuclear unit.
We drove through seattle, I point out the on ramps and off ramps and over ramps the interwoven network of freeways that, to me, means we are in america. Somehow it seems different, just knowing we are on someone else’s soil. (Something happening to me lately is the poetic layering of history and life, walking in the downtown eastside i feel like i’ve got the jawbones and noses of the missing women, or of the ones whose parts were found on picktons farm, driving through seattle i am acutely aware of being in a country that is at war). We saw 4 police cars between seattle and tacoma. they were out busy that night. Then we roll in to the Days Inn, a cheap-ass motel where the room gave me asthma and stank of haywater, whatever hay water is. Use your imagination, but when the sign on the door said “business special class room” you know you’re in trouble. Our neighbours had been partying at the nextdoor bar (the one with too many neon bar signs in the window), were up until 3 so we didn’t sleep. In the morning we had a self-serve continental breakfast which we ate, gratefully, despite the sogginess of the make-your-own waffle and the wateriness of the from-last-night coffee.
We were shuttled to the airport by a surly man with some kind of problem driving – no matter the roadway, he could make you feel unsafe. Our luggage was escorted by a cheery gentleman with a graduate degree and an airport uniform, chatty the whole time and helpful in guiding us. HIs brother has dual citizenship, he says, lives in KOE-QUIT-LAM. Sings the Canadian anthem going north and the Star Spangled Banner going south. His unexpected and unasked-for helpfulness leads to the inevitable hissing whispered discussion “what do we tip? do we tip? how much?” “I don’t know!!” and still, have no idea if we did tip him.
The Flight Was Long and Turbulent. Literally. Our landing was actually frightening as we bounced and skidded and tilted our rollicking way down the runway until screeching to a stop. There was a communal peal of terrified laughter, fading down into a sigh of relief.
Once in Maui, we’ve met surly Transport Authority People, bitchy car rental receptionists, monosyllabic car rental service teenagers, and grumpy security officers. It appeared that no one who lives here is actually HAPPY, until we stopped in at starbucks for a much-needed iced coffee. There two tanned and mellow, hairy boys who love to surf and look like they could be from tofino or long beach or anywhere but here, let us take how much time we wanted, made nice coffee for us and were the soul of an island welcome. Hopefully a sign of things to come.
We are staying in a two-bedroom and loft condo close to the beach – it’s lovely, just what you’d expect from a place like this. Bamboo furniture and occasional lamps, large pineapple shaped cookie jar in the centre of glass-topped bamboo table. The prices of fruits and vegetables here is appalling. A small head of romaine is 2.19. An english cucumber??? a luxury item at 3.19. The per pound cost of nectarines is 3.00. In fact everything is incredibly costly. But the barbecued chicken is barbecued in soy sauce honey and ginger and still costs 5.99, same as at superstore. There’s some gorgeous specialty sauces I want to try, too. The price of internet is criminal, so my computer searches for wireless and every couple seconds gets 1 bar of wireless access. Hey, it’s enough to copy and paste the blog entry in.
The last note before I pass out to sleep is this: we open Ember’s bag and get a cute note inside from the Transportation Security Authority, that HER bag was chosen for a random check. Fell over laughing at the sight of MMMM Cookies and fairy bear and all the KID stuff they opened and looked at. Imagined the TSA officers sitting around for storytime.
Travelling here we’ve been grateful at every tiny pittance we receive, from the 1/4 cup oversalted pretzels and single cup serving of cola, to the dry bun turkey sandwich and oreo cookies, to Hawaiian Air actually unfolding our stroller for us at the gate so upon departure, we could drop our twisting, grumpy, crying baby into it and she could ride along without too much trouble. hopefully the rest of the trip we’ll get larger servings of luck. 
