Maui Overture

I didn’t know I could laugh underwater.

We (Michael, the girls, and myself) returned from Maui last week, and it’s going to be hard not to sound overly poetic when I write of it. I keep thinking of discoveries like the one above, and how I often found myself running for no good reason except that it felt good. (I don’t like to run normally, so this is pretty miraculous.)

But Maui is poetry, at least to a first-time visitor like me, and I’m sure I will use trite, clichéd words and phrases to describe it. In a way, visiting Maui is like falling in love for the first time -- every person feels it uniquely and I’m certain Maui never existed until I arrived. So I’m compelled to write love poems to it. I miss it already and each day I scheme to return.

Yes, I’m in love.

Maui is magical, too. So magical in fact, that now that I’ve left it, I almost completely forgot that there were rough times, too. Times when I thought I hate this grumpy, whiny family! Times when I thought, It’s too late to enforce super-nanny discipline -- I’m certainly not going to follow-through on any threat to leave! and Are we EVER going to relax? Shaka, shaka! (Shaka is the “hang-loose” sign surfers and Hawaiians flash to one another. At times I found myself flashing it desperately.)

But that’s how it goes with family, sometimes. Like most families, I suppose we have a little of the Griswold’s in us and like Clark, most of our problems revolved around control issues and unrealistic expectations. But it’s hard not to be a little unrealistic when you’re in Maui. We were in paradise, so we wanted to be as perfect as our surroundings. But it’s hard to be perfect in paradise and our imperfections stood out like bleached white coral in a sea of dead, black lava. (Well, that makes us sound pretty good, actually. See how magical Maui can be?)

Besides magical, Maui is ... what? A beautiful island in the Pacific? Home of warm beaches and fire dancers? A lush paradise? Windy? As I sit here at home, perhaps the best way to describe it is not with my fingers but with my feelings. It’s a faraway look; a wistful smile while I sit at my desk; a new fondness for Plumeria flowers and pineapple juice. It’s running joyfully through a forest, spotting rainbows on sunny days, and anticipating our next adventure.

Sigh.

Since I can’t seem to contain it all at once, I will attack my memory in pieces. Over the next few days/weeks I will write about specific parts of our trip in order to write more thoughtfully about each aspect of it -- the weather, the water, the food, the craft. But first, in order to put everything in context, I’ll begin with broad, sweeping strokes and present a very brief outline of our itinerary, for now eliminating all of the colorful details in between:

Day 1: Flew to Hawaii and drove to a condo at Kamaole Sands in Kihei where we stayed the first four nights.

Day 2: Woke up early and drove most of the Road to Hana; Hiked in a windy, "mysterious" forest; Got muddy; Waited for a peacock to cross the road; Fed feral cats and chickens; Made spaghetti for dinner.

Day 3: Spent the morning at the beach; Beach-hopped south through Makena; Drank (free) Mai-Tais by the pool.

Day 4: Spent the morning at another beach; Made a sand castle; Beach-hopped further south through Makena to La Perouse Bay; Visited a dead lava field and dodged a blowhole; Ate dinner at The (Fabulous) Grand Wailea Resort.

Day 5: Drove North through Lahaina to Ka’anapali by way of the Iao Valley State Park; Mike and Lizzy swam in a stream; Samantha climbed a rock; Saw our first big rainbow; Checked in at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel (“The Most Hawaiian Hotel”).

Day 6: Swam in the pool in the morning; Made Leis in the afternoon with our hands and toes; Went to a Luau for dinner; Learned how to hula; Discovered a nighttime rainbow.

Day 7: Took a Lau Printing class in the morning with the girls while Michael snorkeled; I snorkeled for the first time (life-changing); Drove North to Nakalele Point in the afternoon; Girls made a castle out of rocks; Followed a wandering rooster and discovered an enchanted forest; Ate dinner at The Whaler’s Village; Watched geckos wriggle on the ceiling of the restaurant.

Day 8: Received a farewell song and Kukui Nut Lei from our hotel; Flew back to San Diego; Looked out the airplane window; Sighed; Have sighed ever since.

Of course, there’s all the stuff in-between -- all those wonderful little details to ponder. But until then, I’m going to make our 2008 Hawaii Family Calendar (who cares if it’s already April!) while the girls continue to work on their Hula and Fire-Dance routine.

Aloha!