Last fall our good friends Gary and Diane, invited us to go to Maui with them and stay in their timeshare condo. Not wanting to pass up the offer of free lodging, we jumped at the chance. In exchange we agreed to pay for the rental car, not really an equal exchange, but hey, they invited us. With the plane tickets purchased we were all ready to go. At the last minute, an illness prevented Gary and Diane from going, but they insisted that we go without them.
The six hour flight was a breeze, having upgraded to first class at the last minute. After two unsuccessful attempts at getting a rental call that was non-smoking, the third time was a charm. We arrived at Kahana Beach Resort, our home for the next week, and got settled into our condo. (Or should I say Gary and Diane's condo) Our unit was on the third floor and right on the beach. When I say right on the beach, I mean right on the beach or about 20 feet as the crow flies. At high tide, the waves hit the sea wall that surrounds the building. Our lanai overlooks the beach and one can see the Humpback Whales passing by off shore. We left the sliding glass door open each night and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.
In traveling around the island, we often saw abandoned and stripped cars like this one. They are all over the place, and there is no apparent effort to remove them. I asked one local why this was and I was told that there is no place to put them. People remove the vin number and abandoned them. The police apparently do nothing to find the owners or to remove them from the sides of the highways, or in this case a scenic view point.
Each morning before breakfast we would take our rented mask, snorkel and fins and hit the local beaches. We were told morning was best for snorkeling as the water is calm and clear. We saw all kinds of colorful fish and coral, but the highlight was to watch the sea turtles. I was able to follow one for about twenty minutes as it ate seaweed. (yum) About every five minutes or so it would come to the surface for a breath of air right next to me. I'm pretty sure it was checking me out each time it surfaced, but it never seemed afraid. The rest of the day was spent laying around and doing pretty much as little as possible. We did manage to drive the road to Hana, which if you come to Maui, everyone must do. We were here in 1980, and the road is much improved and not really as bad as it was back then.
While in the Hana area, we wanted to hike up the Ohe'o Gulch to view the seven pools and waterfalls. We were disappointed to discover that although some of the pools contained water, there was no water over any of the falls, due to a dry winter.
On of the highlights of the trip was a magic show we saw. Called Warren and Annabelles the Warren part was worth the price of admission. The Annabelle part was pretty lame. You are told that the show starts at 5 pm, but having been warned, we arrived about an hour late. The first two hours of the show are spent in Annabelle's parlor where you can order expensive and bad food. About 6 pm, Annabelle shows up. Well not really because she's a ghost. With the assistance of a hostess, who sings poorly, Annabelle plays the piano while the singer sings. We are told Annabelle takes requests, but as it turns out, she didn't know any of the requested songs. So you sit there and listen to a player piano, and a bad singer for the next hour. The funny thing was, when the singer wasn't singing and it was just Annabelle, people would applaud at the end of a selection. They were applauding a player piano!
For the Warren part of the show, you are ushered into a small theater where Warren, a real person does his magic. I won't give anything away, but he is good and funny, and worth it even if you have to put up with Annabelle.
MAUI SUNSET
We saw seven of these great sunsets, this one taken from our condo.
After a week of great snorkeling, restful nights, and way too much food it was time to return home. We were thankful that Gary and Diane invited us, but sad they couldn't be there to enjoy it with us. There will be a next time.
