Day 4 - Maui - The Valley Isle
Wednesday - 2/24/99
Our flight to Maui was routed through Honolulu, Oahu. A short 15 minute flight, then another 25 minutes to Maui. Lisa laughed when she saw the color the the Sebring from Dollar Rental. "Frog" green, according to her description. I felt a sense of panic as we drove out of the airport. The exit dropped us onto a busy highway and I felt like we were in California. Cars, trucks, buses, rude drivers and traffic lights everywhere! Oh, NO! Please tell me Maui isn't like this. (It wasn't!)

Within 10 minutes the road opened into Highway 30 and the traffic eased. It still reminded me of California, but now it was more reminiscent of the Pacific Coast Highway. We hugged the ocean on the left and mountains on our right. It took about forty minutes to get to the Sheraton Maui Resort in the west coast Kaanapali resort area. BEAUTIFUL! We had asked the concierge in Kauai to call ahead to see if our free upgrade was available, but didn't know the answer until we walked into our room. We were upgraded to an ocean view room. It was spacious and beautifully furnished.

The view from our room:

We unpacked and headed straight for the ocean. It was calm and warm. Lisa had a grilled tuna steak sandwich at the open grill and I enjoyed one of their hefty cheeseburgers.

A quick shower after our swim and then we went into the nearby town of Lahaina. It's a bustling historic town with a variety of restaurants, shops, tourist trap stores, fine art galleries, and a Japanese Temple. The narrow main street runs along the waterfront and was very busy with both pedestrians and cars. Although there were some interesting restaurants, we couldn't resist eating a late dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Mahvelous! We strolled along the street while we waited for our table to be ready (We had no reservations.), and didn't eat until after 9pm. We returned to the hotel at 11:30 and went right to bed to be rested for our whale watch/snorkeling cruise in the morning.

Day 5 - Maui - Thursday 2/25
We rose before dawn and headed back towards the airport to Maalaea Bay harbor. We boarded the Navatek II when the first mate signaled with his conch shell call. We had to stay seated inside the dining area while the hi-tech boat (holds 150 people) maneuvered out of the shallow harbor. Once we hit open water the hydrofoil fins made for very smooth sailing. We feasted on a fill breakfast of Belgian waffles, pancakes, fruits, juices, and coffee. the big galley was busy all day. We were only on board fifteen minutes when we saw the first humpback whales breaching off the starboard side. It was the first of 44 whales we would see that day! The closest one was just 30 yards off the port side. Incredible! We would see 3 or 4 in a pod. Some moms with their babies, too.

There was a lot going on aboard the boat as we made our way to Lana'i to snorkel. The mates told stories about the legends and history of Maui, a marine biologist prepared us for what the underwater life is like in the area, a massage therapist gave 15 minute mini-massages, and a crew member gave brief lessons in SNUBA diving - a combination of SCUBA and snorkeling. With whales playing in the distance, we arrived at the snorkeling cove and dove into the clear warm water. Although there wasn't the variety of fish I've seen in the Caribbean, it was fun to have the friendly fish come up so close to us.

We ate a hearty lunch of grilled chicken, burgers, salads, Maui style potato chips, beer and mai-tais. Fresh pineapple and warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies followed for dessert. The ride back to the harbor brought more exciting whale sightings, and schools of bottle nose and spotted dolphins rode our bow waves for 10 minutes. Flying fish were swimming along with us, too. We were all yelling with delight at all the activity around us!

We took a short nap, refreshed our sun-burned and tired bodies and went down to the beach. The poolside show was just starting and featured a Hawaiian band and hula girls.

Sunset show at poolside:

We watched the ceremonial lighting of the Tiki torches all around the hotel. The torchbearer continued running up the beach, lit the torches leading up the cliff to Black Rock, and then, after tossing the torch and a lei into the water, dove 30 feet down into the water, just as the sun set behind the mountains of Molokai. The photo of the actual dive didn't come out because he blended in with the rocks.

The torchlighting:

Torchlighting:

Preparing for the dive:

A couple that had just been married paused for a romantic moment on the beach at sunset.

One of the three wedding couples we saw on Maui

This Sheraton has another good Japanese restaurant. More good sushi!

I mistakenly reported that we had shared our table in Kauai, but it was at this one that we met the couple from Boston with their two little girls.

I had a beautiful salad of Maui's up-country greens and prawns with pineapple and... NO dessert tonight! What a great day! Bedtime.

Day 6 - Maui - The Road to Hana