A Whale, A Sail, A Trail and We Bailed.

My lack of editorials is due to the fact that I have just returned from a long awaited vacation.

After nearly 3 years, the wife and I took our honeymoon. And not just any honeymoon, we took the uber Hawai'i super honeymoon. 2 hour ride to the airport, 10 hours on a plane, 1 hour ride in a car and we are there, The Sheraton Maui.

Let me say, that this was the hotness. Arriving at night allowed us to wake up to a view that was so awe inspiring, that I was in awe, and slightly inspired. So I don't bore you with the details, let me get to some highlights.

We went to the top of a volcano called Haleakala. The tour started at 2:30 AM so that we could see a sunrise. It became abundantly clear to me that there are sunrise people, and then there's me. I didn't get what all the hubbub was about, I mean it happens every day....it would have been something if it didn't happen. Anyway, we got down the mountain via Maui Mountain Cruisers. Riding a bike for 4 hours isn't really my thing, but since there was no peddling, it rocked. To tell you the truth, the scents trumphed the sights on this trip because with each ecosystem we passed through we got a whiff of different flora. It was a smelly day.

We also went snorkeling. Now, I am afraid of the ocean. I once went snorkling in the Florida Keys. Minding my own business, a little tiny fish, couldn't be bigger than a half dollar, was swimming by. I decided I would chase it for a bit. Two or three strokes ahead, I found myself surrounded by 1 million of these little f'kers...apparently you could hear me screaming through the snorkel back on the dock.

This time, I wasn't going to wuss out. And I didn't. I got within 2 feet of a sea turtle, swam with a school of Unicornfish and shared a moment with some hogfish while avoiding the sea urchin. It was pretty specialtime. When your head is deep under water, you could also hear the whales singing.

A couple of days later we took a catamaran to the island of Molokini, which is volcano that collapsed on itself and is now a safe haven for fish and other sea creatures. Snorkeled there to. Meh. But on the way back we saw whales spying, slapping and breaching. See above.

We attended a luau. Frankly, you can skip this. It's neat, but not that neat, and certainly not worth the price. The food is mediocre, and you could really eat well with the money you saved. Not to mention, right next door to each luau is a restaurant with perfect views of said luau. You get my point.

Finally we went on a trip on the Road To Hana. Two bits of advice if you plan on taking that trip:
1) Barfbag if you don't travel well.
2) The CD that everyone suggests you get? Don't. The $17.99 I spent on that pile of crap would have been better spent on a bag of broken glass and a bucket of chum.

In sum: Hawai'i is beautiful, laid back, and can be reasonably priced. The mystique could be lost on someone (like me) who may not appreciate a sunrise, but the water activities and solid dining more than make up for it. The whole trip was a little expensive because of our accommodations, but I only felt like I overpaid about $17.99.

On the way home, I got wicked sick. I'm still getting over it.

Honah Lee ohna lee kahona iee.

Posted by davidissimo  ::  Permalink  ::  Comments [2]  ::