The End is Near

I am sitting at Starbucks in Kihei enjoying one last cup of coffee here on the islands.  Lori found room in one of her bags and is at ABC to buy last minute gifts.  We have had a wonderful time here on Maui and even though my attention span wains after a couple days, I have no desire to go back to the wind and rain.  I try to make the best of it by dreaming of our next trip.  We will most certainly be back in the not so near future as retirement looms and finances will dictate our travels.

With the Falls back in the hood, we were back to being tour guides.  We learned the pool reopened and all was good.   On Friday, we took a drive around the top of the island and headed for Lahaina for lunch.  Lorens sister is here and wanted to meet up with friends and family for lunch.  We went to Bubba Gumps and had a great time.  We had driven the top loop coming out above Kannapali.  Gwen was told about an area called Dragons tooth and we finally located the beach area near a swanky resort.  Very upper crust people in this area.  Just as we got to the beach, a rain shower shower came through cutting our stay short.. After lunch, it was a race to see how many shops we could go in and look at the same stuff.  We regrouped and with tired eyes, we headed back to our condo.  We all decided on pizza and had seen a Pizza Hut in town.  Of course the GPS could not locate it and as we drove around, we could not locate it.  We gave up and went to Round table.  It turned out to be a very good decision as they had a good salad bar and excellent pizza.  Back to the condo and we all layed around.

Lori and I were asked to go with Jeff and Monica to Warren and Annebelles Magic show in Lahaina on Saturday night Magic Show.  Loren and Gwen were goofing off celebrating Gwens Birthday and we left them the car keys.  Jeff and Monica picked us up and we were off for what promised to be a fun evening.  As soon as we got there, we were seated in a parlor style area and served great finger foods and drinks.  Soon it was off to the theater and a very funny and entertaining.  We laughed so much, it hurt at times.  If you go to the island, this is a must do event.  Click on the link above for more information.  We headed back and learned Loren took Gwen out for a nice dinner at The Outback.  It good to see the kids spread their wings and wander away from the nest!

Sunday morning was a mixed bag as Lori and I were sad to see our friends go. They were here for 7 days and today was go home day for them.  We had some great times and enjoyed playing tour guides.  It was nice to at least see them off with a smile in their now tanned faces! 

We stopped for coffee and lunch and headed back to just hang out.  It was quiet in the condo that night and seemed not right that they had to leave us so soon.

Monday met us with warm temps and low winds.  The news was warning us that ash clouds from Indonesia were drifting through and to be careful.  We could see the haze as the day went on, but felt no problems from the drifting ash.  I got a hair up my butt and felt I needed to go snorkeling.  We rented gear, made a lunch and headed for Makena Beach landing.  Once there, I spent a few hours snorkeling and was told there were turtles off the shore several hundred yards away from our beach.  I could see it and make the trek across the lagoon.  I had to be careful as I spotted a Greenpeace boat monitoring my every movement.  I felt as though if I got close to shore, they would try to prevent me from beaching myself!  I made it to this wonderful reef and saw tons of fish, but no turtles.  I was pretty tired and went to the beach and walked back down the road to Lori.  We ended the day in the pool and a late dinner.

Tuesday morning, I remembered Candi from work tell us about the Gazebo cafe up near Kannapali.  We made the drive and were treated to wonderful food and scenery.  We went down to the lava flow and found seevral tidal pools, teaming with life.  In one, a lady pointed out she had seen a eel but it went under a rock.  About this time as if posing for photo ops, it came out and cooperated for several pics.  Then we heard what we have been waiting for all trip.  A turtles sighting, just around the corner!.  It was reported that several large sea turtles were in the area and we could see them.  It was quite a hike on the lava, but soon we were treated to a wonderful show of turtle swimming with  swimmers and snorkelers.  We stayed for quite a while and finally worked our way south to the condo.  It was Lori's birthday and I needed to find a nice place to have a romantic dinnr on the beach.  I checked the internet and found Sorento's on the Beach.  I made a reservation and after a beautiful sunset, we headed to Wailea for dinner.  It was a five star location with great food and wine.  Everything was perfect with the light breeze, a good wine and a moonlit ocean to ponder.  As we left, I needed to use the bathroom.  I headed into a very posh and clean room.  As I washed my hands, I was amazed to see they had these little Italian candies in a dish near the sink.  I thought, why not and tried one.  I blew soap bubbles till 3 am.

Time to wrap up for now.  Lori just got here from shopping and we have a logistical problem to fix.  Aloha from Maui!

Footnote:

We made it home safe and cold from the crummy weather.  Time to get back to reality and dream of our next adventure..Aloha and Mahalo from Maui