MaUI Waui

The magic of Maui starts while looking out the airplane window on approach to Kahului airport where you can see the Windex-blue water turn turquoise and finally clear with white foam as the waves come up upon the sandy beaches or splash against the steep, rocky cliffs.

Once landed, the smell of fresh lavender, mixed with jet fuel, gives your senses a treat as you walk from the gate to baggage claim along the open walkway. And like Maui Waui, a possible urban legend that was around when I was a kid that referred to some really potent marijuana that I never got to sample, Maui will fill up your senses – especially if you can lift you mind out of cell phones and technology, job and family issues, and just get high on paradise.

I’m not saying there’s no place in the world that this would happen but the first morning, while running on Kanaha Beach with my daughter, we came across these gigantic green sea turtles sunning themselves in the sand. At first they just looked like big black boulders on the beach. I noticed what looked like small bulldozer tracks but then realized that these tracks are from the turtles as they crawl onshore. We spent several minutes looking at the turtles while they just laid there with their flippers flat on the sand and heads out of their shells.

On the same beach later that morning with the entire family, I noticed what looked to be under-employed locals laying on the beach tanning their already extremely darkly-tanned bodies. The thought occurred to me that it probably wouldn’t be too bad of a life style to quit corporate American and just hang out at the beach all day, everyday.

Driving east to Paia, where we went for the fish lunch before heading to Haleakala, I gave $1.00 to the parking lot flutist for helping coordinating a parking spot. He looked at me through sun and drugged-soaked eyes and said “Have a beautiful day”.

For the most part, Maui drowns your senses with blue ocean waves, mountains, and lush tropical vegetation, that’s why the multi-colored, moon-surface like crater of Haleakala is so jarring. When you first see it, it’s like a big explosion happening in your brain. It’s like your senses didn’t expect a landscape that was so different than what you’ve seen since arriving in Maui.

While the road leading up to Haleakala is winding, it’s nothing compared to the Road to Hana. We endured the winding and often treacherous and contentious single-lane bridges where we took several “Instagram” worthy photos of waterfalls and beaches, which are arguably a few of the world’s most beautiful tourist spots and Maui’s most precious treasures.

Across from Wailea where we were staying you can see what looks like a mountain island which is Lanai. We signed up for a tour of Lanai which included a catamaran ride over to the island, snorkeling, and lunch. On the way over we starting seeing some dolphins and then more and more. Pretty soon it was like we were in dolphin infested waters. The dolphins started jumping out of the water and spinning right in front of our boat like they were putting on a show for us. My youngest daughter played “spinner” dolphin while we were snorkeling so the somewhat pricey tour was justified.

My wife and I spent our honeymoon at the Four Seasons on Wailea 26-years ago so it was an emotional experience for us to show our teenage daughters the “hallowed” ground and walk through the hotel lobby where we stayed when we were newlyweds and had our whole lives ahead of us.

We all spent some time on the beach near the Four Seasons on Wailea on one our last days in Maui when one of my favorite experiences of the trip happened. We were all out in the water about 15 feet or so and several sea turtles swam right by us. I figured it must have been the turtles’ afternoon migration from farther up the beach.

This was my 4^th time to Maui and hopefully not the last. Next time back I want to follow my own advice and forget technology and all my other issues that will always be with me and just focus on the magic of Maui.