Mahalo Means Thank You
5Jan2004 Filed under: Trip OutHappy New Year from Kauai.
Quick summary: Maui was basically a total wash. It rained the whole time we were there (made the front page of the paper in Honolulu it was such a massive storm), I got the flu and spent three days a shivering feverish mess, I watched 11+ hours of VH1’s “I Love The 80s.” We were staying in Kihei, which our guide book describes as “a poorly-designed combination of strip-malls and condominiums that most outdoorsy types will find quite depressing.” The book was right. It’s best we don’t talk of Maui…it makes my fever-skin come back.
Kauai on the other hand has been a small slice of heaven. Andreas and I seem to have gotten stuck on the north shore, hiking a leg of the Ne Pali coast, doing an early morning walk up to a waterfall before most hikers were out of their sleeping bags, crowing at moa (the wild chicken that are everywhere here), hanging out in Hanalei (which we can’t seem to leave), sleeping on Anini beach under an almost full moon, kayaking the Hanalei river, going for a snorkle in Princetown, shoveling shave ice into our mouths under palm trees.
Aside: snorkling was hard for me at first. My brain simply couldn’t deal with the fact that my face was underwater and I could still breath. It took me 20 minutes of practicing before I was able to go under without hyperventilating feeling like I was going to die. I had to hold onto the snorkle to remind myself, “yes, see? we can breath just fine!” Once I got over my lung-crushing terror, it was really fun. My favorite was the coronet fish.
As an Island native, I have this to say: YES TO ISLAND LIFE!
Also: BEST ANNIVERSARY TRIP EVER!
And finally: Maui was like the penance we had to pay to get to the heaven on earth that is Kauai. MAHALO MAUI FOR GETTING US HERE!
[Y'all probably won't here from me again until Thursday, when I'll be back home. I'll have more pictures than you have the patience to see online by next week.]
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7 Responses to “Mahalo Means Thank You”
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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Jason
January 5th, 2004 at 11:48 pm
Howzabout some moblog to tide us over?
Juraj
January 6th, 2004 at 1:00 am
We went to Kauai in June 2001 and absolutely loved it. What an island paradise!
P.S. We stayed in the south, at Poipu beach: http://kauai.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml
Maggie
January 6th, 2004 at 8:52 am
Mmm, glad to know Kauai is treating you well. Your description of Maui-as-penance reminds me of a trip to Hawaii B & I took several years ago.
The first week was spent with my entire family under the auspices of my Dad’s 70th birthday. The location was to-die-for (two houses side-by-side on the beach of Kailua, the quiet side of Oahu) but barely made up for having to spend time with my terribly close-minded Bible-thumping brother and perenially emotionally dysfunctional sister. There were occasions when B was driven to tears, he had never seen such emotional muck in a family before. Bleeaaah.
The first week of penance, as you say, gave way to a gorgeous second week in the tropical forest of the Big Island, where we stayed with some (thankfully) mellow friends and slept in a hale surrounded by lush greenery everywhere. I remember thinking how lucky we were that we had not planned our trip the other way around, with the family part as follow-up.
Safe journey home to you both.
Jayme
January 6th, 2004 at 4:45 pm
Oh! I’m being overcome with nostaligia. I spent summers in Hanalei Bay when I was a kid - we lived on a boat on Oahu and in the summers, we sailed out to Kauai and anchored in the bay. Some of my best childhood memories live there. I can’t wait to see your pictures! I’m glad you discovered it. It really is heaven on earth, isn’t it?!
Carole
January 7th, 2004 at 3:59 am
Ariel, if you have time, take a boat trip along the Napali coast — it’s spectacular! We were there in November and loved every moment, really feeling a visceral connection with the island. If you’re interested, I’ve got stories and many pics on my web site: http://www.randomviews.com/Hawaii/HWStart.html
p.s. I had the same problem when snorkeling as you.
p.p.s. On a trip 11 years earlier we stayed in Kihei — I think at the same condo complex you were in judging by your picture. I can only imagine how much more congested it is today …
Ariel
January 7th, 2004 at 10:12 am
Sorry for the relative lack of moblog shots, Jason…we were completely out of cell service on the north end of Kauai, so no moblogging from there! I’ve posted a few from last night, though. TODAY: home to Seattle, first via Portland. Apparently it snowed while I was gone?
elisa
January 8th, 2004 at 4:52 pm
Ah yes, I relate to the “This is Hawaii?” surprise. Last year I went to the Big Island, expecting palm trees and great beaches and instead discovered IT IS A GIANT LAVA ROCK! Locals are so bored they spell things with white boulders on all the lava. It was a great trip as soon as I just needed to realize that instead of “paradise” I was on a vacation to the moon. I brought back a moon rock for memories sake.