Aloha Maui

I went to Maui in September to celebrate the union of my friend Ken and his husband Brian. Ken & Brian recently had become registered domestic partners in their home state of Washington, and decided to get "Mauied" in the beautiful Aloha State. The ceremony took place at the amazingly picturesque Keali'i Nui Botannical Gardens, on Maui's North Shore, near the town of Haiku, at the beginning of the road to Hana. Their son, Brandon, was in attendance as was Ken's brother Steve and sister-in-law Kim.

After the ceremony we had an awesome lunch at Mama's Fish House, also on the North Shore. It was a "taste of old Polynesia" and the food and atmosphere were superb. Brian treated us, which made it even more delicious. I had their Maui Onion Soup and a Grilled Wild Ahi and smoked bacon sandwich on cheddar cheese focaccia, served with Molokai sweet potato fries. The others (except Brandon, who's allergic to nuts and had a steak) had Mahimahi (caught along the north shore of Maui) stuffed with Lobster, Crab, Maui onion, and baked in a macadamia nut crust. It got rave reviews!

That night, we did the traditional Hawaiian Luau at the Waikapu Village Luau, nestled below the West Maui mountains. (It was Brian's treat again- how generous!)

It was my 2nd luau, and although there is a pretty specific pattern that these festivities follow, I thought this one was very enjoyable. They take you on a short tram ride through some gardens of traditional Hawaiian crops, show you how to open a coconut the old-school way, and present to you traditional games similar to checkers, lawn bowling and ball-in-a-cup. Then they unearth the beast, which is done during a narration of the fabled creation of Maui. There's a quick audience-participation hula lesson, and then it's off to the auditorium for the eat-til-you're-satisfied buffet and folklore show, complete with authentic oli (chant), na mele (songs), and hula (dance.)

Molokini

The rest of the gang had activities planned for each day of the week, but since I was on an over-extended credit budget, I opted out of them, save one. On Sunday, the 6 of us did the Molokini snorkel excursion. Molokini is a small, half-sunken volcano crater just off the coast of Maui. One of the coolest aspects of visiting Maui is the dynamic off-shore geography. Standing on Maui's south shore, you can see islands all around you. Behind you stands Haleakala, towering 10,023 ft/3,055 m above the sea and almost 30,000 ft/9,144 m above the ocean floor. When you look out toward Molokini, you can see the closed-to-the-public, former bombing range of Kaho'olawe behind it. As you pan west/northwest, David Murdock's "Pineapple Island" Lana'i comes into view, and if you keep panning around, you come to the 5,000 ft/1,524 m west Maui mountain. I've posted a small video of this panoramic view from the boat as we reached Molokini. I love saying "Molokini", it makes me feel like I know something special... "Yes, we did go to Molokini..." Molokini Molokini Molokini.

My only other "snorkeling in the ocean" trip was in the Florida keys, at John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo. There, the ocean was warmer and the background a little more colorful, and shallower. The fish were amazing in both places- colorful and plentiful. I saw 2 small white-tipped sharks at Molokini. Both trips are like swimming in a large tropical aquarium. I feel something magical about the Pacific, but I can't really say either one was better; they're both awesome places to snorkel. After Molokini, the ship traveled to another spot closer to shore that's known to be a sea turtle hangout. Sure enough, we saw plenty turtles, although they usually swam away from the large groups of people ogling them. I found one that was trying to hide on the bottom, having wedged himself halfway under part of the reef there. I was surprised at how long they can stay under water when they're chillaxing. When they're swimming, they come up for air every couple minutes or so.

The trip was $90 and included your snorkeling gear (snorkel, mask & fins), a continental breakfast, a cheeseburger plate lunch, and they served some alcohol on the way back into the harbor. I paid an extra $10 for a wet suit top. I'm glad I did because it helped me stay in the water for the full time allotted (an hour each at 2 different spots) without freezing my nips off. The water was about 75 f/24 c and I'm spoiled by Fort Lauderdale's 88 f/31 c deliciousness. The trip was about 5 hours total; we had to be at the harbor at 7:30am and finished around 1pm.

The pics didn't turn out as spectacularly as I had hoped. My underwater photography skills are still in the "suck" stage. Plus, I skimped on the camera and didn't get one with a flash. In hindsight, I would have spent the $40 to rent the tour company's supah dupah underwater digital sweetness with flash. You can take hundreds of pics and they burn them on a disc for you right there. If you buy 2 regular underwater cameras for around $15 and factor in the developing costs, it's a great deal to just take their rental.

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LITTLE BEACH SUNDAY DRUM CIRCLE



Cool aerial view of Little Beach (left) and Big Beach (right) courtesy of DiscoveringHawaii.com

After the snorkeling tour, I decided to go to the beach and check out the Sunday "Drum Circle" party that I had heard about from a girl at the condo swimming pool. She had mentioned a 500 or 600 person party on the clothing optional "Little Beach" (Pu'u Ola'i Beach). I decided to investigate more closely, and sure enough - there was a party there. There were definitely a couple hundred people, and it seemed like a huge event in comparison to Big Beach, which was nearly empty at that point. Once I walked over the rocks from Big Beach, it was like entering the set of a beach party movie. There were people all over the place- playing ball, drinking, smoking weed, playing drums, dancing and letting it all hang out. Ha ha ha. Actually, there were only a handful (urrgh!) of people there who were naked. There was no sexual vibe in the air, there were kids present; everyone just seemed to be happy, happy, happy. It was more like a hippy atmosphere; it reminded me of the parking lot after a Dead show. I went back on the weekdays and then most of the poeple were in the buff, and the beach was much less crowded.

But really, there was an incredible energy that I can't even begin to describe. And about 30 minutes before the sun set, it came out behind the clouds and lit the place up. You could feel the ecstasy among the poeple. It got to me too, and so I tore off my swimsuit and jumped in the cool water. I felt high and hadn't smoked a thing. Ok, I had smoked a little bit, but it was really the energy of the place and not the couple hits of weed that I had sponged off of some nice guys from Mexico City sitting next to me. Once I smelled that they were smoking weed I busted out my best "Que huele tan bueno aqui?" and they passed me their pipe. Ahhhh...Maui..... This was one of those perfect moments that you just can't plan for on any vacation. (Although if I'm ever in Maui again, I'll definitely be planning for this.)

There was a group of people playing drums and dancing in the center of the beach. After the sun set, they lit some torches and big flaming hula hoops and put on a pretty cool little show. I was thrilled to find something so fun that didn't cost $100. I was a little scared for the keiki (child) doing the flaming hula hoop but her mom was nearby and watching her closely. It seemed like they were used to it.

Haleakala Ku Hanohano

It means "Haleakala Stands Glorious"; and that it does. Haleakala or "House of the Sun" is Maui's larger, eastern volcano , which stands 10,023 feet (3,055 m) above sea level and comprises 75% of the island. According the this cool USGS site about Hawaii's volcanoes, Haleakala erupted from about a million years ago up until 1790. They say there's a chance that it'll erupt again, although the placards at the top said it was inactive.

This was my second visit up there. I found it very pleasant with only a local Hawaiian music radio station for company. The wedding party was on their horseback riding adventure, and although they had a bike ride down the mountain scheduled, I opted to do the complete trip by car.

The drive to the top take about 2 hours total from where were stayed in Kihei, on the south coast. There's a national park up there, and the $10 fee is good for 3 days total. Along the way, you travel through farmland, woodland and up into mountainous terrain. According to the National Park site, "You pass through as many ecological zones on a two hour drive to the summit of the mountain in Haleakala National Park as you would on a journey from Mexico to Canada." You'll pass through pretty dense fog, mist or just plain rain and into much cooler temps. If you go up to see the sun rise, you should definitely take a jacket or pullover, it'll be chilly. Be careful driving, as the road zig zags up the mountain for much of the drive, and there are bicycle tours coming down, so you have to share the road.

The view from the top is spectacular if you catch it on a clear day, which can be hit or miss. There's also a cute garden of ahinahina (Silversword), a plant which grows only at the top of Haleakala. It looks like I caught it just after its blooms were done.

The crater, which looks plenty volcanic to me with it's many cinder cones, was apparently formed by erosion and not by a large volcanic explosion. It's an awe-inspiring view.

I wanted an updated pic of me with Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (the two highest volcano peaks on the big island of Hawai'i) behind me. The first time I was on Maui, Ken took a great shot of me and the peaks peaks poking up through the clouds about 100 miles away, but this time they were obscured by clouds. Here's the photo from the 1995 visit; it's one of my favorite pics evah. Maybe it' s for the best, my crow's feet were much calmer at 27 than they are at 39.