Aloha!

Our Hawaiian adventure has, sadly, come to an end.


Above: Germaine's Luau

Our last days on Maui, we rented a car and tried to make it as far as we could around the island on the beautiful Hana Hwy. We drove the one-lane curvy roads up into the mountains to see some amazing sights. We got sprayed by the blowhole at Nakalele Point, saw the Iao Needle (a natural rock pinnacle), dove into the Olivine Pools, tried to "World's Best" banana bread, walked at nightfall on a black sand beach, and accidentally wandered through a pineapple farm. Check out the photos below.

*My favorite* The rain was pouring down, and Michael and I discovered a secluded waterfall and pool off the road. We were the only ones there; it was like a scene from a movie. I swam under the waterfall, which was something I've always wanted to do. I'll never forget how freaking amazing that was.




We took the new superferry from Maui to Oahu. I took too much Dramamine and slept the entire way. We stayed on Waikiki Beach, and I got one last chance to sunbathe. As you can see below, Michael and I learned to surf while starring in a commercial for urinary incontinence.




We drove to Pearl Harbor our last day. Below you can see a battleship anchor, Michael playing in a submarine, and a one-man suicide torpedo. Afterwards, we made it to a luau. Finally. There was a fair amount of cheesiness involved, but we got some great kalua pig, saw some impressive fire twirling, and I got on stage and learned the hula. All-in-all, quite a fun time. And Michael gave me fresh flower lei, made of orchids, which smelled wonderful. We got upgraded to first class on the flight back! Bigger seats. Free drinks.




My conclusion?
I knew nothing about Hawaii when I went. Turns out, there is SO much more to do than just chill on a pretty beach. The highlights of my trip: watching lava spurt out of an active volcano, being above the clouds at the top of Mauna Kea, 4WD-ing over lava rocks to the green sand beach, visiting creepy sites where there were no other tourists, jumping into the olivine pools, and, of course, swimming under my secret waterfall.

So when I think of Hawaii now, I will think of swimming alongside beautiful fish and sea turtles, hiking down lava rocks, seeing shooting stars in the perfectly clear night sky, being completely frustrated trying to catch the unpredictable bus on the Big Island, driving through the strange, ever-changing landscapes, eating delicious lilikoi fruits on our plantation, seeing lots of shirtless men in the grocery stores, and getting lost with Michael on all our mini-adventures.

Aloha.

Maui Wowee

Maui. The more loungin' and beachin' section of the trip. I spend my days working on my laptop and playing in the ocean and my nights jogging around the neighborhood and going out to bars. We are living in Kihei, a lively beach town. I miss the remoteness and excitement of getting around the Big Island, but it's nice to be able to walk down the street and see stretches of long, white sand beaches and lines of bars and restaurants. I bought a ukulele the other day. So far I've only learned to play the version of "Tonight, You Belong to Me" from The Jerk.



The buses are only $1 and run pretty frequently here. One day we rode down to Waimea, where the richies summer. We walked around the ritzy shops and baked on the crowded resort beach (pictured above). Another day we went to Ulua Beach, which is supposed to have some great snorkeling. It was the farthest out in the ocean I'd been swimming. I saw some really long and skinny, eel-like fish that I followed around. Then I got creeped out thinking of sharks and swam back in.



(Above) Mikey and I drinking some cocktails at this bar listening to the music of our Hawaiian friend who performs there.



Another day, we took some buses up to Lahaina, an old whaling town, and walked around. There are tons of shops and galleries there with crazy expensive art from a lot of famous artists. Apparently, Sir Anthony Hopkins is now an artist, and we saw his stuff in one gallery. We walked into a beautiful Catholic church (above) and sat in Banyan Tree Park, made from a huge winding Banyan tree (above).



Above: Me, posing with a tiki man in a Kihei shopping center

We only have little over a week left in Maui before we take a ferry back to Oahu. We're going to rent a car our last days here and drive around the entire island. Check back soon ...



Above: Michael's burger incident at his no longer favorite restaurant, Lulu's.