We arrived on Maui late in the day, and with no moon to speak of in the sky it was impossible to see what our view would be from the hotel we'd bargained for on priceline. On the flight over, I had reminded the family that we got a great deal, so we couldn't be picky about the room. It might not have two beds, and it was definitely going to be some "garden" view of a dumpster or the back of a building. We were there for the beauty and joy of the resort itself, so there would be no bitching about the room or so help me God, I'LL TURN THIS PLANE AROUND. When we finally got there, the bellman led us at a sprinter's pace through such a labyrinth of breezeways and stairwells that I really had no idea which direction our room was facing. I had an inkling that we were on the right side of the joint, but I assumed that the dumpster or building would obscure our view. Once we got everyone settled in their respective king sized dream bed or pile of linens on the floor (it's good to be king), I woke frequently throughout the night, and eagerly anticipated the light of morning when I could catch the first glimpse of my beautiful Maui.
view from our lanai - honk if you love priceline |
Bliss! That first morning was so exciting, we couldn't wait to get out into the day and start getting our aloha on. We hadn't had a proper meal since lunch the day before, so we picked up a breakfast menu, but ultimately decided against the $25 omelets and hit the lobby starbucks instead for various coffees and peppermint frothy things and muffins and such. It was the most I've ever spent at a starbucks, including catering. But I digress!
The kids and I were first to get our suits on and head down to the pool and the beach around 9. We came across one of those "today's activities!" signs and I quickly notified my husband and all of facebook that happy hour was from 10:00-11:00 am at the Mai Tai bar! It was hard to wait, but soooo worth it.
Oh... okay. Yes, I'm still talking about mornings in Hawaii. And yes, I'm still on the first day and the post is already long. Get comfy, grab a mai tai. I'm determined to blah blah blahg until I can explain all of photos I haphazardly uploaded.
We spent two nights at the Sheraton, and it was just like a big happy playground for all of us. The room was great, especially for the kings, but we had plenty of open space for various uses like floor beds and bananagrams.
soundtrack: "Mom, is wr a word? Is ue a word? Is xcdrf a word?" |
When we eventually left the hotel, we checked in to the condo that we had rented for the following week and ran right out to the grocery store/beach/bar/I have no idea and suddenly it was time for the ride back across the island to fetch a certain someone from the airport!
Once again, we drove past those breathtaking cliffside Maui views in complete darkness, and once again we settled in to our new digs without a good look at what our view would be, although the sounds of the night were pretty a good hint. The ocean was so loud that my boy asked me to close the patio door so he could sleep (cue ominous and foreboding music).
Once again, it was kinda awesome.
View from my bed. The girl was an intermittent obstacle. |
The only bad thing about our master bedroom was that while it was listed as having a private lanai, as you can clearly see in this next photo, the owners had inexplicably enclosed said lanai for some dumb reason.
I know! Poor me. |
But the whole front of the place was chock full of lanai, and this is where we enjoyed our mornings.
Specifically, it went like this: Mom woke up at the crack of dawn's ass and brought her coffee out to the lanai, which ran the length of her bedroom and the living room where the kids slept. There was a soji-like sliding door to separate the spaces, and mom had her own sliding door. The kids' door was closed (dun dun duuuuun) so Mom could whoop it up out there if she so desired. Eventually, people would start to wake up and make their way out to see what was what and start contemplating the day.
The official pastime of a Hawaiian vacation is to spend an hour paging through 54 free magazine/coupon/calendar things (as mom and my girl are doing above) and then casting them all aside in bewilderment and just doing whatever the hell you feel like doing.
That looks nice, let's go there! |
Aloha! |
Oh, Tenenbaum |
Hey, it's Christmas morning! That looks nice, let's go there.
Hey, our front yard looks nice! Let's go there.
(confession: I just deleted 3 photos that were really just too ridiculously unrelated to anything even remotely resembling this fraying thread of connectivity)
Most mornings in our little slice of Kahana heaven, some of us would take little walkies down on the beach. It was so unbelievably beautiful, and there were always interesting places, people, and things to explore.
Like a rope swing!
The water. The water! Would you just look at that water?! And it's warm. |
Aloha, honu! |
Sea turtles weren't the only majestic aquatic creatures we had a good look at, we went to sea one day and watched humpback whales frolicking with their babies
But wait a minute, wait, wait, wait just a minute.... that was NOT in the morning.
Uncle Merv is just gettin' warmed up....
Wow! Uncle Merv seems to be suffering from a slight case of ADHD! And that's why we all love Uncle Merv. He's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI *love* the photos of your gorgeous peeps. Love the two of your girl and her Grammy walking way down on the beach, and *love* that rope swing. And your boy on Christmas Morn? Perfect.
And I'm beside myself with the breathless anticipation of hearing about the patio door. Oh, wait. Right. Oh, cool -- more photos?
Love this, Jacquie. Love your trip. Dying for more detes.
xxEllie
Oh, Jackie...this is fabulous. I leave in three weeks for an old folks (Road Scholar née elder hostel) two week snorkeling and kayaking trip to Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the big island. You have my mouth watering. However, I don't think me peeps will be drinking in the morning.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had. Such a great time.
Love, Pat
Love all the photos, Jacq/Merv, and can't wait for more! xo P.S. Jealous of your upcoming trip, Pat.
ReplyDeleteLove it, Merv. You rock. (And you make me feel okay about milking one more post from my Mexico photos!)
ReplyDeleteApparenlty Priceline rocks as well -- good to know.
Such an awesome spot to spend Christmas! And so many other days... I can't wait to hear about your afternoon(s).
xo,
Beth
I love every word Jacquie, it was so much fun, wasn't it?? And Pat - 2 weeks there? You'll never come back.... love, Mom/Ellen
ReplyDelete