Our weekend in Maui: Part 1.

Well, I just returned home from a relaxing mini vacay in Maui. I wasn't sure what to expect when Auntie decided that it would be best if I saw another island to get a full Hawaiian experence. One thing I discovered was this: Every island is completely different.

On Oahu, you mostly think of Honolulu and Waikiki. Waikiki being a touristy attraction, and Honolulu being a bustling city. (and continuing to grow)

It's still beautiful, and you can find quite a bit of astounding sights if you know where to look, but you won't find open land. Maui on the other hand, has tiny little beach towns and lots of space. I didn't think it was possible, but even the pace is slower in Maui.

We packed quickly on Friday night for our morning flight to the island. Auntie because she was busy, myself because....well....I thought our flight was on Monday. (Oh ADD brain. How you've reared your ugly head again.) Luckily, Auntie had called me on Friday afternoon to let me know that she would be home late to pack that night. That became my cue to return home and furiously fold things into my back back.

We left around 8am for our 9:30am flight to Maui. Flights between islands (generally) don't take that long, and the Hawaiian Airlines planes are nothing like the major airline ones. As we were checking in, Aunt Lynn warned me that our plane was a "puddle jumper". I wished she had warned me a little earlier, since I get airsick practically on reflex and would need to take Dramamine in advance. The smaller the plane, the worse it is. We got through check in pretty quickly, and I managed to take a chewable pill before I boarded. As we got on the plane, I became a little nervous. We had to go outside the airport to board and walk on the terminak itself. As I climbed up the tiny staircase to our puddle jumper, I figured I was in for it. Our tickets were for open seating. Auntie and I ended up in the very last two seats on the plane.
Did I mention I'm also sicker if I'm not in the middle or closer to the front?
As the plane took off, I could feel every dip and jolt in my stomach and the spinning in my head.
"If I don't vomit on this flight, I think I'll be cured." I said.
By the time a flight attendant came around with drinks, I definitely needed something carbonated. As I was sipping, Aunt Lynn reassured me that our flight was almost over. I thought she was kidding, since we were only in the air for 15 minutes. Nope, soon we were flying over Maui, then landing.
"Are you cured?" Aunt Lynn joked.
"Eh." I replied. Saying anything else would have been risky.
Luckily, when I'm on the ground, it usually takes a half hour to return to form. By the time we got the rental car, I was back to normal. As we drove to the hotel, I was amazed at how different the landscape was. Some areas were hilly, some were flat. All were open, luscious and GREEN. We entered the  town of Kahului (Ka-hah-loo-ee), which was more populated, but nothing compared to Honolulu.

I was amused when we passed a Costco.

Note to my favorite Costco employee back home: Transfer here why don't cha? Come on. You know you want to. Every one's nicer out here. And you wouldn't have to drive I don't think.

We stopped briefly at Krispy Kreme donuts. I should note that people go crazy for these donouts in Hawaii. Sometimes, people are even willing to hop a plane just to go there for a box and return home. Seriously.

I thought they were good, but not worth getting on a plane for. Next stop was....the Maui Swapmeet! You didn't think that Auntie could get away with passing by a swap meet with me in the car did you?

I didn't think so.

After lunch....

We visited the biggest tree ever!

This is serously all one. giant. root.

And I STILL didn't get all of it. It goes across an entire park.

Unusual for us, but soon after visiting the tree, we became pretty tired. We went to the hotel to take just a brief nap, and ended up sleeping until it got dark. This means our window of opportunity to do any more activities was gone. Maui is unlike home OR Honolulu, Even on a Saturday, they close up shop by 9pm. The only place we could find that was open to eat dinner? Ihop. We concluded then that it would be best to continue our adventure the next day. I didn't realize then that our adventure was just getting started.