Yeah, even when you go to bed early, 4:30 comes way too soon. I don't know about y'all, but when I have to get up that much earlier than normal and something big like missing a plane hangs in the balance, I tend to wake up every hour or so to make sure I haven't overslept. It's a thing I can't seem to stop doing... James arranged a car for us from his hotel. Boy, is that the way to travel! We got to the Oakland airport in plenty of time and got ourselves all settled in. This flight, unlike the one from MSP, was on time. Of course, it didn't exactly have ice to contend with. Hawaiian Airlines actually believes in service - who knew such a thing still existed? They have slightly wider seats, more leg room and they even give you food (good looking flight attendants, too). Granted, it was a small breakfast (some fruit, 4 small crackers and a piece of cheese - I kid you not), but it was a whole lot better than nothing. What they don't do is give you headphones. If you don't have a pair with you, you have to buy them. Didn't matter, as we all tried to sleep, although we didn't have a lot of success. Joe and I managed a bit of a nap, just in time to nearly miss breakfast! They went right by us. Joe asked the attendant if we could get something (they were still serving just a few rows ahead of us) and she said she'd try. Turned out she thought we were asking for seconds! As soon as she saw we hadn't yet had firsts, she became far more accommodating.
It's a long way to fly without seeing anything underneath you but water. We were nearly to the ground before we saw Maui. Green, green, green - at least the part we could see - and an incredibly rugged coastline. We got off the plane and out of the landing area - and we were outside. Wow. There are windows near the planes, I imagine to protect you from noise, fumes, and perhaps debris, but the rest of the airport is open to the outside air. It's covered - they DO get rain - but open. Soft, warm, air - what a delight! I immediately changed into capris, tee, and sandals - my flying clothes were way too heavy (but I'm glad I wore them as the plane was chilly). Joe and Kendra headed off to get the car, while James and I got the suitcase (yes, singular - we checked one between the four of us). Joe and Kendra had both joined Avis, as K had read that could save a ton of time. Glad she did - the two of them went right to the head of the line and had a car in no time. They took maybe 12 pictures of the exterior. We were astonished at the number of dings in a car with only about 15,000 miles on it. Mine has about 135,000 and isn't so battered!
We got loaded up and headed to Kihei (kee' - hay), a town of about 21,000 on the west coast of the island. If you go to Maui, I recommend Kihei. It's on the sunny and dry side, and it's convenient to everything. It's also far more affordable than other towns. If you want a private cabana and someone bringing you drinks and towels, Kihei isn't for you, but we found it perfect. I gotta tell you, we all had big goofy grins on our faces. It's so gorgeous, and such an amazing change from Minnesota! SF, too, but that's not really our turf. Back to the convenient aspect: Maui has an odd layout. It's got two bigger areas connected by a narrow neck. You can't, with a standard rental car, circumnavigate either of the two bigger areas. All roads converge at the neck. Kihei is just south of it, and that's a big part of why we chose it. We'd practically have to pass through it no matter where we wanted to go. 
I'd arranged for us to check in early, but we had a mix up. The building managers didn't show us arriving until the 24th! I gather the owner gave them the wrong dates. This, boys and girls, is why you carry copies of paperwork with you. I had the confirmation showing the date as the 23rd. They called the cleaners right away, but it meant we couldn't get in and drop our luggage off. We didn't want to drive around with it in back, as every book I read said to leave NOTHING of value in your vehicle. The biggest crime issue in the islands is theft. But we didn't have much choice, so off we went to lunch. We got amazing fish tacos and sat outside (in the shade!) to eat them. Oh, yeah, we lathered up with sunscreen even before setting foot out from under cover. We then wandered a local craft sale across the street for a while - nice way to pick up a few souvenirs and pass some time.
We'd been told to try shaved ice, so that was next on the agenda. Turned out to be good advice. Shaved ice isn't the same thing as an icee or a snow cone. They start with a block of ice and literally shave paper thin pieces off it. They then add, at this particular place, their own home-made flavors. It's a nice smooth texture. Sizes range from (their words, not mine) micro to large. Guess which is which? And guess who had what!
By now we could check in, so we did. It was a lovely place - cool, quiet, clean and comfortable. The floors are all tile. My reaction as a Minnesotan is to think of how cold they'd be in winter - but in a 
tropical climate they help keep you cool! And of course they're easier to clean when people track in sand. Our only real issue was that, since they hadn't done the cleaning until we arrived, the laundry wasn't done, either, and we wouldn't get beach towels until too late the next day. We never turned on the A/C, and barely turned on the ceiling fans. Since the condo is on an end, it has windows on three sides and there was always a lovely breeze. The windows all have louvered covers, so we could safely leave them open in case of rain (not terribly likely - they get 12-13" a year, but a local told us it had been unusually rainy until just a few days earlier). The kitchen was really well equiped, although it lacked anything but the most basic of food supplies. I don't mean food to eat, but basic condiments and such. You don't realize how much you depend on spices, herbs and oils until you haven't got them! It wasn't that big a deal, as, except for dinner the first night, we only ate breakfast here. Joe and I went off to get groceries. Ouch. I've never seen such expensive food before. A small jar of Jiff that goes for 2.79 at Target was 5.69 here. We bought breakfast food, beverages, and supplies for dinner. Almost 120 bucks. And dinner was grilled chicken salad and bread! We ate on the lanai - the Hawaiian word used for balconies, porches, really any kind of outdoor living area. Ah.... Then off to an early bedtime. You'll see why in the next entry!
tropical climate they help keep you cool! And of course they're easier to clean when people track in sand. Our only real issue was that, since they hadn't done the cleaning until we arrived, the laundry wasn't done, either, and we wouldn't get beach towels until too late the next day. We never turned on the A/C, and barely turned on the ceiling fans. Since the condo is on an end, it has windows on three sides and there was always a lovely breeze. The windows all have louvered covers, so we could safely leave them open in case of rain (not terribly likely - they get 12-13" a year, but a local told us it had been unusually rainy until just a few days earlier). The kitchen was really well equiped, although it lacked anything but the most basic of food supplies. I don't mean food to eat, but basic condiments and such. You don't realize how much you depend on spices, herbs and oils until you haven't got them! It wasn't that big a deal, as, except for dinner the first night, we only ate breakfast here. Joe and I went off to get groceries. Ouch. I've never seen such expensive food before. A small jar of Jiff that goes for 2.79 at Target was 5.69 here. We bought breakfast food, beverages, and supplies for dinner. Almost 120 bucks. And dinner was grilled chicken salad and bread! We ate on the lanai - the Hawaiian word used for balconies, porches, really any kind of outdoor living area. Ah.... Then off to an early bedtime. You'll see why in the next entry!
