Moments of Maui 2009

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I will add to this as I go. I am currently traveling in Hawaii, specifically Maui, with my father, stepmother, my nephew, my sister, and my brother. We are staying in their timeshare in Kihei, which is about 10 miles south of Kahului. Normally I keep a travel blog updated every couple of days but Maui is a bit too relaxed of a trip for that. As I would say, it is "vacation", and not "travel". :) There is an important distinction, and though I prefer traveling, a vacation is nice as well every now and then.

Every trip has its notables -- its best and worst moments and elements -- and the following are the notables of my trip to Maui '09:

1. Snorkeling trip to Molokini/Turtle bay. My dad, sister, brother, and I all went on a snorkel trip with 12 other people to the crater at Molokini and then on to Turtle bay (which is right in front of Tiger Woods's and Michael Jordan's houses.) Everything was going peachy keen. My family was showing off the fact that we are part kelpie and giggling at the "surface dwellers" by diving down deep to inspect little caves, hoping to find elusive darkness dwelling creatures, when karma smacked me straight in the face. I backflipped down to about 15 feet too fast and so, lacking proper equalizing, I blew out my ears. I seem to have perforated both ear drums (maybe, doctor isn't sure since there is too much water inside to see, so I need to visit my own doctor when I am back in SD), and my hearing is still muffled, but gradually getting better. Still, it was a lovely trip despite that. There was a lot of beautiful coral and cool fish (including the unicorn fish, one of my favorites), and of course many sea turtles at Turtle Bay (I left them alone after the first couple... you started feeling creepy the way everyone would surround them when they came up for air). You couldn't ask for a better day - the sea was calm and the sky cloudless, so visibility was fantastic. You could see down to at least 40 feet from the surface. My dad made the mistake of letting on he was going to get the DVD that this underwater filmmaker was making on the ship, though, so the guy kept badgering us to get footage, which I guess was nice of him since it made certain we were on said DVD but it was kind of annoying. He kept wanting to stage different shots. All in all, though, very good trip.

2. Getting drunk on the beach with my brother and sister, sharing things I would never have shared sober, and once we were fully plastered, sneaking my 18-year-old sister into a bar. In hindsight, the bartender probably knew, and probably didn't care, because it was about a half an hour before last call and the bar was empty and she was just glad for a little more business. But at the time, we really felt quite clever. The bar was covered with cheesy obviously printed off the internet pictures, which was another highlight of it.

3. Discovering the clothing designer Betsy Johnson by way of her bathing suits in "Maui Girl" boutique in Paia. Now, I don't have the sort of money that I can blow it on Betsy Johnson too often, but when I do, I plan on blowing it on her. Every time I found a bathing suit I liked, it was by Betsy Johnson.

4. Discovering that Paia is where all the other 20-somethings/early 30-somethings were hiding. Kihei is all families and retire-ees.

5. "Lindsay magic". Discovering I could pretty much get my 5-year-old nephew to settle down/eat his dinner/do what he was told just by some magic I seem to possess. I am pretty certain they were disappointed when I left if for no other reason than they had to handle Ben without me (and just when he was starting to get homesick). I think it was just because I actually liked his company and he responded to that.

6. Sleeping like a teenager (I say this especially because I was keeping pace with my sister, who I was sharing a room with) almost every night. Oh eleven hours of sleep, I miss you so.

7. Discovering Little Beach, a nude beach, on a hike up the coast from Big Beach... and laughing as my sister and I followed behind my brother as he strolled nude across it. My sister and I would later return once he had left Maui early to start school back up and hide out in the end that was all gay men so we wouldn't feel self conscious to liberate ourselves of our tops and work on making our tan lines vanish.

8.Trying to follow these hippies down the rabbit hole (and by that I mean following them through this Maui forest hoping they would take us somewhere interesting), losing them completely, but still finding cool red sand beaches and some fantastically scenic cliffs full of caves and tide pools. All along the way we seemed to stumble into random spots where Maui teenagers, and adventurous couples on honeymoons, snuck off to for outdoor special adult time. Fortunately, not while they were being used, but with the evidence of past deeds still hanging around (including this cave near the tide pools, daring!).

9. The fact that Lahaina, though a tourist trap, still feels like an old whaling town. Being in places like that I am reminded that one of the few things my entire family shares is a love of the ocean and all her secrets. We were for sure sailors in past lives.

10. The art galleries in Lahaina, especially an artist named Vladimir Kush. Fantastic surrealist!

11. The road to Hana. Though too wind-ey for most of our party, it was fun to be in the jungle for a bit.

12. Fresh pineapple for breakfast every day. Thems good eatins.

13. Books I read on the trip: The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever by David Friedman; The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine; Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Phillip K Dick; Idoru by William Gibson; Startide Rising by David Brin.

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