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Published: August 7th 2008
Secret Cove
Our first afternoon together in Maui.It was a short 25 minutes flight from Kona to Maui on Island Air. I noticed that the flight was half full of Europeans - US must be a cheap destination with the weak US$. We flew over the eastern corner of Kaho'olawe and the top of Molokini on our way to Kahului, Maui. We picked up our rental car and headed straight south to Wailea ... with Lauren being my navigator.
As we pulled into our hotel driveway half hour later, I was immediately taken back. I told my sister before we left for Hawaii that we would be staying at Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui and my sister reminded me that this was the beautiful hotel that we visited in 2001 for our parents' 50th wedding anniversary. My niece, Shannan, had such fond memories of this hotel. I was convinced that my sister was wrong. Obviously, I should also remind myself - just like how I always remind my brother-in-law - that my sister is hardly ever wrong. I immediately recognized the driveway and the entrance to the hotel. Nothing much had changed since the summer of 2001. It is still a beautiful hotel!
I was certainly
hoping that we would be upgraded to the Concierge Level again just like our stay at Fairmont Orchid in the Big Island. But it was not meant to be. However, I was surprised to learn that Nick's Fishmarket was the main restaurant at the hotel. Back in 2001 again, we were looking for a seafood restaurant in Honolulu. Our hotel concierge directed us to Nick's Fishmarket in Waikiki area. With a name like Nick's Fishmarket, we did not think it was going to be a formal restaurant. To our surprise, we walked into this fancy restaurant with dark wood panels. Food was great, service was excellent and it was truly a memorable experience. It continued to be one of my family's favorite topics about Honolulu. Seven years later, the same restaurant came up on a different island!
We did not want to waste time in the hotel. So after dropping off our bags, Lauren and I got back into the car and started driving south again on HWY 31. Brent Harris, my partner, was in Maui the week before and told me about a beach at the southern tip of Maui. It was a scenic drive along the coast
Secret Cove message
Is this a premonition? with beautiful beach front homes. The road eventually got narrower and turned into a one lane road with black lava rocks all around us. When the road finally came to an end, we had to turn right into this dirt road that led us to La Perouse Bay. There were a few cars parked around the beach area and we saw this small group of Japanese tourists (with a guide) hiking up a trail along the beach. We followed them until we reached a blow hole. I asked the guide if there was anything else around this area. He mentioned the historical significance of the area and the fact that we could see dolphins in the morning. Since there is no chance to see dolphins in the afternoon, we decided to go to another destination. So a few minutes later, we were back in our rental car and I started driving north.
Brent Harris also told me about this cove (sometimes called Secret Cove) that is one of the most romantic beach in Maui. Brent took pictures of the entrance and I saved it in my Blackberry. With the help of the picture from Brent, we were able to
Fun at Makena Cove
Was she having fun? locate this Secret Cove in Makena immediately. The entrance was a small opening along this 10 ft. rock wall - hard to find if you don't know what you are looking for. The scenery was absolutely breath taking - Molokini at a distant in front of us, golden soft sandy beach, small waves crashing on lava rocks and palm trees to our right. It was a postcard picture. Adding to the romance, there was a small wedding being held on the right side of the beach.
It was a little past 6:00pm and I figured I had about an hour before sunset. I have my digital SLR camera, a gorgeous girlfriend and a beautiful setting. What else can I ask for? So I went to work and snapped close to 100 pictures in the next hour. We cherished our first Maui sunset at one of the most romantic beach in Maui. I found out later on that Makena Cove is the official name of the beach.
As darkness approached, we reluctantly left Makena Cove and started looking for a restaurant. We stopped at The Shops at Wailea and checked out their restaurant directory. There is a Tommy Bahama
Cafe but we did that already in the Big Island. So we decided to walk to Longhi and checked out the menu. I also checked with the hostess first that we were not under-dressed for the restaurant (remember Nick's Fishmarket in Honolulu?). With her approval, we asked for a table for 2. We were actually surprised that we got seated right away. I ordered a nice bottle of Duckhorn Merlot to celebrate our first dinner in Maui. Our waiter did confirm that tourism was down in Maui this summer and it was rather unusual for us to be able to walk right in without a reservation. Great for us - we wouldn't complain.
The next day, we started at the Activities Desk at the hotel to find a snorkeling cruise. This is a must-do in Maui (and I had never ever gone snorkeling before). We were introduced to one that started early in the morning from Maui Prince Hotel - about a 5 minute drive from our hotel. Perfect! Once that was taken care of, we grabbed a map and drove west towards Lahaina. This is an area that I am more familiar with - I had stayed at
Kaanapali and Kapalua in the past. Traffic flow was normal for Maui but I felt hurried. After 4 days in the Big Island, I was more accustomed to 2 lane highway with little traffic. How quickly we adapted to the environment we were in.
Once we reached Lahaina, I searched for my favorite restaurant along the shore - Kimo's. Kimo's and I had a long history - dating back to my college days when I went over to Maui during my Christmas holiday. I was determined to share my experiences - old and new - with Lauren. Again to my surprise, there was no line at Kimo's and we were able to get a table along the shore immediately. We watched a number of people parasailing, kayaking ..... just another beautiful afternoon in Maui. After lunch, we walked the streets of Lahaina. I wanted Lauren to pick something for her birthday the following day. And I would sneeze or cough "happy birthday" as we walked - in front of other tourists. I am sure Lauren did not appreciate that. We finally walked into a store at the edge of Lahaina's shopping district and she picked out a set of
Kimo's
Lunch at Kimo's is a must! ear rings that she had seen on our airline magazine. Mission accomplished -- I asked the store clerk for directions to an ice cream place. Fortunately, there was a Cold Stone a block away. Vanilla ice cream with crushed Oreo cookies is my all time favorite. That was such a great way to conclude our trip to Lahaina.
From Lahaina, we drove inland on HWY 37 and made a quick stop at Kula Botanical Gardens. We had less than an hour to tour the garden before closing time. We did see a variety of orchids and other flowers that I could not remember. Then we decided to go to Makawao, the cowboy town of Maui, to get coffee before heading up to our destination ... Haleakala National Park. Somehow, I missed the turn to Makawao (I blamed it on my navigator) and by the time we realized that, we were on our way to Haleakala.
The island of Maui is made up of two volcanoes. The larger volcano is Haleakala, which means house of the sun. The drive to Haleakala is on a long, windy road with beautiful views of Maui at a distant and steep drop offs
Kangaroo Paws
At Kula Botanical Gardens next to the car. I wanted to enjoy the view but I realized that I better kept my eyes on the road. After about an hour of driving, we were above the clouds and it was brown all around us. We drove up to the summit and put on additional layers of clothing before stepping out of the car. We went from the mid 80's to the mid 40's in a couple of hours.
I had reminded Lauren before our trip that we would be making a trip to the top of Haleakala. So we were prepared - we brought jackets to Hawaii! We saw lots of other tourists who made the drive to Haleakala but were reluctant to step out of the car. Nobody would have guessed that Hawaii could get that cold. I was one of those guys before and this is certainly one of those lessons learned. I wanted to show Lauren the sunset of Maui from Haleakala. I even brought along a big tripod to capture the moment (more on this later). I found a good parking spot facing west and decided to wait for sunset inside the car - it was simply too cold
and windy outside. Other cars started coming and parked all around us. But as we got closer to sunset, the cloud started moving in fast; the wind picked up and we started seeing some light rain. I was hoping for a miracle ... for a sunset that would match the one we saw at Makena Cove. But it was not meant to be. The dark cloud moved in at a distant and started to completely block the sun. Worse, the cloud also started to cover Haleakala.
It only took one person to start his/her car and started driving away to get everyone's attention. Before long, we had a convoy heading down the mountain. I was reluctant to leave but also realized that the drive down was going to be treacherous - with darkness, rain, fog, wind, cloud and other forces of nature enveloping us. So before long, I was in the middle of this convoy ... slowly and carefully maneuvering down the mountain. By the time we reached Kahului, it was raining so hard that I could barely see the road in front of me. We ended up stopping at Roy's in Kihei for dinner before heading back to
Haleakala National Park
Staying warm at the summit of Haleakala Wailea. We were tired but I didn't accomplish what I wanted to do (more on this later).
It was Lauren's birthday the following day and we had to leave the hotel by 6:00am. It was so hard to wake up early during a vacation. But it was going to be the first snorkeling experience for both of us. By 6:30am, we were on board The Kai Kanani - a 65' sailing catamaran - on our way to Molokini. There were only 20 of us on a catamaran that can hold 80 people. Must be the early morning departure! The crew of 3 was made up of 2 guides and the captain who came from Lauren's hometown and in fact, went to the same high school as Lauren - one year apart. We received our instructions and snorkeling gears on board and before we knew it, we were anchored at Molokini already.
Molokini is a crescent-moon shaped islet that is home to about 250 fish species. It is considered to be one of the best snorkeling and diving site in Hawaii. Its crescent shape acts as a shield from strong waves and currents . The water is warm -
Snorkeling at Molokini
The Kai Kanani - a 65' sailing catamaran even this early in the morning - and crystal clear. I was one of the last to get into the water as I struggled with my mask and I was still trying to get used to floating and breathing through my mouth piece while looking down and kicking with my fins. Too much coordination at one time! But once I got the hang of it, I was enjoying the most beautiful underwater oasis. I thought I was swimming inside a tropical fish aquarium. This is a must see experience for those who plan to go to Maui. I was so glad that Lauren suggested it.
Our next destination was close to the beach of Maui Prince Hotel. This is the home of the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. Again, we received our instructions from the captain before we could dive in. These sea turtles are a protected species and it is unlawful to touch, chase, ride or harass them in any way. Our guide was able to locate two of them immediately and we all swam to that area. I didn't have a problem with my coordination anymore and was able to look down into the water immediately to spot
this sea turtle that appeared to be the size of my thumb at the bottom of the sea. I have seen it in postcards and now I am seeing it in person. I really wish I had an underwater camera. The turtle now gently started to float up and I remember the captain telling us that these turtles would come up for air. As the turtle continued to float up, I started to panic. This thumb size sea turtle was now looking bigger and bigger and coming up right underneath me. I had this thought that I would end up riding this turtle by accident - a $10,000 penalty. I swam out of the way as quickly as I could and as the sea turtle got closer to the surface, it was obvious that this sea turtle was bigger than me. What a view - that was an experience of a life time.
We were back at the beach of Maui Prince Hotel before 9:00am and had enjoyed a lifetime experience before most tourists finished their breakfast. After a quick change, I suggested to Lauren that we headed back to Makena Cove again. The captain told me that these
Relaxing at the hotel
She is wearing her ring. sea turtles would quite often come to shore and rest at the beach adjacent to Makena Cove. As we parked in front of the small entrance to Makena Cove, we saw another small wedding party getting ready with their flowers and decorations. Two out of two at Makena Cove - two visits and two weddings.
We walked to the left, past Makena Cove and climbed over the lava rocks. As we rounded the corner, we saw the other beach - full of lava rocks and not easily reachable. We did not see any sea turtles at all from where we were standing. We kept searching but none was in sight. So we both stood there ... with the clear blue ocean and Molokini in front of us; gentle waves crashing; small fishes swimming and crabs crawling around us; a wedding ceremony getting started at Makena Cove to our right and lava rocks encircling and protecting us. I was disappointed that we did not see the sea turtles. Lauren, always considerate, put her elbows against her body, overlapped her upper lip over the lower lip and made a circular motion with her hands -- imitating the swimming motions of sea turtles. She continued even as I turned on the movie recording mode of my small Sony camera. Precious!!
The timing was simply perfect. It was one of those spontaneous decision! I opened the top pouch of my digital camera bag, took out a small black velvet box and tried to kneel down in the small gap between the lava rocks in front of me. With the birds, crabs, fishes around Makena Cove as my witness, I opened up the box and took out a diamond ring that I had been carrying in my camera pouch bag all along. I started mumbling, looked up to Lauren and saw her tilting her head with her lips quivering. I finally managed to finish my broken-up sentences ... I had rehearsed this over and over before and I felt like I butchered the entire speech when the time came. In the meantime, Lauren's teary-eyed "yes" response - while extending her arms and insisted that I started standing up straight - was such music to my ears.
I had improvised and Makena Cove is the perfect place to propose. All along, I had planned to propose to Lauren at Haleakala. I was going to wait till right before sunset and I was going to set up my camera on my tripod. I would take sunset pictures and as the sun disappeared into the ocean, I would get down on my knees and proposed then. I rehearsed this over and over in my mind. I figure it would be her birthday by then because it would be past midnight already in mainland USA. As the sun goes down in Maui, we will be starting a new chapter in our relationship together. Plan A obviously didn't work! I didn't have a Plan B and was trying to figure out what to do. But Makena Cove turned out to be our cove - a cove where we solidified our love for each other.
By the time we returned back to our hotel, it was time to announce our engagement to our families. We were both on the phone quite a bit. We went to lunch at Matteo's in Wailea and we spent the afternoon in the hotel spa. It was our last full day in Maui and we wanted to enjoy the hotel facilities. Phone calls continued to come in throughout the afternoon as the news of our engagement spread. Fortunately, we were in the far western part of USA. So before dinner, all the phone calls stopped and we had a quiet and romantic dinner at Nick's Fishmarket - of course, with Maui sunset decorating the sky again.
Just like that, it was time to head back home. We packed in the morning and headed to the airport after having lunch at Pa'ia. While our vacation in Hawaii was coming to an end, our journey in life together had just started.
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Lauren28
Lauren Carol Hamrick
You're an angel...truly. I feel so happy to be your bride!