Aloha
Maui was, in a word, wonderful. We all had such a marvelous time there.
Mom and Dad paid our way, except for a few groceries and a few meals while we were there. We never would have been able to make the trip without their generosity. That’s something my parents have in spades, and I’ve been the grateful recipient of their loving support my whole life.
Jonathan’s girlfriend, Courtney, was beautiful and fun, down-to-earth and smart. I’m impressed by the way he treats her and she, him. They have a very comfortable way about them: no nervousness, no great efforts to impress each other or the rest of the family.
Lucas fell in love with Courtney just as I predicted–except he won’t say her name. He has renamed her “Bou” and, fortunately, she doesn’t seem to mind. She was so patient with him; she played his reindeer games, accepted her new moniker, and maintained a cheerful attitude throughout the trip. Lucas’s jokes aren’t what you’d call sophisticated, but Courtney graciously laughed each time.
Mom and Dad bickered and poked at each other as usual, but they also had lots of fun together too. They have such an odd way of relating. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another couple relate to each other the way they do. They are still really into each other, despite their frequent jabs and taunts.
So, our lazy Hawaiian days were full of swimming, playing in the sand, shopping, eating, lounging, napping, site-seeing, scuba-diving, reading, etc. The weirdest part was stopping at Costco immediately after getting off the plane and getting our rental cars: Dad wanted to lay in some supplies for the week, such as beer, booze, and beef. We had a number of terrific meals out, and ate breakfast, some lunches, and a few dinners at our condos. Each couple got some alone time too. Mom babysat Lucas while the rest of us went diving.
My folks rented three condos right next to each other on the northwest coast of Maui, at a place called Napili Point. We had a small shared yard that was fenced in, so Lucas could run around and move from condo to condo without, for example, falling off a cliff into the ocean. Needless to say, the setup was ideal.
The first few days were a little cooler than usual, but still lovely. It rained a little bit every day, especially up near Napili Point where they tend to get a little more weather. We saw many rainbows. It warmed up near the end of our week there. The town of Lahaina was always a little warmer than Napili.
I had a little trouble with my left ear while diving. I ended up with an earache and elected not to go on the second boat dive. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to maximize the awesome diving opportunity (I’m too old for cold Monterey Bay diving anymore), but I figured it would be better not to hurt the whole week. Besides, for the second day of diving, they all went out to Molokini and reached a depth of 80 feet. I think I likely would have gotten stuck at 40 and been miserable–for the next few days. Benedryl will be my best friend next time: I think I’ll start dosing several days before flying out there.
That’s not to say that we know when we’ll be going back again, but I can tell you, I can’t wait. Island time is a lot like slipping into Burning Man time, without the fucking dust storms. I’ve been to Hawaii four or five times now–three times with Ian (and the Merkels–never just the two of us alone and all romantic-like). Every time I go, I look around and realize that people actually live there. Real people. People with jobs and families and lives. People who are not on vacation actually call the island their home. Then I wonder, why the hell don’t I live there? I usually spend the next six months wondering why the hell we don’t live there. If you wonder that enough times, do you eventually come to do something about it?
These last few days at home here in Fair Oaks had led us to do some Internet searching. I wonder what it would take for us to move to Hawaii. I know these three things:
1. Kids with Autism live in Hawaii
2. I can freelance from anywhere in the world that has high-speed Internet
3. There are 3 Waldorf schools in the Hawaiian islands (Maui, Big Island, and Oahu)
What are we waiting for?
January 18, 2006 at 8:33 pm
That was my reaction the two times I’ve gone to Hawaii. “How can I live here?” It has to be possible, if not practical. People do move there, after all. When we went to the Big Island, we went on a Sunset Cruise, and the captain of the boat was a graduate of Bella Vista High School, some forty-or-so years before our time. It can happen.
But I wonder how much of the magic of the islands has to do with the fact that when you’re there, you’re on vacation, and everything is, of course, magical and relaxing and wonderful. If you lived there, would you get into the same type of ruts as you do in your current life? I like to think it would be different.
But I wonder.
January 18, 2006 at 10:36 pm
My friend Deb (my ex-boss and Pandora’s big sister) was unemployed and really depressed. She picked up music again, and did a little freelance web design for a retail store in Hawaii while she lived in Sac. They loved her and had a manager position open in Hawaii, they bashfully asked her if she wanted it. She sold everything and moved there and everything was going great, they had a place for her to live and bought her plane tickets. When she got there she checked out the local music store, fell in love with the owner and now is married and perfectly happy and she wants us to move there.
I didn’t want to until she poisoned my brain by saying she lived a quarter mile from a coffee plantation.
January 19, 2006 at 11:40 am
Probably it would be less magical if you had to work every week like normal people. But think of your non-work time: sunny weather, rainbows, beaches, wearing nothing or just a flimsy sarong around the house (except not because it’s 107 degrees outside like Sacramento summers), ocean breezes, clean air, humpback whales.
I’ve heard about island fever from like a hundred (mainland) people since I got home. I wonder if it’s real. Probably is, but then, it’s not like we’d never leave Hawaii. We’d have all of our friends to visit on the mainland–at least, those of them whom we couldn’t convince to move to Hawaii with us.
The Waldorf school doesn’t cost any more $ there than it does right here River City.
Sara <--still in fantasy mode.
January 19, 2006 at 11:43 am
I like FLC’s story about Deb. Sounds like the plot of a romance novel (not that I read those!)
January 20, 2006 at 2:19 pm
We would come to visit you 🙂