Day 1; The Arrival

My view at dinner

I wake up at 4 am, 1 hour before my alarm is set to go off, to the tap-tap-tapping of a computer keyboard. Hubby, awake two hours already, typed away writing a post for his blog. I got up, dressed, and finished packing. I tried not to think too hard about the long three months ahead of me.

With time to spare before I had to get to the airport, we decided to get breakfast together. I kissed 'n hugged my pups - a lot - and headed out to eat. Sometime during breakfast it occurred to me I hadn't put deodorant on. Luckily, the house sat between where we ate and the airport. Of course, this gave me another chance to kiss 'n hug my pups...and give them cookies when I left. I wanted to cry but there was no use.

Off to the airport! Hubby waited in the security line with me until it was my turn to go thru. We hugged and kissed and I tried to hold back more tears. I reached for a tissue in my bag and turned around to find him gone. I texted him every step of the way.

"I'm thru security"
"walking to gate"
"boarding"
"my carry-on sucks"

Then I got this text from him "Blind dog is taking one bite of food, staring at garage door for ten seconds, another bit of food etc." My baby was waiting for me to come back home. Gut wrenching!

I texted him when I got to Seattle for my layover and when I boarded in Seattle.

Finally, after a very long day, I arrived in Maui! Maui! I live in Maui now, a fact that might not have completely sunk in yet. I let Hubby know when i got off the plane, when I was waiting for my rental car shuttle, when i got my car, when i was finally on the road on my own. I felt so scared and nervous... still do.

I made it safely to Lahaina in my rental car, which by the way was with my first official kama'aina rate - I got to upgrade cheap! The rental agent even welcomed me home to Maui when i told him i was Maui's newest resident.

The route to the west side of the island proved easy. The roads were smooth with spectacular views on both the mauka and makai side.

Mauka (mow-kah) means on the mountain side of the road
Makai (mah-kigh) means on the ocean side of the road

At a few places along the ocean front on the "highway" waves splashed up over the barriers along the side of the road. 

I drove into Lahaina and easily made my way to the Lahaina Inn, where I would be staying for one night. I quickly discovered the Lahaina Inn had no parking lot of its own! I bought a $15 2-day parking pass through the Inn for the public pay lot down the street. I finished getting checked in - and discovered that there is only a single set of stairs to the second floor of the Inn - before walking to a nearby bike shop to look for a beach cruiser. I stopped short of buying one just yet, but being able to bike to work or the grocery is high on the list of reasons I want to live here.

My busy day still not complete, I next went to meet my temporary landlady and check out the place i will stay for about 2 months. It seemed a small place, but it will do. It's in Maui!

I went from there to the a drug store to get toiletries and then back to the Inn to drop them off. Next on my agenda: dinner!

First stop: Cheeseburger in Paradise...way too crowded! Down the way some more I found the Lahaina Fish Co - not too busy, good location - and I went in. It felt truly weird dining alone, especially in such a beautiful place. I heard a nearby table start a conversation about vacationing in hawaii alone and thought the might be referring to me sitting alone at my seaside table. Little did they know I wasn't vacationing! I hope to spend the rest of my life here with my loved ones, who would soon - though not soon enough - join me on the island.

Dinner consisted of a wonderful appetizer - Ahi Katsu (sashimi grade tuna wrapped in nori, panko crusted, and flash fried before being served medium rare with a wasabi ginger butter sauce and wakame ocean salad). I zapped photos of both the ocean view and my dinner to Hubby before devouring it.

I ended my first night on the island with a stroll down to a spot where I could watch the tide roll in, and smile at the tiny crabs performing their dance with the incoming waves.