Weekly Recap: A Maui Reflection

View from our Papakea condo-west Maui

We are back from Maui, Hawaii (as well as from an extended smaller trip to see family in western Washington). Upon reflection, I feel as if I have been adrift at sea for the past two weeks and slowly swimming back against the surf.

Our patio on left; quiet romantic breakfasts
every morning

After a week back home of regrouping and letting life take hold again, my feet are finally planted on the shore. This was our first time to Hawaii. For years I have heard others describe their
adventures and experiences in Hawaii, with eyes glistening and hearts aglow. A family of four I know has made this trek yearly for as long as I can remember. They claim to not worry about the expense and simply spend the rest of the year paying off their credit card debt. Another friend and his wife travel to Maui yearly to the same condo, where they hole up with visiting family and loads of books. More recently, two dear friends island hopped and had a marvelous time. Frankly, we just never could afford it before, and we were hardly the big spenders this time around either.

Vince at seawall

Maui was lovely of course, but I must confess there is no comparison to our experience living in Southeast Asia in the 1990s, where we basked in the rich diverse cultures of Malaysia, Thailand
and Indonesia. Beaches and sunsets were breathtaking and we had the snorkeling experience of a lifetime on Tioman Island, complete with komodo dragons fighting on the beach. But what Hawaii has that no other Pacific tropical region has is the safety of U.S. borders. As one wanting to visit every country in the world, I find this comforting in our increasingly unsafe world. No worries, no passports to update and stress over, no food issues, no language barriers, no money quandaries.......and no civil wars! 

We rented a condo on Maui’s west coast for five days, where we had an unobstructed view of the ocean and the island of Molokai. I had forgotten how powerful the surf can be.....AND NOISY. Vince woke up in the middle of the night to the surf shaking our room and the seawall just twenty feet away, and began surfing the net on his phone for a tsunami warning. It turns out there had just been a major earthquake in the Philippines, so he was a bit stirred up. Ha-ha. False alarm....no worries in the end. All in all, it was a gorgeous setting for early morning breakfasts on the patio, with the sun barely surfacing and few people about. Given the 3-hour time difference, we woke early on most days.

The happy couple

Bryce, Brenda, Jennifer and Richard.
The wedding groomsmen and
bridesmaids (bride's daughters)

The rest of our time was tourist-packed, exploring the sights, the old town of Lahaina in particular, and
anticipating the wedding on the second day, our main reason for coming. Vince’s brother and his girlfriend were married on a beach north of us. The wedding went well without a hitch and they seem to be off to a happy start. We had to laugh though when we first arrived. Apparently the beach is a popular wedding location. The parking lot was full when we  arrived and there were brides and grooms and bridal parties walking about, all waiting their turn. But from the pictures you would never guess anyone else was around!

Vince at Haleakala crater

More than the beaches, for us the highlight was visiting Maui’s dormant volcano, Haleakala. Often socked in with fog and clouds at 10,023 feet, we decided to google the mountain's weather beforehand and saw that only one day had possibilities. We lucked out. The top was clear and sunny that day. The views overlooking the vast crater and cinder cones were absolutely surreal. We are so glad we went.

"I'm sitting on top of the world"

Hawaii's state bird, the Nene. Oh, I so much wanted
to see one, but never did. I have this bird in my book!

We had passed on the snorkeling, submarine rides, zip lines, and sailboat rides, concentrating more on local history and scenery. (I think we are more travelers than tourists).

"Drums of the Pacific Luau"

However, we did go to a traditional luau (a must :) and Maui’s Ocean Center, a large walk-through aquarium in Maalaea. Also in Maalaea was the only quilt store in all of Maui, where I found a locally made quilt with a turtle design. We gave this to Doug and Karen as a wedding gift. Wish I had taken a photo. They loved it! 

Maui Ocean Center

Surfer on northern coast, along the road to Hana. Surf looked about 4 feet high. One surfer lost his board and had to be rescued by another surfer. I'm glad they watch out for each other! 

Baldwin house. Missionary home in 'old' Lahaina. Lots of history in Lahaina. (We visited this town twice). Home had two feet thick walls, as was customary in England. Turns out it was perfect insulation in the tropical heat.

A good trip, although it is always nice to be home again. If only it did not take so long to reacclimate. I have so much to do. I woke up to snow on the rooftops this morning and an overwhelming drive to finish my last two chapters...or else. Grrr....BIG GRRR....time to get tough (on me)! I have a ton of books to read and review, too. But aren’t Mondays great? They inspire fresh ideas and provide untold energy. Wow....I have the whole week ahead of me. I am eager to jump in and see what I can do. How about you?      

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Celebrate the Small Things: End of Summer

Well, autumn is here, and by evidence of the pouring rain that pelted Eastern Washington all last week and the changing fall colors, and there is no turning back. No regrets. I am  fired up to do more indoor activities with the weather change. There is something about rain pattering on the rooftop and windows that I find so settling. Perhaps it comes from having been raised in Western Washington, where rain can pour twenty-four seven. Rain is rare here in comparison, so when it comes, I become somewhat nostalgic. I love the smell, I love the sound, I love the change it foretells.

So today I am celebrating the return of cold weather and the end of summer. It is an opportunity to pull out that thick terry cloth robe, crank up the fireplace, rearrange the desktop, and start anew. I am already buzzing with new energy. Yesterday I finished chapter 22 and left it on my husband's desk to read (he's my in-house editor). I also sent a sample chapter to a writer friend to read.
Happy about that!

Summer is such a  detour for me, and from what I have read in other blogs, I know it is a challenge for writers in general. I wish it weren't so, but from the pictures below, you can see some of my end of summer distractions. I love all seasons, don't get me wrong, but cool weather is better for writing, at least for me in the current home I live. 

This brings up another point. I have wondered about setting up an outdoor writing porch next year, like the one I had at my last home. It was wonderful to sit outdoors on the north porch under the trees, with my laptop on my knees. I loved listening to the birds sing and feeling the warm summer air on my cheeks. My patio is too bright and hot here, but perhaps on the other side . . . I wonder, a porch could be added. Hmm.....next year maybe.....next year. Do you find writing locations as important as I do? Do you need a special place to inspire you, too?

One of my End of Summer distractions:

No kidding. This is one of several outhouses we found at an outdoor wedding we attended in Snohomish, WA. It even smelled good! Snohomish is in western Washington and off the beaten track a ways. It is a beautiful forested location for a wedding, but services are lacking in places. A prior outhouse we had found (en route) was, uh,.....not so nice.

 

Vince and me. Dressed up for the big event

 

So nice to dress up for a change.

Family loving family. What I love most about family gatherings.

 

Natalie and Jason, the happy couple.

"The Wedding Dance"