I am so very far behind on keeping the blog updated, but I’m going to try to catch up in a few posts, and then get back on schedule. So let’s go back in time to last December, shall we?
It’s still inconceivable to me that Robert and I celebrated our 10th anniversary at the end of last year I am so blessed with such a wonderful husband that I have to pinch myself every day to make sure I’m not dreaming. In these past 10+ years, there’s been one place that we’ve traveled to that gets into our hearts, and that’s Maui. We went there in 2003 for our first anniversary, and then again in 2010 with Steve and Ginger. So we knew for our special 10th anniversary, we wanted to actually be on the island on December 7.
We flew out on Sunday, December 3, and received an awesome free upgrade to our rental car – a 2013 Chrysler 300 with all the toys!
We headed across the island to Hawaii’s Most Hawaiian Hotel, the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. Since we were tired, we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and listened to the band under the stars. It was a good start to our vacation when they played one of “our” songs, Collin Raye’s “In This Life.”
Because of the 4 hour time change, we woke up early Monday morning, and Robert was in the shower around 6:00 a.m. when the power went off. Yikes! We learned later that there was a fire at one of the substations on the mountain, but at the time it meant no breakfast at the hotel. We went to Lahaina intending to eat breakfast at one of our favorite places, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and that’s when things went from bad to worse.
Closed. The entire week we were there. That meant none of my favorite Maui onion rings that I’d been anticipating for months.
We settled for breakfast at The Mixed Grill, and I give it mixed reviews. The food was ok, but the service wasn’t great and there was a family playing a movie quite loudly on the next table with no consideration for anyone around them. We left quickly and drove up toward Kapalua to get in a better mood, and then back down to Lahaina to do some shopping once the stores opened.
After lunch we went back to our hotel and the power had been restored, and then it was beach time. Except, since we’d never been to Maui in December, we had no idea that the surf was going to be as rough as it was. That meant no time in the ocean at all. I was beginning to regret this trip, but hey, not everything can be perfect all the time, even in paradise!
We went to the Old Lahaina Luau, and the Ahi tuna was as delicious as we remembered. I have to say, though, we’re done with luau’s for a while.
Wednesday we did something we’d never done before, and took the ferry over to the island of Molokai. Molokai is famous for having a leper colony where Father Damian lived and worked. Other than that, and some spectacular views you’d find on any Hawaiian island, we don’t feel the need to go back there. But at least we can check it off the list. And we saw whales on the boat ride over and back to Maui, too!
Thursday we took a sunset sail with our favorite sailing company, Trilogy. The rough waters made sailing a little more challenging than usual, especially getting on and off the catamaran. We had to walk up and around Black Rock to another cove where it was a little calmer. But as I always say, there’s nothing like a Kaanapali sunset.
Friday was our actual anniversary, and we celebrated with dinner at the famous Mama’s Fish House. Pricey, yet, but well worth it for the food, service, and ambiance. Someone had made a “snowman” from sand out on the grounds, and it was decorated with Christmas lights.
After dinner, Robert and I walked out toward the beach where he surprised me (after 10 years of marriage, I didn’t think that could happen, LOL!). He had downloaded 3 of our special songs – two from our wedding and one current one, and we danced under the stars. Cue the collective “awwww.” It was a very special anniversary for us.
Even though some things didn’t work out like we’d thought, we discovered that December is a great time to get deals on Maui, and the Rebecca Lowell print I’d wanted in 2010 we managed to get for less than half of what I’d budgeted.
We can’t wait to go back to our home away from home again – I still need to get those onion rings!
