Sunday, March 11, 2012

Destination: Maui - Short and Sweet!

It would seem as if the majority of my posts are now started with an apology.
I'll have to fix that soon.
To start this one, I apologize to all of you who tuned in last weekend to find nothing new or interesting to read. My excuses are plenty, and those excuses are legit, too, but I apologize regardless. I, for one, know what it's like to be excited about something and then to be there at the scheduled time to find an utter nothingness. 
I also want to send out an apology for this post. It's nothing like what I'd hoped for it. The weather's not been amazing lately (welcome to rainy season), and with so much focus going toward reestablishing myself as a human being in this new world of mine, The pictures I have to share with you are... er... lackluster.

That being said, here goes nothing! Just flip through the pictures and grab the captions; it's really the only way to go.
Austin Int'l Airport - poorly designed parking, and doesn't open until 4am.
6 out of 10 stars.

I literally ran through Houston, so no pictures there.
Not a big loss by my estimate.  5 out of 10 stars.

More or less my home for the day.
I did happen upon, though, an epiphany:
Heaven and Hell truly do exist: Heaven is paradise, or in my case, Maui, and Hell is the line you have to wait in to get on the effing plane which takes you there.

Denver Int'l Airport - easily one of my favorites. Well laid out, well lit, mechanized walkways throughout.
7 out of 10 stars.

The only thing other than a 5-day-old cup of fruit which I, a vegan, could find to eat.
Liquid Jolly Ranchers complete with the sugar content.
Jamba Juice - 3 out of 10 stars.


SUPER.cramped plane.
This was the most legroom I had the entire trip.
Even better was the flight attendant who asked me to pull my legs in from the aisle because people needed to walk by without being tripped (something which happened only to her).

Took me a second to figure out why I took this picture.
Then I remembered: the screens they showed the in-flight movies on were each different colors.
There were five in our cabin area and another 8 up toward the front of the plane.


These two shots are from Kihei, the city on the southern bay of Maui.

LOOKIT!
The curvature of the earth!

In the southern distance is the island Kahoolawe.
Pictured below as well.


A couple guys were fishing on the beach.
I tried talking to them, but they weren't interested in conversation.
I left. Bad vibes.

Who can NOT take a picture of Hawaiian palms?





All flowers from my walk.
These were only a few varieties of the hundreds of different flowers that lined my beach.walk path.


Truth be told, I forgot how much I love Hawaii.
For some of you this may be difficult to accept. It goes without saying that the people I worked with in Austin were no-doubt glad to see me go, just because they were sick and tired of hearing me talk about the place! Feel free to back me up on that, Becca!

I stepped off the plane, and the first thing I noticed was that I didn't feel like I'd stepped back inside. Hawaiian airports are "outside" in that the buildings aren't enclosed. At once I felt a rush of warm, ocean-scented air fall over me, I could smell flowers and tropical fruits everywhere, and instead of a bunch of people grumpy for sitting on a plane for 7-8 hours before, I heard nothing but "oos" and "ahs" from everyone arriving on the island for the first time. Birds flew around between the canopy rafters, sun streaked through the ceiling gaps, and at once everything felt right with the world.

I love this place.
Even though it's different from Oahu and this is actually my first time spending any real amount of time in Maui, I'm so glad it was in the cards for me. City life is not my best friend. Austin was nice in that it was different from Iowa, and I desperately needed different from Iowa. But Maui's what I was looking for, and I can't wait to show you guys why.
After a day, it started raining, which apparently isn't that frequent where I was staying at the time. I couldn't help but think, "It's raining, and that's okay; this is the islands way of cleansing me from the garbage I dealt with before I arrived." Sounds cheesy, I suppose, but that's what I kept thinking over and over again. This place is special, and I feel like I'm only just now beginning to see the whys and hows.

I've got my place all situated now, the bamboo's on order (yes, I use bamboo for making many things - you'll see), and we'll be off to a running start in no time.

Feels a bit like I'm rambling now, so I'll make this my almost.ending. Remember how a couple weeks back I mentioned that I'd be introducing the newest part of my blog? Yup. This week, my faithful followers, I challenge you to take a picture of wherever you live. This picture should capture some kind of beauty inherent in the place you live. Once said picture is taken, email it to me at jacksdemise@gmail.com and if chosen, I'll post it in next week's blog along with a blurb from the winner regarding the things you appreciate most about where you live.

And I'm done.
Oh! Duh... commenting sparks: I want to hear some challenges from you folks. Since I'm way out in Maui, what do you think I should do which I might not have done otherwise? Dare me to do something fun... except for you, Joy. You don't get to play. I already know you want me to dive with the whales and dolphins, but it's not happening. Silly fragile human.


Next time on ...Still Got It: The Hawaiian people and the challenge from Gramma. I'll go into detail about the people who live on and come from the islands and why that will help me to keep on the straight and narrow. Becca, you have no idea how easy this is going to be. Just sayin.

6 comments:

  1. Thing 1-> I LOVE pictures! Keep 'em coming!

    2-> I'm a fan of this week's challenge and plan on winning :-)

    3-> No fair. I want to play the Challenge Sam game! So I'm giving you a challenge anyway. Since you're not so keen on the whole swim with dolphins and whales thing, how 'bout something a little smaller? I challenge you to swim with a Hawaiian Monk Seal. Which is kind of 2 challenges in one because first you'd have to find one (there are less than 1,300 in existence) and then get in the water with it. They're small, cute and wildly entertaining. you will not regret it. (unless a shark sneaks up from behind and eats it or you... just kidding).

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    Replies
    1. Not much of a one-week challenge is it?
      Find this endangered species in your off-time before next week? Fat chance.
      I'll keep it in mind for the future, but no deadline allowed on this one. Too big, lady.

      Delete
    2. whoops. didn't realize it was supposed to be a challenge for this week only. and crap the week's almost out and you already had your days off. umm.. new challenge… have a conversation with a co-worker about sexual expectations, opinions about at what point in a relationship you should have sex, overall beliefs about the topic, etc, etc. and share what they said here on the blog.

      Delete
  2. Love that you made it and your happy!!! Digging the photos that show your journey..
    Will send you a photo for the challenge, just need to go take it.
    Your challenge from me is.. Make friends with a local long enough to do a mini interview with them. When did they lose there virginity? What were there expectations, etc....?
    I'm sure naturally people tell you there experience once this conversation comes up about your own challenge.. But I'm just curious....

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  3. So am I to drop this "local" once they've been mini-interviewed, or should the friendship continue?

    I only ask, because the way you phrased it sounds so... hit-and-quit. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do as you wish... I was just tryi g to make it simple and easier for you to complete my challenge... Just thought it would be an interesting perspective...

    ReplyDelete