Aloha! Part 2

nem·e·sis (nm-ss)  [From the online Free Dictionary]

n. pl. nem·e·ses (-sz)

1. A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis.
2. Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis.

3. An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome.

4. One that inflicts retribution or vengeance.
5. Nemesis in Greek Mythology The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance.

[Pardon the interruption.  Had to take a longer break from posting than anticipated.  My nemesis caught up with me.  Vertigo...BPPV.  Cannot beat it or overcome it...must just take my medicine and let it run its course. Lost 4 days.  Better now, thank you.]

Now, where on earth was I?  Oh yes...I left you waiting for the rest of the story in Maui, didn't I?  Not a bad place to be!

Let's see...it was sunset on Monday, Labor Day, our third day on Maui.  And the whole world and its favorite aunt had been at the beach or in the pools, it seemed.  Or, auntie...as they say.  There was a luau going on down on the hotel's lawn, and we were enjoying the music (and a cold Hawaiian beer) on our lanai.  Since we "did" a luau on our first trip to the Islands in '79 (when we stayed on Oahu), and the host was Don Ho, we figured we'd already seen the best.  We'd also gone to the Polynesian Village on our second trip in '91 and learned the story of the arrival of the first people to the Islands...so all we'd really be going for was the music.  We had that...no charge!

Day Four started out a little...eh, differently, shall we say?  For one thing, there was no race for the best beach chairs at 7:00 a.m., as we'd noticed on the previous mornings.  And, instead of other guests, our first sight (right) was the landscaper...climbing the palm tree for some maintenance with a machete, next to our lanai where we were enjoying our breakfast!  Ah, summer season must be well and truly over.  We'd wondered when they did all the jobs that needed doing to keep this resort in tip-top order.  We learned that the hotel had far fewer guests, starting today...but that was just fine with those of us still there.  Mo' bettah, as they say.

We headed to the Beach Walkway to check out the south end...another nice little morning walk, about 25 minutes out, 25 minutes back.  More beautiful views, this time of Molokini (the islet that's really the rim of a partially sunken volcano crater...and a top snorkeling destination) and Kaho'olawe (the now-uninhabited island that was used by the U.S. Navy for bombing practice), one in front of the other off to the west, southwest of our part of Maui.  Once again, we spotted birds we don't see in NC...and took lots of photos of each of them.  That's a Western Cardinal (left)...close kin to the all-over bright red Northern (or as the Hawaiian Bird Book calls it the "Kentucky") Cardinal we have at our feeders.


A little beach time, then off to see some sights!  We headed to Lahaina, about an hour away on the West side of the island, to do a little shopping and gallery-hopping...and finish a fine day with some fine dining.  And, can you believe it?  We just happened to turn onto Dickenson Street when we headed into town off the main highway...and what should be right there but The Needlework Shop...the only yarn store on the island.  What luck!  Actually, they are really a quilt shop...and I would love to have taken a class in the art of Hawaiian quilting...but they do carry some locally-dyed yarns, two skeins of which came home with me.  Tee hee.

Oh, don't feel too sorry for Mr. T.  Right next door was the Maui Vintage clothing shop...home of the Hawaiian shirts like Thomas Magnum (be still my beating heart...:) wore.  He had a tough time deciding on which one he would wear out of the store (!), but he finally went with the Paradise Found Star Orchid in Black.  Good choice!  Doesn't he look fabulous in his new purchase, over there on the right?

After a few more shops and galleries, we found a cute cafe on Front Street that opened across the back to the beach...where they were having $2.00 margaritas until 6:00.  Best deal we found the whole week!  We both had been rather unimpressed with the mai tais (not like we remembered on our last trip...too many "specialities" or fancy additions to suit our tastes), so we decided to Go Mexican on Maui!  Tasty.

We topped off the evening with reservations at Pacific'O restaurant.  That's where that shot of us enjoying another sunset was taken (above), with the island of Lanai'i in the background.  Yes, that's real; that's not a fake back-drop behind us.  We were seated on the patio, practically on the beach where the luau (yes, another one...:) participants assembled before heading to their destination just down the beach.   Again we got to enjoy the music.  This evening, Mr. T got the mahimahi dish and I tried the ono (also known as the wahoo), prepared with macadamia nuts and goat cheese (again from the Surfing Goat dairy).  We split that beautiful salad over there on the left...I just had to take a shot of it before devouring.  Fantastic!

It was a lovely day, but we were happy to head the car back to Wailea.  Tomorrow would be a full day, with the Road to Hana on our itinerary.  What's that, you say?  Do return to learn all about it!

I'll have to pause my tale for another bit (hopefully not as long as the last...:), since it's time for the Fall Premiere of NCIS.  Gotta get my Gibbs fix!  I've had to make do with reruns all summer...and I'm ready.

See you soon!