I woke up early this morning. We had to catch a 9:17AM fight to Maui and we were an hour away from the airport. I was too tired to pack the night before. Our freshly washed clothes lay in the sofa unfolded. I showered and then ate the donut holes and fruit juice I got the evening before.

As I packed my clothes and souvenirs I began to wonder if all of it would fit, but sure enough it did all fit, but I made a mental note: no more souvenirs…or at least no more big souvenirs.

We began our journey at around 6AM. I turned in my key to the resort staff (24 hour front desk). We crossed into the suburbs of Princeville with well manicured grass done by lawn care specialists who couldn’t afford to live there. I stopped to take a photo of the $150 fine to anyone parking on the street. It might have been targeted to those beachgoers who need a place to park, or maybe it’s some rule rich hoity toity people used to separate themselves from the lower classes.

Driving in the dark before sunrise in an unfamiliar place is both unnerving and adventurerous. I got both of these feelings in the spectrum, but my fears are always calmed by my ever present wife and navigator. We stopped to get a few sunrise photos on the nearest beach. Spectacular comes to mind.

We pulled into the airport too soon, with not enough time to get gas. So I may end of updating for. 4th of a tank of gas. The only hang up with TSA is we couldln’t bring our suntan lotion with us. We could have checked it, but really who checks a bottle of suntan lotion? Or even checks your carry on just because you have a full bottle of suntan lotion.

We found our gate and waited on our flight. Hawaiian Airlines must have a near monopoly on intraisland flights. Their rates are good, so no one is complaining yet. Southwest recently got into the intraisland flight which hopefully will start a pricing war if it hasn’t already.

From the plane we saw Oahu, Molokai, and Maui. Molokai continues to be an undeveloped area compared to the other islands as seen from the air.

We caught some kind of light rail train to the rental car station. This is new compared to my last trip in 2008. It might be because the airport has limited parking spaces (as discussed later on in this entry). We chose a Nissan Altima as our rental vehicle. I had hoped for a VW Jetta as advertised but got the fine print “or other equivalent.”

We set off for the “free parking lot” near the Maui Ocean Center. The only problem was that there weren’t any spaces available. We chose instead to park in an overflow to which may or may not have been within regulations. (We later found out from the server at the General Store that we would not get towed).

Lunch was at the general store. We both got cheeseburgers. It’s more of restaurant than a general store. Patrons have the choice of playing board games like Scattigories and Connect Four.

Next was the Maui Ocean Center. It’s basically an aquarium with a little more on the history of Kaho’olawe as a bombing range and cleanup efforts. We saw sharks, turtles, seahorses and our favorites – jellyfish. Sharon and I just like to sit and watch the jellyfish all day in their darkened fluorescent lighted tank.

We decided to go on to Lahaina Printsellers, a favorite stop of mine. I was here in 2008 and got a print of Hawaii and Chine. Now I wanted a print of some special place Sharon and I had been to. Honestly I could have bought much more, because I love maps so much, but I simply do not have room for them on my walls. But I did manage to get a couple of prints – Tennessee and Kauai, both special to myself and Sharon.

This area of Maui had terrible parking. We drove for a few blocks before finding a spot. Sharon stayed behind while I walked to Lahaina Printsellers.

We got caught up in Maui rush hour to check in at our hotel – the Nalu Kia Lodge. We ended up seeing a sobriety test adminsters by Maui’s finest to an obviously drunk driver.

Nalu Kia Lodge is located in the alleyway of Paia on the north shore of Maui. Sharon picked it because it was near our road to Maui and other attactions in the rea. There is no front desk clerk. Instead our names were written on a board with our room assignment and key in our room. Like Corey and Darlene’s Airbnb condo in Kauai I wasn’t sure if we’d even meet the owners or staff. We retreated to our room for a short rest time before going to Zippy’s – a Hawaiian equivalent of Denny’s, but with a lot more Asian food and more locals. I think we were the only tourists there.

We stopped at Target on the way back to our hotel to buy essentials for meals.

Parking is a problem with Malu Kia Lodge. They have more rooms than parking spaces. And each space is awkwardly positioned. We parked on the street (I rarely parallel park and this parking exercise showed me what I’m made up. We carried our bagless groceries like the Clampetts back to our room.

Tomorrow we’ll visit the dormant volcano and maybe have some beach time. Goodnight all.