From Kaanapali

We are staying at a resort hotel at Kaanapali beach here in Maui. I have never stayed at a hotel like this before and even though of course I know all the things wrong with it (environmental impact, for one), it is really nice. There is a huge pool with a giant area just for kids. The kiddie pool has very shallow water (1.5 feet at the deepest), teeny pebbles/big sand to play with in the water, floating soft plastic dolphins and stationary turtles to climb on, and a water slide that I am allowed to go down with Captain Adorable. The first day we were here I spent 3 hours at that pool with him! There is also an adult pool and an adult water slide, but the kiddie pool is so much fun I only went down the adult slide once!

Yesterday we drove the Road To Hana, which took longer than I thought it would, so we were away from the hotel for over 12 hours. Of course, we stopped and got out to explore multiple times, so we were not sitting in the car all that time, but it did take far longer than I would have liked. We wanted to drive all the way around the island, but the road at the southern end of eastern Maui was closed due to falling rock(!) so we had to turn back. Bummer. Captain Obvious rented a convertible for the trip, so we were armed with sunscreen and hats. We even convinced Captain Adorable to wear his hat for long periods of time. :) I was really glad we had it, especially when he was sleeping. The convertible is a lot of fun and certainly made the beautiful scenery all the more accessible. That road is kinda crazy and a little dangerous, though! We drove from Kaanapali to Kuapo and back. Here's a map in case you are interested. If you click on the phrase "View Larger Map" (located beneath the map) you will see a larger version of the map, with the route we drove indicated.


View Larger Map

I had read that there are no restaurants on the road, so yesterday we had a picnic lunch that we picked up at a natural foods store in Paia. Some crusty bread, chevre, hummus, and a prepared cold soup (kale and cucumber) from their deli. We ate sitting on the beach of a beautiful little lagoon. (I think that's what it would be called...) Delicious!

We had dinner at a Vietnamese place called Fresh Mint (also in Paia). It is a vegan restaurant, and I was rather disappointed at the very small amounts of tofu in the dishes, seeing as I have not had a solid protein portion since we left for Hawaii. I guess I am going to have to make sure I eat some rice and beans for lunch or something. That's the bad side of this hotel--the food is extremely over priced. So much so that we are not eating at the hotel! There is a little fridge in the room, so we have some things from the grocery store down the road.

We are still fighting jet lag, but all three of us are doing well. Last night we did not put Captain Adorable (who did not have one pee accident the entire day on the road and is now a pro at peeing outside, thank you very much) to bed until 9:00 (Hawaii time) and I fell asleep with him, leaving Captain Obvious awake and alone with a bottle of wine in a dark room in which he had to be quiet enough not to wake us. Poor guy! Oh well, hopefully I can make it up to him tonight. There is still half a bottle of wine left!

This vacation is a marvelous escape and I am enjoying myself immensely. However, I had hoped for total escape and cancer keeps creeping in. I still have to remember to take my Tarceva and all of the self care associated with being on a drug like Tarceva. I still have fears and worries about starting chemo again. I still dwell on thoughts like "I wish I didn't have cancer."

The airline we took from Honolulu (on Oahu) to Kahului (on Maui) sent our baggage to the wrong island and we had to wait over 2 hours for it to arrive. When the baggage person told me this, I burst into tears. Now, granted, I was exhausted and frustrated, but really the news she had for me was not that bad. Of course, little did she know that inside me was also the thought that every second I was wasting in that stupid airport was not only a second of my Hawaiian vacation wasted, but also a second of the very precious life I have left. Yeah, yeah, I think positive, don't get me wrong, make the best of every experience blah blah (had a lot of fun with Captain Adorable looking at and identifying all the vehicles that drove past the airport "Car!" "Truck!" "Bus! Bus! Bus!"), live the eternal moment, but damn sometimes when your luggage gets sent to the wrong island the idea that your life is way too short to spend in a grubby airport baggage claim area crashes down on you.*

Ah well, my plans for today include the pool and the beach with my son and my husband. :) And probably some drinks. :) :) Definitely some drinks! :) :) :)

* Because the car seat was in the luggage, you understand, so although Captain Obvious was able to go ahead and get the rental car, Captain Adorable could not leave the airport. Yes, we could have rented a car seat from the car rental place, but it seemed stupid to do so for only an hour.