I love vistas. All last week on Maui I looked at vistas. I looked through the palm trees and saw the ocean. The wide wide ocean. And across the ocean the hump of another island. I looked over the balcony of our hotel and through the garden of birds and saw the sunset--orange and red. From the road and from the beach I saw long rolling waves. The long views of Maui elongate me.

Every guide book or tourist brochure had a list of must do's in Maui. I didn't do most of them. I did play on the beach every day. I built sand castles, buried myself in sand, ran in the waves, swam in the waves, body surfed, boogie boarded, snorkeled. I applauded David on his boogie board and Rose on hers and John on his.

The girls and I took a little hula lesson. That was fine, but even better was for the rest of the trip the girls made up hula songs and dances for all the kids. They really got the spirit and flow of the dances. I particularly loved the one they made up for David because it was so him--all about pretending to shoot motorcycles out the car window. So sweet.

John and I went dancing in Kihei. We had looked up where the swing dancers hung out and found this great restaurant and bar called Three's. That was really my best meal of the week, well that and the fish taco. It was all locals, so we got to check out that scene. We loved the band and had a fabulous time. Our only regret is the other dancers did West Coast, and we don't know it. My one time trying to dance with someone else was a mess. So, we danced together and had a blast.

One day we took a boat ride to Molikini and snorkeled in the sunken crater. It took me awhile to adjust to the bouncing of the boat, but I loved how the movement stayed with me for days. The snorkeling was magical. One black fish with a white stripe stared just as hard at me as I did at it. I saw all sorts of quick moving neon colors and I know I saw a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, the state fish of Hawaii. We couldn't swim with the turtles because the water was murky and that meant the sharks were swimming with the turtles, but we did get to see them from the boat and they were just as magnificent and prehistoric looking as I expected.

On a friend's suggestion, instead of taking the very twisty road to Hana, we went up a less twisty road and saw a blowhole. The blowhole didn't amaze me, but the waves crashing against the rocks did. I was mesmerized by them. I could have stayed staring all day.

We did not go to the volcano, but we did go upcountry and visit a wonderful state park with vistas (!), lush vegetation, and rocks that I'm sure came from a volcano.

I paid attention to palm trees and small birds with yellow beaks. I paid attention to warm air and warm water. I paid attention to coconut shave ice and my toes in the sand.

Things that were stressful that I got over:

the kids not getting enough sleep.

David's normal bedtime is 8:45-9:00. On Maui sometimes we didn't get him in bed until 9:15 and then woke him up at 6:00 to go on an adventure. I worried, with reason, that he would be irascible, contrary, and incapable of being flexible and polite. He had a couple small fits, but mostly he handled himself. We let him play a lot of video games, listen to books on cd, and eat a lot of ice cream. I think they all helped keep him centered.

the kids' inertia

We would get back from a morning's adventure for a long lunch and rest time. The kids had no trouble settling in with their books and electronics while I had my nap, but then when it was time to go back to the beach, they balked. Several times David said, "Can't we have a day off? Can't we just spend the whole day in the room?" Rose echoed him. I found this infuriating. I did not fly all the way to Hawaii for you to play video games (which I mightily dislike) in a hotel room. John was calmer and kinder about their inertia, and we did not give in to it. Once we were back in the water, I kept wanting to shout "I told you so" as they happily cavorted.

Rose's bathing suit didn't fit

Oh my goodness did we do a lot of prep for this trip. We got water shoes, we got rash guards, we got sunglasses, but we didn't get Rose a new bathing suit. I tried. I went to the bathing suit store, and the nice young women said Rose's current suit (from last year) was actually the right size. Wrong. After the first day, Rose had miserable red lines under her arms and at her groin--everywhere the suit attacked. So, we tried to get her a new suit in Lahaina, the tourist town near our hotel. Nope. None of the suits were modest enough for her comfort. I can understand that, but I was also annoyed at her inability to adapt. Finally, it occurred to us to borrow one of Miriam's suits, and things went beautifully after that.

too much sun

It's hard to get enough sunscreen on often enough. It's just so boring to continually slather yourself. So, we all have some red patches. Luckily, none of us got burned and we got more efficient and committed to sunscreen. We also drank a lot of water and still not enough.


the ridiculous resort hike

Darn it we were going to go on a hike. So, John and I picked a 2.5 mile beach hike that started from our resort. Except, we didn't really want to walk on the beach, so we walked on the boardwalk. Except, the boardwalk didn't go all the way through, so we wandered in and out of resorts. I've never been on a hike where the natural wonders were swimming pools, and you could stop to fill your hat with ice from the ice machine. We all got very hot and tried to enjoy the fascinating differences in the differently priced resorts. The hike ended in a ritzy outdoor mall where we fortified ourselves with ice cream and pearls.


my fear of snorkeling

I got over my fear of snorkeling. It took a little bit to trust the mask and the snorkel and not hyperventilate. It was really great to rent snorkel gear for the week, so I didn't have to worry about getting it perfect the first time. I really relaxed and enjoyed.


things that made the trip go very smoothly:

lots of planning and then good luck with gluten free

Even though the world is getting more and more gluten free accessible, I can never presume. So, we packed muffins, cinnamon bread, regular bread, hot dog buns, and snack bars. And then, because the world is changing, the pizza place and the pancake place across the way both had gluten-free options. We had a relaxed combination of meals in the room and meals out like at the make your own pancake place.

fifteen people being flexible

Did I fail to mention we traveled with my family, my sister's family, Judi and Jess' family, Gerald's family, and my mom? I think that adds up to 15. It was rare that we were in one place together for a head count, and that worked great. People would suggest activities and whomever wanted to join them, and was ready to leave the house at that time, went. We had envisioned the adults taking turns watching clumps of kids while some subset of grown-ups went out for dinner, and that worked great. The kids are so easy these days, especially together, that taking 7 rather than 2 is, in fact, easier.

no must do's and a yes attitude

Someone said let's go to this beach. I said yes. Someone said let's take a boat on Friday instead of Thursday. I said yes. I had nothing I had to do beside get a froufrou drink and play at the beach every day, and I did.