December 26, 2010: Maui - Pai'a Fish Market, Mana Foods, Beach Hopping, Best Pasta Dinner Ever

We slept in late our first morning in Maui, enjoying the freedom of not having any particular plan. After getting up I browsed through our guidebook for tips on lunch and groceries. I also mulled over where to leave my laptop and camera - we didn't have a room safe like we'd had in Kaua'i. I decided to hide them in the microwave, where they just fit.

We decided to head down to the nearby oceanside town of Pai'a. Reviews for The Paia Fish Market were favourable, and Mark was looking forward to a great fish taco. We got there a bit before noon which turned out to be fortunate - it wasn't long before the line was stretching out the door and there weren't any more places to sit. We squeezed over at our picnic-table-style seating to make room for an elderly couple - they've been many times to Maui over the years, and said they always made a point of going for lunch at the Fish Market.

After lunch we walked around a bit through some gift shops, and then stopped in at Mana Foods - from the storefront it looked like it might just be a small health food store, but it turned out to be an extensive grocery store with a great selection of local fruits and vegetables - the kind of place we'd been hoping to find all throughout our time in Hawai'i. At last we could feast on the island's bounty! We got local Maui onions (a sweet Vidalia-type onion), tomatoes, dinosaur kale, garlic, mushrooms, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

On our way out of town we stopped by the beach, although we weren't prepared with swimsuits, sunscreen or towels. The waves were very strong there, as is typical for the north shore, so we could see that we wouldn't do any swimming. After dropping our groceries off at home we decided to drive over to the south shore of Maui instead, which was supposed to better for swimming.

Maui is bigger than Kaua'i and more developed, although it varied from one part of the island to another. It reminded me a bit of California, particularly the rolling hills of the upland area where we were staying. The south shore also seemed quite California in a different respect - crowded beaches and non-stop stretches of upscale resorts. We didn't really like this aspect of it, but the landscape of the beaches was beautiful, and different from what we'd seen on the other islands, with rugged outcroppings of black volcanic rock. We spent a bit of time beach-hopping from Kama'ole Beach (very busy with tourists) to Makena Landing (not busy at all, and it looked like a favourite local hang-out).

For dinner we made pasta, with all of our fantastic local vegetables plus an unusual artichoke pesto and an amazing herb-encrusted salami. It may have just been the setting, or the fun of cooking for ourselves on our honeymoon, or the bottle of wine, but it seemed like the best pasta dinner ever.

Our rental place was just off Kokomo Road - the Beach Boys song 'Kokomo' keeps running through my head every time we turn onto it. Which is unfortunate - I am not a Beach Boys fan.

 

Pai'a store Alice in Hulaland

 

South shore beach

 

Sea urchin!

 

Volcanic peak in the distance

 

Trying to figure out how this sign had been altered, my first thought was "how did they change the 't' in 'steep' into an 'h'?" Silly me - 'r' to 'p' would be far easier. I do not have a future career as a sign vandalizer.

 

Sunset at Makena Landing

December 25, 2010: Kaua'i - Wailua Falls, A Gift, Mele Kalikimaka Dinner, Maui

Our last day in Kaua'i. Mark and I didn't fly out to Maui until late afternoon, and our families didn't fly out to Vancouver until late evening, so we still had some time for sightseeing.

We checked out and headed over to Wailua Falls, which was just a short drive away. The view was from above, and the falls were impressive. The official government height of the falls is 80 feet, but in the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook the authors note that it looked considerably taller, so they decided to measure it and found that it is 173 feet - as tall as Niagara Falls (although far less water flows over)!

As we started to pull out of the parking lot we were stopped by a woman who was there weaving baskets for the tourists. I rolled down the window and she asked if we were newlyweds - Heather and Anthony had written "Just Married" in the dust on our bumper the day before. She gave us a basket with two fish kissing - it was really quite touching.

For lunch we went to Kilohana Plantation. This was the plantation that our families had visited on Dec 23, while Mark, Sara and I were hiking the Kalalau trail. John had noticed that they had a special Christmas lunch offer, with all local food from the plantation, and had made reservations. We had time before lunch to walk around and see the historic buildings, farm implements, and tour the jewellery store. Lunch was delicious - a traditional turkey dinner but a tropical aspect to the ingredients (if I remember right it was a cranberry and mango sauce). We wished each other a "Mele Kalikimaka" (the Hawai'ian translation for "Merry Christmas"); it had been a wonderful family vacation in addition to our wedding, and it was a really special experience to have all our families together over the holidays. Then Mark and I headed off to the airport, for our honeymoon in Maui.

Mark and I had to make two flights - one to Oahu, then another to Maui. Flying out of these small island airports was so easy in comparison to the international flights - lines were short, luggage was unloaded promptly. We got into Maui and found the shuttle to our car rental - the woman at the counter was almost a cliche of hard island living: too much sunshine, cigarettes and hair dye.

We were happy to have borrowed Heather and Anthony's GPS unit - finding our way out to the countryside in the dark where we were staying at a little family-run complex would have been difficult otherwise. Once again we had winding roads, hairpin turns and a one-lane bridge on our drive into the "uplands" - a ranching area of the island near the base of the East Maui volcano, Haleakala. We got out of the car to find incredibly bright stars in a dark night sky and the overpowering sound of crickets. Unlike our resort in Kaua'i, this was a small and simple place - really just somewhere to sleep and eat before heading out to explore the islands.

 

Wailua Falls

 

The large luau dining hall at Kilohana - with a live tree growing through its roof!

 

The tree - a huge mango

 

Poinsettias - not just a potted Christmas plant in Hawai'i

 

Old plantation equipment decorates the grounds - like this crate of underwear?

 

At quick glance it's a mutant two-headed donkey...

 

Cat rising from a lazy nap on an outbuilding porch

 

Not all the outbuildings are genuine - some have been built for film sets

 

Yet another wild rooster

 

Mele Kalikimaka!

December 24, 2010: Kaua'i - More Ocean, Sightseeing Flight, Whales, Kapa'a, Roasted Vegetables

First thing Mark and I walked up the shoreline to nearby Lydgate Park, where there was a snorkeling area. This was where Mark and Sara had gone to play in the waves the morning before our wedding. I was relieved to find that the waves were not as big as they'd been at Tunnels Beach, and I started to get the hang of just floating on the top of the waves rather than standing firm trying to resist them - going with the flow and enjoying their motion was much more pleasant. The snorkeling wasn't great - a lot of sand diminishing the visibility and not too many fish, but it was still good practice for getting used to using a snorkel - we hoped to do more snorkeling while in Maui.

One of the top tourist activities in Kaua'i is a helicopter flight over the island to see the mountainous interior and north shore, which are otherwise not accessible. We had debated whether to take one - some of the seats don't have a window view, and we weren't keen on guzzling gas and creating noise pollution for hikers below. But after reading a review for Air Ventures I booked myself, Mark and our parents on a tour: their small fixed wing planes are far more fuel efficient, quieter, and every passenger gets a window seat. The plane can't fly as low and close to the landscape as a helicopter, but we would still have an amazing perspective on the island. And it was much less expensive!

We had a perfect day for flying - sunny with not a cloud in the sky. Our pilot also told us that the air was very calm so we would have a smooth flight. The tour was over an hour long, and we flew over the entire island. At the outset we saw a humpback whale breaking the surface of the water - the whales migrate between Alaska in the summer and Hawai'i in the winter. Mark and his father, being west coast residents, were particularly excited by this sight - they knew how rare it was.

Virtually every view was cloud free except for the highest peak, Mount Wai'ale'ale. This was not surprising - it is said to be the wettest spot in the world, with almost perpetual clouds raining down an average of 450 inches of rain per year. If we return to Kaua'i in the future I'd love to go on the hike through the Alaka'i swamp which forms from its run-off - it's the highest elevation swamp in the world, and has many rare plants and animals.

We finally saw clearly what had been obscured by clouds on our trip two days earlier to the Waimea Canyon and the Kalalau look-out to the Na Pali coast. We also saw amazing waterfalls - our pilot told us that the Wailua waterfall, close to our resort, was one of the best and most accessible.

After returning to the resort, we (my mother, John and Sara) headed in to the nearby village of Kapa'a for a bit of sightseeing in the shops. I bought some coasters in the shape of sea turtles, in honour of Mark and Sara's sighting the day before. We toured an amazing gallery of glass art, which had incredible sea creatures and shells recreated in glass. We also visited an orchid shop, housed in a long alleyway between buildings. Then it was time for us to take Sara to the airport, so that she could continue on to her trip to New Zealand.

For dinner we attempted to use up all the food in the kitchen - my solution was a batch of roasted vegetables (taro root, carrots, onions, possibly others that I've forgotten) with several lemons (which I've never thrown in with roasted vegetables before) and the spice packet from the tabouleh mix - for a dinner of mismatched items it worked out quite well.

 

Before take-off

 

Inside the plane

 

The whale's tail!

 

One of many waterfalls

 

Waimea Canyon ridge

 

Waimea Canyon valley

 

Na Pali coast from directly overhead

 

Clouds descend over the Na Pali coast

 

Even more clouds as we round the coast of the north shore

 

Wailua Falls

 

Mark - wishing he had a good quote from Top Gun

 

Fields of crops

December 23, 2010: Kaua'i - Kalalau Trail, Ke'e Beach, Tunnels Beach, 'Anini Beach, Turtle, BBQ

We didn't get up quite as early as recommended for hiking the Kalalau Trail - we (Mark, myself and Sara) headed out in the car at 6:45, rather than 5:30. The drive was the same route as we'd taken to our luau dinner - just a little further along the north shore, with a few more one-lane bridges and narrow hairpin turns, until the highway's end at Ke'e Beach. Happily, we still got there early enough to get a parking spot near the lifeguard (safest from vandalism according to our taxi driver friend), and so we headed into the rain forest.

Just as we started up the trail, Mark found a walking stick that someone had left behind. I had my hiking pole, and all three of us were wearing reasonable hiking gear. We were glad of it before very long - the trail was slick and muddy from recent rains, and it zigzagged up and down the mountainsides that plunged down into the ocean.

When we reached the fork in the trail, we had to decide: Hanakapi'ai waterfall or beach? We wouldn't have time to do both. Although I really love waterfalls we opted for the beach - a shorter, easier hike. There were only a few people at the beach when we got there - we sat at a quiet end of it by ourselves, watching a sandpiper dashing about to avoid the waves and crabs popping in and out of their holes. Apart from a surfer there was no one in the water - scary signs warning about the high number of people drowned at the beach had scared us off.

By the time we got up to leave the beach had filled in with more visitors, and starting back along the trail we passed numerous hikers, making us even more glad that we'd headed out early enough to feel like we had this beautiful wilderness to ourselves. More than one of them commented enviously on our walking sticks. The closer we got to the trail head the more inadequate footwear we saw - surely these people would not make it to the beach without injury or great unhappiness. My hiking pants had become red from the knees down with splashed mud - Mark thinks the sight of them was striking fear in the hearts of those who were just starting out.

We sat down at Ke'e Beach to eat our lunch, watching the wild chickens run about, then rinsed off our shoes and pants at the freshwater tap. Then we drove back along the north shore, looking for a less crowded beach to relax at.

We pulled in at Tunnels Beach. Although I've read that this is a great beach for snorkeling it wasn't possible that day - the waves were much too big and strong. After going in the water I realized that I had no real idea of what ocean waves could be like - I was determined to stand up against them and promptly got knocked down and swept up toward the beach, skidding along on my backside. I hung onto Mark's hand as tightly as possible, swallowed a bit of salt water, and more or less managed to enjoy being buffeted about.

Tunnels Beach was a bit crowded, so we continued along the north shore to revisit 'Anini Beach, which we'd seen the day before was far less busy. The waves weren't as strong there, but I still opted for a nap on the sand rather than going in the water again. I'm not much of a lying in the sun kind of person, but the weather really was perfect for it - warm enough to be perfectly comfortable, but with a gentle breeze so that you never got overheated. I actually nodded off to sleep - when Mark and Sara got back they told me how they'd seen a giant sea turtle come up from the depths - an amazing sight I was sorry to have missed.

We headed for home, stopping in at the grocery store along the way. Getting out of the car Sara mentioned that she was so relaxed she felt drunk, and I realized that was just how I felt too. I may never have felt so mellow in my life - all our wedding tasks were successfully out of the way, we'd had a great workout with the hike, been massaged by the waves, and then I'd had a blissful nap on the beach. I've never before wandered about in a grocery store in a bikini top, but it felt totally normal under the circumstances.

We reunited with the rest of our families, who'd enjoyed touring around the island, visiting an historical plantation and taking the river cruise to the famous Fern Grotto. The men tackled barbecuing meat and vegetable shishkabobs (no lights to see by and no surfaces to set anything down - the resort needs to rethink its barbecue facilities) and we feasted: chicken, shrimp, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms.

After dinner I quickly pulled up our wedding photos, picked one to post and wrote up a wedding announcement message so that we could share our surprise.

 

 Mark and Sara start the climb up the trail. We climbed up and down over and over again.

 

Beautiful morning light along the Na Pali coast.

 

Clouds over a peaceful ocean - later on it was much rougher.

 

Do you think there's anyone officially recording on this sign how many visitors are killed?

 

Mark and Sara cross the river. And where am I while taking this photo? Standing in the water - I gave up on trying to ford it over the rocks.

 

This poor little sandpiper kept running, trying to avoid the waves.

 

Crab burrowing in the sand - it was very difficult to get close enough for a good shot.

 

The surfer finally makes it on top of the wave.

 

The trail, criss-crossing up the side of the ridge.

December 22, 2010: Kaua'i - We Wed, Under the Rainbow

After four days of unrelenting rain (an unusual state-wide weather system hanging over Hawai'i) we woke to the sound of wild roosters crowing (a universal sound on Kaua'i) and to sunshine!

Three months ago, when we started booking our trip to Hawai'i for Mark's conference, we had the idea to get married on the beach - it was the perfect opportunity. And, happily, all of our immediate family were able to join us: my mother, Edith; my sister, Heather; my brother-in-law, Anthony; Mark's father, John; and Mark's sister, Sara.

In the morning, Mark and Sara went down to the nearby shore to play in the ocean - a bit of a bachelor outing of sorts, while Heather and Anthony took me to my hair and makeup appointment with Christie Thompson. By this point I was feeling a little nervous, but Christie was so fun and easy to talk to that it was a relaxing experience.

We had a delay getting back to the resort because of construction traffic, so I dashed up to our room in a bit of a panic - then had a bit more of a panic because I couldn't get the door open - my key wouldn't turn the deadbolt. And where was Mark?! Turns out he was upstairs at his family's room, having his own mild panic as he tried to iron silk for the first time ever - we hadn't realized that the fancy island shirt and pants we'd picked out for him were silk. I got his key, dashed into our room, and was back out and ready at the car no more than fifteen minutes later. How was I so fast? Because I knew the dress well - I was wearing a favourite sundress that I'd bought several years earlier and had already worn to several other fancy summer events.

We had worked with A Fairytale Wedding to book our service - they knew which beach would be as private as possible, how to get the permit, arrange for the minister, photographer/coordinator and musician. Other than that, it was easy for us to prepare - we selected our songs and customized the aloha-themed wedding vows. The trickiest thing was probably getting the directions for the exact pull-off for the beach so that we would be able to find each other - 'Anini beach is a very long beach without any major landmarks to meet at.

It wasn't clear if we could trust the sun to hold out all day, or if the same conditions held on the rest of the island. We'd seen the day before in our drive around the perimeter of the island how the weather could change radically from minute to minute, one place to the next. But we were hopeful.

As we pulled in to 'Anini beach on the north shore the sun was shining, with some cloudy areas off to the east. Just as Rev. Billy Magruder began the service, a rainbow started to form. By the time we came to the first musical interlude it was shining brightly. Our photographer/coordinator, Holly, was stunned by our luck (she'd come with umbrellas in hand to the service), and our musician, Charity, was delighted that the song we had chosen for that interlude was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The rainbow lasted throughout the ceremony until we finished taking pictures at the end.

We were happy to find that our wedding rings from Fair Trade Jewellery Company (flown in with Heather and Anthony, as they'd only been finished days earlier) fit well - it was the first we'd seen of them, although we'd been working on the design for some time. The rings are etched with a section of a topographical map of Norway, along the trail that we hiked two years ago. The two of us, represented via our birthstones, walk together along the dotted path. I'd debated trying mine on before the service, but was a bit paranoid that it might be too tight to come off, so I'd waited.

With the service done we drove back to our resort for a celebratory drink as the sun set. For dinner we ate at Hukilau Lanai, just down the road from our resort. It was, all agreed, the best meal we've had thus far in Hawai'i. The highlight was probably the candied ahi tuna, but the fish and steak main courses were fantastic too. Mark and I ordered the chocolate molten lava cake, which was so rich that it circulated around the whole table of seven more than once.

And at the end of the evening we had a happy reunion - Sara's helpful cab driver from her first night on the island gave us our ride home - and tips for our next day's plans - a hike along the Kalalau trail. He advised us to start off at 5:30 in the morning - maybe the first day of married life is going to be the toughest one of all!

Addendum: turns out we didn't start our hike until 6:45 - phew!

 

Our wedding procession - the Nitz family is in the car behind us

 

Holly pins a flower in my hair (a flower on the left, in Hawai'ian culture signifies that a woman is married or taken)

 

The rainbow appears

 

Mark places the ring on my finger

 

Holly asks us to try a dip - easier said than done

 

Our families: John, Sara, Mark, Julie, Anthony, Heather and Edith

Wearing our rings

 

A close-up of our rings

 

The ceremony

 

We pose under the rainbow

 

Dinner at Hukilau Lanai 

 

Delicious chocolate molten lava cake - so rich it took all seven of us to eat it

 

A sneak peak at next morning's hike - we made it!