Well, just in case anyone was wondering, Jessica and I found a nice (ok, not sooo nice, but acceptable) beach for our evening under the stars. We got quite a late start, but I was really glad we were finally able to say we slept on a random beach all night. And boy was it ever the longest night in history. Sleeping on the cold (and super windy), hard sand wrapped in my zip-up and a pair of yoga pants wasn’t really what I pictured. I did see stars though, and the full moon was beautiful. The rain was somewhat annoying, and I was a little paranoid after waking up at 4 am to see people….(why do people tend to seem so scary late at night?) but I think it was just one of those things I had to do… We left the beach around 6 am, having slept maybe 1.5 hours…we decided to utilize our time. We changed at a Burger King, and then did some laundry at a local place. It was hard work trying to keep my eyes open. We decided we needed some rest so we drove back up past Lahaina to our old stomping grounds in Honokowai which is in the North west part of Maui, and spent most of the day laying out on the rocks and snorkeling.

Did I not tell you about our condo in that area?? Well it was called Hale Maui, and the owner Hans was a very sweet older gentleman who was very welcoming. It had a bedroom, kitchen area, 2 couches, TV, and a side balcony where you could still see the ocean (quite a step up from our hostel experience). Although it was quite touristy,(the whole area was lined with condos like ours) Jessica and I managed to find a market, an amazing rocky peninsula for our “beach days” (away from all the resorty people), and a fun/unexpected running path along the coast. It was just what we needed. We spent our 3 days in that area, basically lounging and doing a lot of snorkeling. We did take an evening to stroll around the town of Lahaina, with all it’s shops, art galleries, and restaurants. We saw the biggest banyan tree in the world (not sure about that one, but it has to be in the top three), as well as a group of hula dancers practicing on a tennis court…very random.

I’ve enjoyed this Hawaii trip so much. It has been the perfect vacation…I’ve been lucky to have traveled to so many places around the world, and they’ve all been amazing in different ways, so I can’t really compare them, but I will say Hawaii is a place I will be returning (destination wedding anyone?? :))

With that said, I’m getting a little nervous about the dreaded fly home day. The time has gone so fast. I’m afraid of real life….I like Hawaii life. Real life is scary, stressful, complicated, and hard…Nothing is hard about Hawaii. I know what you’re saying…. “that’s because you’re on vacation, vacation is not the real world!” I know that, I guess I’m just not really looking forward to Canton just quite yet. But I do miss all of you…that’s why I would never live here (relax mom- I haven’t looked for jobs here) My friends and family are too important to relocate….plus, I think your problems follow you when you move….even moving to Hawaii. Wow, I must be tired… sharing all of this deep emotional crap :).

Anyways, I’m at a bed and breakfast in Kula a small little town on the side of Haleakala. It’s very quaint, and Jessica and I are looking forward to getting some much needed sleep. Oh, side note…If you run down a volcano, it may feel amazing, like you can run forever…but the way up is terrible…I do not recommend this….the views aren’t quite as great when you’re feeling like you could die…stick to biking, walking, or riding in a car :).

Stay tuned for my next post about the nude beach…I went there last Friday and haven’t had a chance to write about it yet. Note to Grandparents who may be reading, this post may be PG-13 :).

Aloha