Lahaina

This morning I popped out of bed at around 7. Really? It's vacation!!!  One is supposed to sleep in! After laying around a bit,  I decided to pop over to the gym until mom woke up. After quietly getting dressed, I headed out, feeling inspired about the day. Twenty minutes later I was still in search of said gym. The signage here is a little like staying in a Vegas hotel -- you spend a lot of time walking in circles. I walked back and forth down one particular hallway twice, walked up (and down) three flights of stairs, and even downloaded a property map. Ultimately, I did find the gym, and this amazing view.

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After breakfast we headed to Lahaina to walk around. We got the walking tour guide at the Visitor's Center and set out to learn all we could about Hawaii. We actually learned quite a bit! Lahaina has a rich history of Hawaiian royalty, missionaries, whaling, and a diverse immigrant population. We didn't make it through the entire walking tour before I hit the "I'm too hot!!" button, but that is to be expected. ;)

Right as I was really dripping with heat, we found Ululani's Shave Ice. I have been looking for real shave ice for nearly 20 years. As a college junior, several of us went to Hawaii and student taught on the north shore of Oahu. Comically, I got kindergarten! One afternoon, our professor, Gordon, took us to a shave ice stand, and basically ordered for us -- ice cream and beans on the bottom and then shave ice and flavor on top. And I've been looking for it ever since! Ironically, the business we visited today got it's start in Portland! This shave ice was just as I remembered. I forgot to order the beans, but did get ice cream on the bottom and then flavor on top. And shave ice -- so smooth.  It not only lowered our body temperatures quite a bit, but made us oh so happy!!

I hope that shave ice turns out to be like gelato when we were in Italy. To make that true, we will need to eat it every day... That is a commitment I am totally willing to make. ;)

 

And then, back to Kaanapali for snorkeling. Which is so exhausting! Part of it is that the getting in and out is really quite tricky because the surf is so strong. And then there is a little bit of adrenaline swimming once in the water.  When the visibility gets low, it spooks me a little bit! Saw another turtle today -- about twice the size of the one yesterday.  And then we just lolly-gagged around the pool, reading and sunning. This is the life. Capped off the evening with an amazing dinner.

Tomorrow -- snorkel trip!!!