That was what we woke up to. It is the combination of the salty ocean, warm sand, plumeria, all manner of tropical plants, and a little bit of residual coconut sunscreen. The moon was still peaking at us between the palm trees as we drank our morning coffee and watched the birds waking up. That moment was the gift of a 3 hour time difference.

We spent the early morning on the lanai watching the world go by. And the paddlers!

Rick did some investigating online (how did we figure out anything before the internet) and found a nearby club that he could join for an early morning paddle. Now that is going to be a very cool Maui experience!

We eventually rallied ourselves enough to dress and head off for a walk on the beach. We went right, and that was a very good call.

The beach was not crowded and after strolling for 10 or 15 minutes we arrived at a breakwater that we could only pass by walking up to the road. And there were all the things that Ellen had told me about: a small Farmer’s market, a bakeshop and what is reported to be the best shaved ice on Maui.

Although Ululani’s would not open for another half hour, there was already a line forming and Rick joined the throngs. To be honest, I was more excited by the papaya and the homemade vegan banana bread that we had purchased at the market and were bringing home for lunch.

We strolled back along the beach, changed into our bathing suits and in my case, slathered on about 1/2 lb of reef safe sunscreen. We headed to the beach, armed with books and beach chairs. Delightful.

The water was warm, though the waves still knocked me about a bit and the spot where the waves broke was quite murky from the sand. I briefly wondered how deep I could safely go without bumping into something surprising, like a wandering shark, but quickly put that out of my mind.

We discovered later that day that there had been a tiger shark attack in Oahu. Unfortunately I did look up the story… might regret that even though shark attacks are quite rare.

Two hours was enough sun for me if I did not want to risk turning into a crispy critter. We enjoyed the fresh papaya and banana bread for a light lunch and I researched the best beaches to find turtles. Then we were off again, heading to Lahaina for the afternoon. We had dinner reservations up that way.

We passed a number of beaches, but this was the lovely bit.

Lahaina is a quaint old whaling village. Front Street is filled with shops, restaurants and galleries. I wanted to go to the Honolulu Cookie Company. Rick was very keen to stop at Badass Coffee. We did both.

(Interrupted. OMG! How can anyone decide to use a leaf blower in this wonderful, slow, quiet place? And yet, there he is busily blowing the 7 leaves that are lying on the pool deck. Tomorrow I will get up early and remove them by hand myself!)

No surprise to any of you, I love turtles. I have been drawn to them since that first swim on Hawaii (The Big Island). Laura and I bumped into them snorkelling near the hotel. Then Doug found Dad’s membership card to the Honourable Order of Turtles, which began as a drinking club for WWII pilots. I now I have a turtle tattoo on my left wrist which is some weird combination of my turtle love and my regard for my father.

All that backstory led me to Maui Divers Jewellery where, after a relatively brief amount of contemplation, I purchased a black coral honu pendant. I had done my research in advance; reef coral is protected and I was not going to be the one that stole from the ocean.

Black coral is different. It is the gemstone of Hawaii and grows much deeper than the reef coral we are familiar with, typically below 50m. Hawaiian black coral is heavily regulated and sustainably harvested under strict government controls. This is unlike the disappearing black coral beds in Cozumel Mexico and Madagascar.

Rick was entertained by a collection of birds directly outside the shop. They were cheeky and talkative, though well-trained and very well behaved. Liz, a white cockatiel, would occasionally latch onto a head of hair if was in close proximity, though she was quick let go on command.

None of the birds were native to Hawaii. In fact, only about 5 species are. The other species arrived with settlers, as they had no way to navigate across the ocean.

We did uncover the mystery of the ‘wild’ chickens, care of the bird man. Wild chickens are a new phenomenon, resulting from the pandemic when chickens were abandoned by their owners. There are no natural predators for the chickens. I do wonder how far this wild chicken thing will spread. Will they need to build a chicken-proof fence, similar to the rabbit-proof fence in Australia?

The rest of our time in Lahaina was spent wandering through a number of beautiful galleries and watching the sun set.

The most impressive of the galleries was the Peter Lik’s. It has been in Lahaina for 23 years. His pieces are mind-blowing. Really. I have borrowed an example from the internet to share here. This is one of his most famous, “Pele’s Whisper”. This is the moment when art and timing collide.

If you could see his work you would know why I am going on about him. He captures rare moments, then develops all the photos himself using special paper that reacts to ambient light. This allows the images to shift and change in different conditions. Most of his pieces are huge. Many are worth thousands and thousands of dollars. He has sold 4 of the top 25 most expensive fine art photographs in the world – for $10M total.

There was a rumour, started by Rick, that Peter Lik offered a Masterclass. Man was I excited! Turns out there was a misunderstanding between being a master photographer and teaching a Masterclass. I am a tad disappointed.

The sun began setting while we were in Lahaina. Front Street was lined with amateur photographers taking selfies and time lapsed photos. I bounced back and forth to the water’s edge a number of times. The sunset was endless :0)

By the time darkness arrived we were ready for dinner. Rick had made reservations at Mala’s Ocean Tavern, right on the water at the far, far, far end of Front Street.

We both had fish: Ahi tuna for me and Mahi Mahi for Rick. His cocktail, modelled after an Old Fashioned, was lovely. I briefly considered a cocktail myself.

My was interest was piqued by a recent concoction made with Irish Whiskey washed in Wagyu beef fat. It would have been amazing… or really, really bad. They had kept it on the menu for a few months after it received rave reviews so that was something right? I changed my mind when she described the fat as contributing to the mouth feel versus directly to the flavour. I was pretty sure a fatty mouth and a cocktail would not go together for me. Wisdom prevailed and I ordered a glass or rose.

Satiated, happy, and tired, we trundled the road back to our condo which I have come to appreciate. The musty smell is gone (after washing the full load of dirty dishes that the previous resident had left behind.) Rick has mastered patiently manoeuvring the truck in the tiny parking lot. And our fridge has a collection of some of our favourite breakfast and snack foods. It feels a bit more like home than one of the big hotels could have ever been.