Day 1- Maui Shmaui

Well, our flights to Maui were uneventful, thank goodness. But, I can't understand why they wouldn't provide any meals on an 8hr 20min flight. Of course, you can purchase snacks and a sandwich; or just starve all day. (My mother-in-law gets lunch when she flies from NOLA to Austin on ExpressJet!)

This was a nice surprise in the Dallas airport. I had never seen the sculpture before.

After a flight that long, I could have landed anywhere and still have been excited just to be getting off the plane!

Our first glimpse of Haleakala.

My first impression of Maui was a little disappointing- it was overcast and misting when we landed. It took forever for our luggage to arrive, so I called the cycling company that was taking us down the mountain in the morning (as it says to do on our reservation slip); but no one (nor machine) answered all night. The Hertz shuttle picked us up and crammed us in sardine style, leaving plenty of luggage on the floor and plenty of room for it on an open shelf. Our Jeep was not ready for us either and took longer than it should have. Finally, we were on the road, so I called our hotel for directions and got...an answering machine. Let the anxiety begin!

Our oasis for the evening was Aloha Mixed Plate. A cute little eatery on the beach. The ambience was casual but very nice, and the food was excellent!

The Mai Tais really hit the spot, too. (They put these beautiful orchids on everything!)

Finally at the hotel, we were ready to call it a night, it was 11:00pm our time; but the hotel had other plans in mind. Being New Year's Eve there was a band playing in the garden- a really lovely idea if the garden had not been in the center of all the buildings. Did I mention our room faced the garden? The band played until after midnight, although we were told they would end at 10:00. I can appreciate a party; but don't appreciate being forced to join the party when I'm jet-lagged and need to sleep! At the very least, the music shouldn't be louder than my earplugs, extra pillows over my head, and music from my MP3 player. Worst of all, the staff could care less. So today I say, "Maui Shmaui."