Wednesday, June 20th, 2018…… We started out about 7:30am. We had shown Daisy about everything we could
given the time we had with her. She
dropped us off at the Hut, our shuttle stop. From there we made the 100-mile
trip to Portland International (PDX). Our flights would take us to San
Francisco then on to LAX. Jeff and Krista were in LA already from their flight
from Ft Myers, FL. Would you believe
they had to connect via New Jersey!
Lydia and I already had seat assignments all the way going and coming. I
had lucked out and we got upgraded to an exit row for the long five-hour flight
over. Even so, it was a long flight! Once we landed (at 8:25pm Hawaii local
time), Lydia and I went to get the rental car and the rest of the group (Jeff,
Krista, and Penny) collected all of our bags and went to the curb. We had reserved a minivan and the counter guy
suggested the Chrysler Pacifica. Good
choice! We checked out of the lot and
headed back to pick everyone up. The
Avis gate guy had scanned our car with his machine (about the size of the first
giant portable phone!) as we left the lot. We made one wrong turn going back to the
baggage area and that’s when I heard (and saw) the guy’s device come off of the
windshield wiper area, WHERE HE HAD LEFT IT! I stuck my arm out the window and got lucky
and made a one in a million shot and grabbed it as it was flying off the car! We took it back and then went back yet again
to get everyone. (I found out a week later, when I checked the car in, that the
story had gone around all of Avis and that the device was probably worth 3
grand!). That guy owes me big time!
The drive from
the airport to our rental home address (in Kihei) was about 29 miles. We followed a cell map program but it took us
to a wrong address. We finally got there, and no one was there. They were supposed to meet us with a key. I
called and they said, ‘she’s at the house now’. Turns out I had retyped the
address in my cell as 61 instead of 67. No worries, she was down the street. We
got in and unpacked and it was about 11:30pm when we all settled down for the
night. Boy what a long day.
Thursday, June 21st, 2018…… We
slept in. But not really since we were still on west coast time in our
heads. Hawaii is three hours earlier than
PST. Our plan today was to go eat breakfast out, then go to Costco and stock up
the house. But before that, Jeff and I made a coffee run to Starbucks. There were two in the area. We chose one
direction and it ended up being in the courtyard of the Marriott Hotel. Turns out we had to valet park just to get
coffee! Won’t do that again! We then loaded up everyone and went to find a
place for breakfast. We headed to the
beach and found Kihei Caffe, about ½ mile from the house. They had an outside
area where we could eat and it was nice. After a bit of shopping in the local
stores, we made the drive to Costco and got most of what we needed for the week.
The bill was over $450.00! But no
worries. Randy and Maryanne had given us their ‘list’ and we would later split
the cost three and a half ways. We went home and unloaded and the girls went to
Safeway and got whatever we didn’t choose to buy in bulk at Costco. We heated up the spa and lounged around for a
few hours. Later, Jeff and I took off to
go find the address in Haiku for the bike adventure we were going to do on
Sunday. Later in the evening, Lydia and I made the drive back to the airport to
pick up Randy and Maryanne. Their flight
was about the same arrival time as ours. Once we got back, we all had a few
drinks and relaxed and talked a bit and planned our day tomorrow and then we
all settled in for the night.
Friday, June 22nd, 2018…… HAPPY 50th
ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!! Since we had a ton of food, we ate breakfast
in. Krista made bacon and Maryanne and
Penny made scrambled eggs and hash browns. Some of us had mimosas some had milk
and some drank coffee. We had some issues with the spa’s heating system so I
had had texted the owner, Andre, and he arranged to have his pool guy come
by. That settled, we all (Terry, Lydia,
Jeff, Krista, Penny, Randy and Maryanne) piled into the van and drove around
the other side of the island to Lahaina.
If you think of the island of Maui as a peanut, we were on the bottom
left side in Kihei. Lahaina would be on
the upper left side of the peanut. The drive was really pretty. We had never been to the Kihei/Wailea area
before but we’ve been to Lahaina (25 years ago almost to the day!). I found
Cheeseburgers in Paradise, one of our favorite places from before and we parked
(we pulled into a parking lot just up the street just as a family was pulling
out and they gave us their parking ticket, which saved us $7.00!) The meal was
really good and so were the mai tais. Thanks Randy, for picking up the
tab!
I did almost have a vacation
nightmare! While we were in the restaurant I noticed my wallet was missing! My
sister saw it on the floor under my chair.
A big wheeewww! I vowed to change
my shorts tomorrow to a pair with a button instead of Velcro! Afterward, we
walked the streets and hit all of the shops that interested us. After the nice
drive back home, we kicked back in the pool and spa. None of us were hungry
from dinner so we each ate our choice of munchies. We planned our day tomorrow.
Frances comes in on Saturday so (the bike trip and) our anniversary dinner will
be on Sunday. We just needed to find a
nice place…
Saturday, June 23rd, 2018…… Everyone
wanted me to make a donut run because they had seen that there was a Krispy Kreme
donut shop on the island. So, I did. It was back by the airport so I was gone a
while. Turns out they said it was the only one in the Hawaiian Islands! I got two
dozen hot donuts and one dozen mixed filled donuts. They were yummy! We spent
more time lounging around the house. Randy is a mountain bike junkie and he had
researched and found there was a place to rent mountain bikes and a few good
trails to go down. So, he and Jeff took
off for that adventure.
Maryanne took off for a walk around the beaches and the
rest of us hung around the house and relaxed.
The girls found Sarento’s on the Beach, and Lydia chose that for our
anniversary dinner so I called and made a reservation for tomorrow. Again, Lydia and I made the drive to the
airport, this time to get Frances. The gang’s now all here!
Sunday, June 24th, 2018…… We
all ate what we had around the house (donuts, bagels, toast, muffins, breakfast
sandwiches, etc. etc.) and then we all took off for our adventure. Since we had done the Haleakala Downhill Bike
Tour 25 years ago, it was definitely on our bucket list. All kidding aside, Lydia really wanted to do
this and we were excited. I had
researched and booked and paid for all eight of us for this trip. Cruiser Bob’s
is no longer is business. We went with
Bike Maui. We chose the express tour. You drive to their bike shop, get fitted
out with gear, and they take you up in a van to a point at 6500 ft. above sea
level on the way up to the volcano (top is 10,000 ft.). You cruise down at your
own pace and go back to the bike shop. We had to be there by 9:00am. The other
option was the sunrise tour. On it they
pick you up from your hotel (or house) at 3:00am (!) and you do the same tour,
only you go to the top and they have a guided trip down the mountain. We did
this the last time we were there so we chose the express this time. (It turned
out to be the right choice – read on). We all got our gear and waited for the
rest of the people with us to get outfitted and then we all got our safety
instruction and then headed up. I said before that we chose Bike Maui for this
ride. There are other folks doing it but
these guys were rated the best. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed at all by the
treatment we received at the shop. They
did everything they were supposed to, but in my opinion, they just seemed to go
through the motions, like it was just another day for them (which it was, I
guess). They got the job done - just not what I expected. But then it got good!
Our driver, Kimo, I’m guessing around 40 or so, was a white dude, born and
raised on the islands. He loved his job
and it showed. He kept us entertained while
showing us the flora and fauna and all the time making sure we learned where we
would make all of the right turns (left turns too!) to get us back to the shop.
He took pictures of us along the way and before we started out and off we went. (from left to right: Krista, Jeff, Frances, Penny, Lydia, Randy, Maryanne, Terry)
These mountain bikes are exactly what you would buy and ride anywhere. The brakes took a bit of getting used to but
they worked really well with not much effort. Most of us didn’t like our seats
(Lydia’s one complaint!). I need to
adjust my seat height a couple of times and l switched seats with Lydia before
we got too far and we were both better and good to go. I must admit here that I
did fall off my bike! I think I was the only one! When I stopped to help Lydia and we exchanged
seats I came to a stop and then put my right foot down in the tall grass on the
side of the road. Turns out it was real
spongy and caused me to sink in and over I went. But it was nice soft grass so I just tucked
and rolled. No harm done to me or the bike! And to answer your question, no, no
one got a picture! Oh well! We all went
down the mountain road at our own pace. I stayed with Lydia and Frances most of
the time. Randy and Maryanne are bikers so they booked on down a ways and then stopped
and waited for the rest of us to catch up. Penny made her way down with little issues.
Frances kept having problems passing other bike riders (it was a narrow road
and shared with cars). Krista was the nervous one and almost didn’t want to
start out, but God Bless her, she said she did it for Mom! Jeff stayed with her
all the way down and she did great! We all got down the steep part with little
issues. It got tough on some of the
uphill sections (yes, it’s not all downhill – so don’t let anyone tell you
different!). Kimo said to just use your gears or if you have to – walk it up. I
personally found only two hills that I needed to walk. But later I mastered the
12 speeds and was able to peddle up some of the hills with little issues. At
one point, Frances, Lydia, Penny and I had all stopped together and Lydia led
us out. I took up the rear. Later, down the road, Kimo was stopped with Randy,
Maryanne, and Jeff and Krista. As I got close they yelled, “Mom’s done, keep
going, it’s all good” At least that’s what I heard so I kept going. I thought
she had quit and was in the van. Turns out they had said “mom’s still ahead,
keep going!” She was still going and was in front of me. Penny and Frances were
still behind me and I never caught up with Lydia (or so I thought). Later, I
found out she was off to the left of the Y in the road, waiting to make sure
none of us made the wrong turn. She didn’t recognize me in my gear and I saw a
person there but someone in another group was talking to her so I didn’t pay
attention. Plus, I thought she was already in the van. I made the correct turn
and kept going. Maryanne and Randy caught me (on a hill) and passed me. I
stopped at the top of that hill and Penny caught me.
She said Lydia was done and had got in the
van and that Frances was with her. She was about done too and would join Lydia
soon. We could see the van parked behind us at the base of the hill, and a
rider took off from behind it. It was Frances. Remember that part for later.
The van passed me by a few minutes later and Kimo asked me if I was done. No
way! I had one hill to go. Penny was in the van now with Lydia. I said earlier
I had finally gotten a grip on the gears and with the small ups and downs I was
using them to keep my speed up. I ended up passing Randy and was having a real
good time and then suddenly I was at the bike shop! I pulled in and Maryanne
was already there. Randy came in and
then Frances. That’s when I saw the wrecked bike in the rack. Randy said to ask
Kimo what happened. I found out that it was Frances’ bike! She and Lydia were stopped and Kimo was
backing up to pick up Lydia and didn’t notice Frances there. Even though she hollered ‘Stop” he backed
right into her bike. Luckily, she jumped
off the bike at the last minute so she wasn’t injured, just shaken up. But the
bike was unrideable. The rider I saw leaving from behind the van was
Frances. Kimo gave her Lydia’s bike and had
loaded the broken one in the van with the girls. I made sure Frances was really
ok and we walked together to the front of the shop to meet up with Maryanne,
Randy, Penny, and Lydia. Jeff and Krista joined us a few minutes later. Frances
was ok so we all made it through with no injuries. I confronted Kimo, who was embarrassed
but was already aware that Frances was shaken, but otherwise ok. SO, WE DID IT! We rode the 23 miles down
Haleakala. Penny and Lydia rode 20 miles down Haleakala, still a great feat! We
were all proud that we did it! No certificates (I told you I wasn’t impressed
with them) but I will be making some up to send to everyone. Sort of like this
one from our last ride…
I have to say
that this day bike tour was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I thank
everyone for joining us on this little excursion and hope everyone enjoyed it.
Once we got
everyone back in the van, we headed home. Our van was a seven-passenger
vehicle. So, we made up an additional
seat of pillows for today and Randy got the privilege of riding there. Our next
adventure would start soon. We showered
and drove down to Sarento’s on the Beach, which was actually only ¼ mile. Randy
and Maryanne walked it so we didn’t need the pillows. We had valeted the van
again (pretty much no choice – no parking at all). Our first stop was at the
bar and we had our first round of drinks (thanks Sis!).
Then we were seated
very close to the open-air lanai overlooking the ocean. We had the best
anniversary dinner. I can write a heck of a lot better than I can speak to a group
but I managed to thank everyone for making the trip to join us on our special
night. I am blessed to have spent 50 years with the love of my life and
wouldn’t change anything. Great kids and a great family. Life couldn’t be any
better. Lydia, in her own words, echoed my thoughts. We are the lucky couple!
Afterwards, we left and the kids walked home and we had the car brought around.
This isn’t the good part of the night – they valet backed the car in and opened
the doors for everyone and got to me. I tipped him and then got in and drove
off. It wasn’t until we got home that I discovered that the key fob was not in
the car. It was running and that car has a ‘proximity key’ that means there’s
no ignition. The key fob just needs to
be in proximity to the car in order to start it. It can leave once it’s
running. I assumed (you know what they say assume stands for….!) that he left
the key fob in the center console. We drove back and told him what
happened. He was embarrassed and went to
find the fob. Yep, he had set it up on the tire and forgot to give it to me and
yep, I ran over it. And yep, it was in three pieces and yep, I wasn’t
happy! He gave me his name and the name
and number of the valet company’s owner in case we had issues when we returned
the car. When I got home, Randy and I managed to get everything bent back and
somehow even got the case to close up again. I went out to the car and checked
and all of the buttons worked except the one that opens the tailgate. So, I
think I’m ok. I plan to just leave it in the car and hope it’s not noticed when
I return it to Avis!
More coming in part 2.....
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