Maui Vacation: Travel Day

March 18th

We got up really early and headed for the airport for our 9:30 flight. We already had everything packed except for our toothbrushes so it was a snap. Checking in and trip through customs & security was a breeze. The check in agent complimented us on how well organized we were, unlike most families who have eighty-billion tons of stuff with them (my packing light was totally perfecto, btw, I wore everything except for a few underthings and my one-piece bathing suit). Taylor managed to not forget his giant suitcase at the check in desk this time (phew) and the airport security area has been, like, totally redone and streamlined since our last trip. I guess the Olympics were good for something other than just winning gold medals!


This was Symphony’s first real flight. We’d taken a seaplane over to Vancouver Island once but that really doesn’t count. I was worried she’d be sick or miserable or whiny but she was actually really good and only complained about being bored a few times. She was a little scared when we were landing, but that’s totally normal. If you’ve ever flown to Maui you know how freaky that hairpin turn over the ocean & sudden screeching halt on the runway can be! I actually had it worse than Sym, for some reason my right ear is a pressure change nightmare and I had horrible pain all down that side of my face and into my jaw and eyeball.

We quickly picked up our luggage and hopped on the shuttle to the rental car agency, where we upgraded ourselves from a regular SUV to a RIDICULOUSLY HUGE Chevy Tahoe. We rented one last summer when we went to Oregon, but that time we had more luggage (I wasn’t packing light then) and Dougal’s big dog crate. I’m not sure we really needed such a big truck but I can’t help it, I love them! Symphony approved as well.


I was pretty nervous to see what our condo would be like. I found it on a vacation rentals by owner website and for all I knew it could have been disgusting. I chose it because of the location (way down at the south end of Kihei, almost in Wailea) and the price ($130 a night for a 2 bedroom). I was also worried because when I google maps-ed the address there was nothing there, like NO BUILDING AT ALL. As it turned out the entrance was actually off a side street I didn’t have anything to worry about because the place was FAN. TAS. TIC. I would absolutely stay there again if (when!) we go back to Maui.


Once we were settled in we went down to the beach. Part of the reason I wanted to have a condo in this area was because we wanted to be close to Keawakapu Beach, and we were basically across the street, which was great! This is the beach our cheap, non-wedding-night hotel is on, and since you can’t see it from the road it’s much less busy than some of Kihei’s other beaches.



As you can see, Taylor’s shorts were already wet from standing in the waves. This happened basically every day!


After dinner we went down to the lawn of a nearby beachfront condo resort to watch the sunset and a family of humpback whales was right off the shore, like maybe 50 feet out. It was amazing and a perfect end to our perfect first (half)day in Hawaii!

Next Up: Beach Day #1