Some of you know that I was born and raised on Maui and eventually wound up where I live now in Iowa. I recently went to Maui to visit family and friends whom I haven’t seen in 5 years (or more). So this is about my typical Maui staycation. Yes, I realize a staycation is when you don’t leave home but just enjoy local activities, etc. I still call my island home ‘home’ so I believe this qualifies. Just sayin’. When I go ‘home’, I don’t play the tourist becos I don’t consider myself one. I still feel like I belong there, you know? So my middle daughter and I flew home and boy am I glad she went with me. Just in 5 years, I’d forgotten the hassles of flying – mainly the security thing and I had to relearn everything again. I was smart enough to remember not to wear shoes that weren’t easy to come off. In fact, I really got into the mood and wore my slippahs that was easy to slip on and off. Yay me.
Slippahs in front of a doorway is a common sight in Hawaii 🙂
Oh yea, and I didn’t wear a belt which is also a hassle. Let my jeans fall off, I don’t care. I didn’t wear a belt. It was still a hassle to put all the other things in the tray – laptop, cell phone, jewelry, my 2 plastic bags of liquids and gels blah blah blah. Got thru all that. Airlines now won’t feed you unless you pay for it so I had my little snacks. But who can eat when you’re so excited to get to Maui???? Not me! I remember the first couple days there – the heavenly scents that thrilled my nostrils. The flowers of the island are so sweet and colorful!
We rented a car for the week that my daughter stayed (I was blessed to be able to stay for 2 more weeks). We were constantly on the go. We had a common goal to get ‘tanned’ so getting to a beach almost every day was a high priority on our list. She is half caucasian and tans pretty well without burning. I am part filipino so I will burn if I stay out too long without much protection cos I color pretty quickly. I was going to use my niece’s sunscreen #30, but my daughter insisted on me using her #6 to get tanned faster. Mmmm….shoulda listened to my instincts. I got burned and hurt for a few days. I didn’t do much laying in the sun after that. I walked the beaches or played in the water. Boogie boarding on the last full day I was there was the most fun 🙂 I attempted to take pictures of all the beaches I visited. There were a couple favorites that I’ve had from childhood and I also found a couple new ones 🙂 The photos of course do not do them justice. I even recorded the ocean a couple times so that I could hear it in the winter back in Iowa on my iPod.
We can’t forget about the grindz! In the past, I’ve eaten everything that I’ve ever missed when I am away from home and I did pretty much the same this time. Except for one incident which left me hurting all over (I believe from monosodium glutamate poisoning), I ate small portions so I could accomplish 5 years of abstinence in 3 weeks without gaining 10 pounds in the process. I love pork spareribs, especially the cartilage which I call white bones (you know, like the knuckles on a chicken drumstick?) 
I believe it has provided me with healthy joints tho I have no idea if it is calcium based or anything healthy. Anyway, I ate two meals of that from the same place in 3 days and the same meal at another place and didn’t bother to check if there was MSG in the food. I do NOT want to get MSG poisoning ever again! If you’ve had the misfortune of that experience, you know what I’m talking about. The good news is I didn’t overdo on my eating and after 3 weeks came home only 1.5 pounds heavier than when I left!
My mother is a Senior Companion and takes seniors on errands or keeps them company at home – whatever their needs are. She is rewarded monetarily and with freebies (lunch certificates, discount coupons, etc.). Due to her efforts, we were able to have a couple free lunches at one of the prestigious hotels in Lahaina on the west side of the island and got a taste of the high life 🙂 I was in the midst of my ‘MSG poisoning’ and not feeling too great so I didn’t take a lot of pictures that day, but I did manage a couple of the hotel lobby area.
Sometimes she takes her clients to a hula show at one of the malls. This is something I always enjoy watching since I had a part-time job dancing with a hula troupe when I was in high school.
I even got to get on stage and shake my bootie!
Unfortunately, my Mom took a video of this – with her camera sideways. Until I figure out how to post it right side up, I can’t show you the fun I had and this photo will have to do! lol So anyone reading this with suggestions or advice on how to fix the video, let me know!
What other fun things did I do on my typical Maui staycation? Of course I spent time with family – hanging out with them and going to activities they are involved in. I went to a couple birthday parties, a couple festivals and several dinners….I made more precious memories. I also got to spend time with my friends, a lot of whom are my grade school and high school classmates. I was one of those kids who enjoyed my school days, so it always brings back great memories when I get together with them for lunch, dinner or a day at the beach. There’s always a lot of laughter at our gatherings. A not so “fun” thing, but a necessary one (for me) that I do is go to the cemeteries and place flowers on my deceased family’s gravesites. All in all, it was kinda like I lived there for 3 weeks (but not working a job) and I tell ya, I had the best staycation ever!
Follow me on Google+
