Maui No Ka Oi

Still sick here! I’ve been blowing my nose about every 5 seconds. My colds tend to be the kind where my nose runs like a faucet, as opposed to being all stuffy. I’m wondering how I got this silly cold? If/when the super flu comes around, I’m totally a goner, by the way. I touch my face or stick my fingers in my eyes, nose, ears or mouth on average about 15 times per minute. I’m worse than the grubbiest toddler.

So I’m sickypoo, its been freezing over night and despite the fact I was on Maui visiting my dad less than 2 weeks ago, it seems like it happened a long long time ago.

Let’s look at some Maui pix! And I will feel better, and you will feel happier than listening to me yack about my inconsequential cold. (and in the past 2 seconds I touched my gums and the inside of my nose. Then my keyboard. I wonder why I’m sick???)

By the by, ‘Maui No Ka Oi’ means ‘Maui is the best’. Andrew likes to tell me how the Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai are way way better than Maui, despite the fact that he’s never been to Kauai. I’m going to go wipe my fingers on him. I just touched my lip.

I’m from ‘Historic Makawao’, if you were wondering! See the sign above? ‘Paniolo’ means ‘cowboy’ in Hawaiian. I've never been a paniolo, also in case you were wondering.

My dad lives a little way up this street. I tell people that I grew up in a pineapple field. That’s only a little lie. I grew up very near a pineapple field.

There are lots of eucalyptus trees along our road. My dad has a koi fish pond, but I think the koi might have died? Not sure. I forgot to look. That big mass of tree business is what you see behind my dad’s house, it’s across a ravine or gulch of some kind. I lived in the FLIPPING STICKS. Pretty sticks, though.

Gardenias grow like weeds. WEEDS. Gardenias! Why don’t all weeds look like gardenias??

More Makawao. Best shopping on the island! Also Paia, I’ll show you that town next. Want to ‘Have a Maui Christmas’? Sure you do!

Here I am taking my life into my hands by pulling off to the side of the road so that I can show you how I am travelling downcountry. There is upcountry and downcountry. And there is the middle, halfway up the mountain part, which is where I lived.

Now we’re downcountry! In the little town of Paia. Which is now a really cute town with cute shops and cute eateries. When I was growing up, only hippies and out of work surfers frequented Paia. Now hippies, out of work surfers, and tourists frequent Paia.

Please don’t pronounce Paia the same way as “paella”, which is what Andrew likes to do, to annoy me. It sounds like “pie-EE-uh”.

Just past Paia is Ho’okipa, which is considered the windsurfing capital of the world. You don’t get in the water at Ho’okipa unless you totally know what you’re doing, swimming and surfing-wise.

I have never put one toe in the water at Ho’okipa.

(that’s a kid, by the way.)

I did however, climb under a fence that I wasn’t supposed to, because 1) everyone else was doing it, which is always the best reason to do something, and 2) how else was I going to get any awesome water shots? My telephoto only goes so far.

Ho’okipa is beautiful but scary. Like, this kind of scary.

Don’t fall off yo surfboards! I have never in my life been surfing, except once when I was a baby and my dad paddled me around on a surfboard. I’m glad I have no memory of this. I’ve been windsurfing a couple times. Correction: once or twice I have STOOD UP on a windsurfing board. That’s as far as I got.

Want more Maui? With some Julia in it? Here’s last year’s trip. Maui No Ka Oi! Mele Kalikimaka!