Lahaina Canoe Club (and other adventures)!

Giant cactus flowers on the path to the ocean

This weekend has been ono (awesome) and it’s not even pau (finished) yet!  I had Friday off for the 51st anniversary of Hawaii becoming a state.  I wouldn’t exactly say this is something folks celebrate around here, since it is also when the Hawai’ian people lost their sovereignty altogether.  Actually, it happened quite a while before that, when the U.S. invaded and colonized the island.  So by the time the statehood vote came around, the ballot choices were to either remain a territory with no voting rights or financial benefits or become a full-fledged state with all the rights and obligations that entails.  There was no option of kicking the U.S. out of the islands and returning to the independence that they once enjoyed.  So it’s a questionable holiday in the eyes of many.  

PB is good company on an ocean hike.

Despite the circumstances of statehood, I was excited to have my first day off since finding a home and starting my job.  This past seven-ish weeks have been a whirlwind in some ways, but in other ways I never seem to know what day/week/month it is.  It’s like we truly live in the Zen-like, timeless state of being (or as Dave calls it, “la-la land”...same-same).  Since beer brewers don’t get days off around here, Porter and I got up nice and early to bring Dave to work and after a delicious omelette overlooking gorgeous Napili Bay (for me, not Porter), we headed out to the beautifully unpopulated, undeveloped Honolua area.  There are trails upon trails there with cliffs crashing into lava rocks and ocean waves, and I don’t have to pick up after the dog--huge bonus!  


We climbed around out there for hours, watching the sea turtles bob up and down in the surf and feeling the waves pound the lava rocks all around us.  If you pay close attention, it’s possible to notice that the seasons are changing.  The waves are getting bigger on our side of the island (almost surfing season around here), it’s darker when we wake up for work, and the sun sets a little earlier.  Fall will never arrive, alas, but it’s nice to know there are some changes to mark the passing of time.  


By the time 10 a.m. rolled around it was starting to get hot, so I headed Porter Brown back to the truck and we drove home for some dog breakfast and lounging.  He’s an excellent lounger.  I am trying to learn...

The extremely wonderful and exciting thing that happened on Friday, though, is that I finally managed to go paddling with the Lahaina Canoe Club!  There were 12 of us in two boats, and I paddled fifth seat.  Behind me was Van, an older, extremely fit Hawaiian man who coaches the racing teams.  He gave me pointers and corrections along the way and by the time we headed back, he said I was getting the hang of it.  It was exciting launching the giant boats in the surf and I loved paddling with a group of people.  Unlike kayaking, you can’t stop for a granola bar and some water whenever you want, but it really made me push myself harder and adjust my paddling form and timing very quickly.  They said I will grow addicted and join the racing team sooner than I think.  I don’t doubt it.  Everyone was super friendly and it was amazing to see the West Maui Mountains from the water.  Of course, there were sea turtles hanging around and we hopped out of the boat for a swim before returning to the beach.  Landing in the surf was a little sloppy, but we had a great time.  They BBQ and hang out every Friday, so I will be back next week.  Getting into a boat, even a new kind of boat, made me feel like I might actually belong here.  It will be great to get to know some folks who live on our side of the island.  I’ll take pictures of the boats next time, when I’m less of a newbie.  

The view from our grilling station.

As for Dave, he finally managed to do some surfing this morning!  He headed out with a friend from work and his neighbor to one of the beautiful beaches south of Lahaina, where the summer waves are still breaking.  Hopefully this means I will get on a surfboard soon-ish, also.  I’m pretty stoked about canoes for now (yes, stoked...like wikkid happy).  


We often go to North Beach in Ka’anapali because the facilities are good and it’s not too crowded.  It’s also the site of Duke’s Beach House (awesome beach front restaurant) and some beach condos/timeshares that have full outdoor kitchen/grilling stations on each balcony (though I have never seen people using them). Down by the pools and the beach, the place has the sweetest “private” public grilling setups around.  I have been dying to take advantage of the facilities and finally we made our move.  

Ribs and summer squash--yum!

We ended Saturday by grilling some veggies and ribs at the fancy-ass beachfront resort.  They have top-notch grills built right into the stone counter tops there, so we brought a picnic and hung out until sunset.  They also have a hot tub and a couple of beautiful swimming pools overlooking the ocean, so we had a relaxing vacation-kine evening for free.  We thought about buying a cheap grill last week, but there are so many fancy ones going unused at these resorts...someone has to keep them from going to waste!


It might sound like there’s a lot going on, but at the same time things are slowing down and getting more comfortable.  It’s a pretty sweet life, so far.   We can’t wait to share it with friends and family!  


Aloha and goodnight, 
Jen