Sunday, January 31, 2010

Another Day in Paradise

I woke up at 530am to the sound of the ocean breathing. In and out, it sighed, a living being in the inky blackness of morning. A warm breeze flitted through my open windows, lifting the lace curtains in my vintage hotel room at The Lahaina Inn. The streets were quiet, the lights dim, all vestiges of late night partying wiped clean by salty, sweet air.


Maui is a gentle place, where tropical flowers pop red and orange, where palm trees dance, and where the sun awakens the ocean with pink brushstrokes of light. (Please pardon the iPhone photo)
Sailboats bob in the azure ocean, just beyond our balcony's white fence railing. The sunlight finds its way onto the warm, burgundy slats, and I sit rocking, enjoying the awakening city. The rumble of cars is scarce here, instead, I listen to birds sing as they hop in the branches, happy it's a new day.
We had breakfast at Betty's in Lahaina with views of the ocean, then drove up to Ka'anapali and went for a long walk along Maui's tourist trap. Hyatt, Marriott, Westin, you name it, all with sparkling outdoor pools and tiki bars. People sat on chaise lounges and romped on white sand, palm trees grew out of impossibly short grass. Not really my scene, but we had a good, long walk. Then we found the type of beach I love, where waves crash wildly against black lava rocks, and surfers are black dots in an ocean that mirrors the sky.
The waves were big and powerful, tumbling tubes of blue that lashed the rocks with long, frothy fingers.
(Yes, I know I'm about as white as it gets. Blame it on my European roots)
Oneloa Bay is much quieter up on the boardwalk, which stretches over 1.5 miles along these beaches near Kapalua. We're going to come back when we have our walking shoes, and explore all this little gems, bays carved by centuries of waves beating the lava rocks into submission.
It's Sunday evening, and the sun is setting, the ocean is silver outside my hotel window. Soft guitar music plays from Cheeseburger in Paradise, and I think at this moment I could very well be there, in paradise.