Aloha!

So we made it here just fine...no checked bags. The only raised eyebrows were when they saw the two quart ziplocs (yeah, it's quart sized...I was just tired when I wrote my last post, I think) and wanted verification I was travelling with someone else. I've only ever carried one ziploc because C doesn't have items that need to go carry on like I do. (I wear contact lenses.) And as we were entering the jetway, one flight attendant questioned the thickness of my carry-on, but I told her it would fit and she let me on...and it did fit...just barely. I am planning to check at least one bag on the way home so that we have less to deal with. I'm not worried about them losing our dirty clothes for a few days and I brought a duffle we can carry-on our valuables in.

I got quite a bit of knitting done, and no sleep, so I was pretty wiped out when we got here. The resort gave us free valet the first night and didn't require us to do the whole credit card thing at the desk. They just gave us leis (mine is floral and is still hanging in there...and hanging on a corner of the TV...C's was a male lei of beads) and sent us off to our room, which was nice. We are staying at the Sheraton on Black Rock in Ka'anapali. I highly recommend it, even if there are teeny tiny little ants in our room and we have to hide all the food in the fridge. (I accidentally left banana bread in one of my bags last night...umm...ick.) C says that since it is Hawaii, we are just lucky we don't have palmetto bugs or cockroaches.

We have an ocean view room on an upper floor, but we are not right on the ocean. I can't post photos because this is C's work computer I'm posting from.

Yesterday we woke up early and the whole day was gorgeous. We drove all the way around West Maui and stopped several times to see some great sights, like the Dragon's Teeth, the Nakalele Blowhole which we almost quite literally climbed down to...to about the point where that photo was taken in the link and the Olivine Pools, which we observed from on high and did not climb down to. (Dude...I am out of shape, but my troublesome feet are hanging in really well so far. C is not so lucky...he got huge blisters yesterday because he never wears his hiking sandals except on vacation.) The views were truly spectacular and we did the whole drive across the top of West Maui, which if you've never done, is hard to describe. Imagine a one-lane road for several miles, going in and out and around the side of a mountain, steadily climbing, then descending, and with a turn every 25-50 feet. One. Lane. So if you meet anyone coming the other way, one of you has to find a little tiny widening or back-up to find a little tiny widening. C was not impressed. Poor guy. Some of those blind turns had him driving pretty nervous. But we made it.

Today we got up very early and it was beginning to rain. And it rained and it rained. And it is supposed to rain for the next three days. It might clear a bit the day before we leave and the last morning we are here. We tried the Hana Drive today...it was rainy and foggy and it was pretty in a way, but not nearly as stunning as it is supposed to be because we couldn't see much of the coast due to rain...and we didn't hike to any of the waterfalls because it was raining. We did see a few falls from the road. For the drive, it takes several hours to go 40 miles or so, and then you turn around and come back. The road is very narrow most of the way, although mostly two lane with one-lane sections and bridges. So we drove to Hana, parked and took naps in the car while it poured rain, then drove all the way back.

Okay, C is itching to get on here. Our Fantasy football games started a while ago, with the New Orleans/Chicago game. I'm playing against my brother Rudy this weekend and C is against my cousin Tony. The winners of these games play in the Superbowl next weekend.