Larry and I intended to go to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary, but thanks to Covid (and honestly how cost prohibitive it is when coming from the east coast) we postponed it until now. Leaving from San Francisco and using credit card points made it possible to enjoy this short vacation packed with luxurious goodness and with a great balance of activity and relaxation. (As funny as it seems this is actually our first actual use of vacation days this year.) We drove the road to Hana, where we saw waterfalls, black sand beaches, red sand beaches, a lava peninsula, gorgeous scenery, and at the end, a stunning — and muddy — hike through a bamboo forest up to a mighty waterfall. The next morning, we woke at an outrageous 3:30 am to be able to get to the summit of Hakealea, some 10,000 feet up for a sunrise view like no other. We woke the next day a couple hours later, but still pretty early as we had to meet our boat at 6:45 for a snorkeling and sailing adventure that had us with spinner dolphins, turtles, and countless fish.

Those were our three active activities while on Maui. The rest of the time we enjoyed the resort, its beaches and pools, restaurants and spas, and luaus and live music. And while our time was short for this first visit I can say absolutely that Maui is a magical place. The natural world there is steeped in ancient lore and vibrating with energy felt no where else. Sure, they may have tried to do me in regularly with macadamia nuts, but as my friends can attest, I am hard to kill.