We got our coffee and toast thang going and then got out all the snorkel gear and went off to Wailea/Makena for some snorkeling. Ahihi Cove was almost deserted when we got there, and as a pair of women were getting out, I asked about conditions. “Murkey and disappointing,” they said. David was all for bailing and trying somewhere else, but I already had my wetsuit on.

Let me tell you, it’s a big exhausting fight getting into the wetsuit, and I wasn’t about to bail just yet. So I took a turn around the cove while David stayed on shore, and sure enough, not a lot of fish, lots of sediment in the water, and lots of sediment covering the coral. So I came back out over the old boat ramp, and as I was getting myself definned and situated, I said to David “Just call me Paula… Paula Murkey of Murky Research.”

So we went back up the road to the public access section of the beach in front of the Maui Prince, and had a good time there because it was clearer and cleaner. Also, bathrooms are always a plus! And a shower!

We had dry clothes with us – I even had a sarong outfit – so we went to Longhi’s in Wailea for brunch, splitting a seafood omelet and a big bowl of fruit. We did not fail to make “second breakfast” jokes.

We browsed some of the high-end galleries and had a somewhat off-putting experience at one: the gallery person invited us back for a special treat, sat us down on a couch, and promised us an “indoor Maui sunset.” Then she darkened the little viewing room and lowered the lights with a rheostat. “Pop” went the colors in the painting: anything highlighted with the special white or yellow paint they used seemed to glow more brightly and remain visible longer than the rest of the print. It’s some process they use with special inks/paints that have reflective properties. An interesting technique, but the subject was kind of…well, an updated version of a flourescent velvet Elvis, in a way. It was kind of a garish sunset treatment, and so the effect was a little over the top.

After escaping her clutches (she had an odd way of over-pronouncing everything, a little like an East Coast uppercruster) we shopped for a wowzer outfit for the upcoming birthday(s) dinner(s).

David tells me we get to celebrate my birthday twice, as he got the date wrong the first year we were together, and so the 27th will be my “second birrrthday,” a few days after my first. Whoopee, etc!

We relaxed at the condo during a big, booming windstorm, and then went to Sansei for sushi last night, just missing the “happy hour” discount. Apparently, the trick is to get there at least 30-45 minutes BEFORE they open at 5pm to get a table before the cutoff -you have to be seated and order by 6 to get 25% off.

This morning, we had planned on an easy snorkel, but decided instead to head toward the Upcountry. Left the condo at around 830am. We just returned at around 9pm, having made a day trip totally by accident and completely enjoyably. We missed a turn for Makawao, the cowboy/artist/hippie town, and decided to carry on toward the Ulupalakua Ranch/Tedeschi Winery, stopping for coffee and a cookie at Grandmas in Keokea first. Read the local alternative newspaper, listened to music, chatted, and got going again. We arrived at the winery just as a tour was beginning, so we tagged on to that and enjoyed the good humor and sassiness of the lady leading the tour. After petting the winery Siamese cat just a bit, and taking a few arty photos, we headed back toward Makawao.

There again, a gallery owner or two pounced on us. Once more, we were invited back for something special, except this time instead of a sunset, it was a still life with a bottle of wine and two highly reflective glasses. This time I was all for the subject, and even interested in buying, but David was not. Still, pretty cool use of the “glowing” effect, this time with a print of something where the original was a watercolor – it was almost photographic in appearance, with bright reflections on the glasses and incredible realism. That was worth seeing. Then we got a recommendation for a place to eat – the Garden Cafe – which was a great meal, but they charged extra because we split a whole sandwich instead of buying two half sandwiches.

Grr, but the sandwich was delicious – snow crab and avocado with Kula greens in a Caesar salad. Worth the price, as the ingredients were really high quality.

More gallery browsing – one place we went in, the guy said “Everything’s for sale, painted by my wife.”

Do they all think we’re marks or something? We decided it was because it’s the off season.

Then we took a long drive to nowhere up Olinda Road, which goes up through eucalyptus trees and Norfolk Island pine to a more or less dead end, but there’s another road down from there that leads back toward Makawao. Then we took a right and headed for the ocean, driving at random but always downhill-ish. We came out right by the house with all the surfboards, and I hope to go back on another day for morning light. I took a photo on a previous trip there but wasn’t all that happy with it because I rushed it and the light wasn’t great.

Maybe on the way to Hana later in the trip we can detour briefly, it’s just at the beginning of the Hana road by the highway memorial.

So after that, we drifted down toward Pa’ia with the vague intention of returning to the condo, although it was relatively early. We stopped for a while at the overlook for Ho’okipa (the big surfing and windsurfing beach) and there wasn’t much going on with the waves, although we took some photos. It looked like we’d head back for a nap and then go out later.

But wait! There’s more! We decided on the fly to go all the way across the island and north at least as far as Napili, and see if anything was happening over there. So we risked traffic and stripmalls to get there, and were there big waves? No, but the enjoyment was in the journey. We did go down the steps to whatever the beach is there where the surfers hang out – Slaughterhouse? and also drove up and around Honolua, although just a few snorkelers were there. It was very calm. We chatted with some fellow shutterbugs on the beach, and then climbed the stairs. Whew.

Decided we just wanted a drink or something – that turned into appetizers at the Mala Grill, which were life-changingly good. We never knew you could combine salsa and edamame before, the mahi-mahi ceviche was died-and-gone-to-heaven good, and the ahi tuna bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes (from Hamakua?) made me feel like a shark in a blissful feeding frenzy. I believe my eyes rolled back in my head and everything.

I had a mojito, David had two glasses of Maui Brewing Co.’s Big Swell IPA, and enjoyed the sunset from the Mala lanai. Then we strolled out to walk off the alcohol, chatted with a lady about her dog and found out that in Hawaii, pets can go through a “home quarantine” now for people that move here. Hmmm.

Then as the Cannery Mall was across the street, we wandered in there to windowshop – I was looking for a necklace or something for the wowzer outfit, which I should have gotten in Makawao when I saw it. We stumbled on to a hula show with music that was actually pretty good, so we stayed and watched that for a while.

And then it was time to bumble off home, and here we are blogging instead of getting ready for the kayak/snorkel excursion we’ve got laid on for tomorrow. Must get that pulled together. So sleepy. Long day.

Tomorrow is our last day on our own, and then Thursday the remainder of the party arrives. Big fun ensues, but we’re already having medium-large fun on our own.