Wind

Once upon a time I went to Maui.  It was such an adventure for me.  I had never travelled any great distance by myself. Prior trips I had made were with The Husband or friends.  But one day I got on a plane, by myself and went West.  I landed in complete darkness and was immediately assaulted by the humidity of Maui.  It took my breath away.  I was in heaven.  I easily found my luggage and made my way to the car rental.  Once in the car I drove away from the city lights into the darkness of the valley to Kihei and it was as if I had been there before.   I had studied the maps and had a good idea of the roads and in the dead of the night I found my way to a condo that I had never seen before.  It was a ground level walkout to the ocean.  When I opened the patio doors I couldn’t see the ocean, it was too dark.  I could hear it though, and I could taste it.  I left the condo and found my way to grocery store to get coffee and the basics of breakfast.  When I got back I fell asleep hard.  I was exhausted. 

Something woke me up super early the next morning.  I went to the kitchen and as I looked out, there was a field of sculpted grass and the ocean. The sun was just rising.  I opened the patio door and walked to the embankment before the ocean and just stood there.  It was perfect.  Eventually I dipped a toe in the water then made my way back to the condo.  Coffee in hand, I took up a perch on the lanai and never moved for hours. I just listened to the ocean. I did this for 7 mornings. To the left of lanai was the pool area with the umbrella chairs and community bbqs.  The caretaker was washing off everything, a task I learned he did every day.  A couple took off for a run each morning, returning to do stretchy things in the sun.  I could have done without seeing the stretching but I appreciated their dedication to the run.  I brought my shoes but they remained untouched the entire week.  I just let the island recharge me.  In the beginning, I explored the island by myself.   The Husband flew in a couple days after me and I was so happy to be the one to show him around a new area.  The Husband has travelled much more than I, but he agreed that Maui was a special place.  We drove to the top of a volcano and felt like we really were at the top of the world.  We also drove on the “do not drive here” part of the island.  It is a one lane road with two-way traffic.  Amazing adventure – so good.

My best lesson to learn was on day one.  Earlier that day I had read a bit about the trade winds and how a person needs to heed and plan around them.  I discounted the winds until about 2:30PM when the first gust hit and never stopped.  It was amazing.  Relentless.  Because of where I was on the island, the wind was stronger.  It funneled in through the valley and exploded down the seaside sometimes carrying dirt from the cane fields. The wind also started a game for me to see who is ”the newbie” arrival at the condo.  Folks would be sitting around the pool with the umbrellas up and when the wind hit, the man would get up to hold the umbrella.  After about 10 minutes, a “local” would let him know that the wind wouldn’t be stopping for another 10 hours.  Good entertainment from my deck chair.  That was also my cue to take on a new adventure or go get fish tacos.

Soon The Husband and I are returning to Maui.  Same condo, new adventure.  This time it will have a different feel because we have been there before.  I am loving that. I know there are new things to discover.  The Husband was back once already to ride his bike up the volcano.  I told him this time I will drop him off at the top and he can coast his way down.  I look forward to setting up a new perch to wait for him.  I might even take my running shoes and use them this time.  I do not need the same level of recharge as I did last time.  I look forward to the wind, fish tacos, good coffee, spending time looking at ocean at sunrise and planning for what is next in our crazy life. This is good. Aloha.