We arrived on Maui on Tuesday afternoon, snagged our rental car and made our way to the hotel. We're staying on the west side of the island in the Ka'anapali area.
It's absolutely gorgeous here. From my fifth floor balcony I can see the ocean, the mountains, palm trees, sandy beaches and a beautiful landscape. It's 6 am Hawaii time as I blog this (my body says it is 10 am MST) and I've enjoyed watching the sun rise.
However, I also see smoke on the horizon towards Lahaina...
One of the things we noticed when driving in is how dry much of the landscape is. Sure, it is lush and green at the resorts, but the grass on the mountains is yellow. It looks like they've had quite a dry spell. The concierge at the hotel said part of it may be because the volcano on the big island has been active. Who knows? I just know it isn't as lush and green as I had hoped.
Well, turns out that dry brush is a hazard.
For the past 24 hours, there has been a brush fire burning near Lahaina, which is just a few miles south of here.
It's already burned up over 800 acres of land and appears to be threatening some residential areas.
There is only one highway that goes around the south side of the island (the one around the north side is one lane and supposedly a bit treacherous), and the officials have closed that highway. So no one is past Lahaina either way.
What does that mean to me?
Well, if we had come in one day later, we wouldn't have made it to our hotel! We'd be shacking up wherever we could.
Fortunately, that's not the case. And hopefully, they will get this fire under control before it damages anyone's homes.
Fire aside, we really enjoy our first full day here. The pool at this resort is spectacular, complete with hidden grottos, waterfalls and a 150 foot slide. We drove around town a bit and got the lay of the land, and we're really just kicking back and relaxing.
I don't even mind checking some email and writing my newsletter during our down time.
That's the beautiful thing about having your own business. You can work it from anywhere. And you work because you WANT to, not because you have to. :-)
We've got many things planned for the week, including a dinner cruise, snorkeling, a lomi lomi massage (extra lomi, please!), a luau on the beach and plenty of boogie-boarding in the ocean.
One caveat. It is VERY pricey here. A hamburger at the resort is $21.00. Yikes!
So I am biting the bullet and enjoying it in spite of the price gouging. After all, how often do I get to hang out in a tropical paradise? ;-)
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June 28, 2007 07:00 PM
Hi Joel,
I saw you at "Never Work Again" w/ Harv Eker. Great presentation! I wanted to suggest that you take in Warren & Annebelle's in Lahaina if you get a chance. I have been there no less than 8 times and it is always a blast! Adults only, no kids. Check it out if you love magic! I have a place in Maui although I am at my mainland home right now.
Aloha, Dyann