Quick Trip to Maui

It's been a while since Nikki had a vacation, so we arranged for a couple days off in Maui before arriving to start work in Ho Chi Minh City. Man, I looove Maui and it was a very relaxing couple of days! Chuck and Jacqui arranged for us all to spend a night down at the Prince in Makena, and we took full advantage of the location with some beach time, lounging by the pool, and a wonderful dinner and brunch. One of the highlights for me was paddleboarding/kayaking – we saw turtles and dolphins during our two sessions and even Jacqui tried the standup – now I see where Nikki gets her coordination! On the way back up-country, we stopped for drinks/pupus at the country club, but not before Nikki/Jacqui did some shopping in Paia and I hit up Hookipa for a (much warmer than SF) surf session – I'm always amazed at the number of turtles in the water there and am sure I'm breaking some federal environmental protections just paddling around!

 

We took a quick trip to the Big Island to visit with Grams, since we weren't able to make her 90^th b-day party a couple weeks ago. It was a somber time, as her brother was not well and has since moved on, but we were glad to be there for support. It was good to catch up with Reg, Susan, Jonesy, Lisa, Naia, and everyone and we were sorry to miss the rest of the family that was out of town – Nadine and Gary – your house is beautiful!

 

After heading back to Maui on a tiny 9 seat plane, we got to work on final preparations for our departure. This included me getting a Hawaii driver's license after (barely) passing the driving and motorcycle tests. We spent our last day engaged in the entirely unexciting, yet necessary, process of canceling all our various contracts and changing addresses. For those interested – we are keeping our same email addresses and phone numbers (through Vonage). Finally, we packed up all our stuff – four 50 lb bags, 2 backpacks, a huge carryon, and beautiful Kirk Kurokawa original painting from Chuck and Jacqui (anniversary present) and headed to the Kahului airport. So – it's goodbye USA for 2 yrs and hello Vietnam!