Time away doesn’t reflect my desire to write. Sorry to (both…haha) of my blog followers as it’s been weeks/months since my last post. I’ve actually started two other posts prior to this one that have yet to be completed, along with multiple new adventures along the way that have aided in sidetracking my updates. It actually takes approx 2 hours per post when I include pictures, in the interest of time, I’m going to be inserting less pictures than I have in the past. Hopefully, my words will be descriptive enough that I won’t need pictures and will encourage you to travel there yourselves. (Wishful thinking).
Four years ago, while working at Jayhawk Sports Properties, I decided to migrate west to Maui for the 2015 Maui Invitational men’s basketball tournament. I explored the depths of Oahu in the past, but never Maui. Perfect opportunity to venture solo into the tropical depths of isolation and adventure. It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life with the Road to Hana, Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour, one men’s basketball game, luau for Thanksgiving dinner, condo on the beach, rented convertible and so much more. Four years later, and I would relive some parts while venturing into new ones. There are so many activities in Hawaii, it’s a job to even prioritize.
This trip would be different as my cousin John would be joining me as well. Southwest Airlines have new flights from KC that can reach Maui, so I decided to build my Rapid Rewards Points and try them out. There are no nonstop flights, so I had to connect in San Diego and then San Jose, before making my eventual destination at the Kahului Airport in Maui. It was a long day of travel, but worth getting the points. I never had to deplane in San Diego, so it was only a 40-minute layover on the same plane, en route to San Jose. San Jose was recently voted one of the top airports in the US by Travel & Leisure magazine, so was anxious to check out that airport as well. As it turned out, when we arrived in San Jose, they couldn’t get the gears working on the jetway that connects the plane to the gate, so that was 20 minutes extra of wait-time. So first impression of San Jose was not spectacular. The overall airport was “ok.”
Typically when you spend at least five hours over an ocean, you receive a larger plane. This is not the case with the Southwest Airlines flights to Maui. You receive the same 3-seat on each side, planes that you use domestically in the continental US. This seemed a bit crammed for the 5-hour flight, but this could also be the reason the flights are cheaper, so make sure you set your expectations. Possibly in the future, as Southwest grows more internationally, they will order larger planes for longer travel times. We did receive a meal on the plane, however, and we did land an hour early into Maui, so I will gladly take speed over space, when you personally don’t receive more legroom anyway, just a bigger overall plane. There are also no monitors like other larger planes, where you can watch movies and live TV. You can download the Southwest app to watch on your own devices, but they supply no monitor for you. We arrived so early into Kahului Airport that all the gates we already occupied. We had to wait until a plane left to take over their gate. So, we waited approx 20 minutes for that plane to leave.
My cousin had landed with United an hour before, so he was already waiting in the baggage claim area. I met up with him and we were on our way to Enterprise to pickup our rental vehicle. I selected a 2019 Chevy Camero convertible with 10k miles on it. If you ever rent a vehicle on any Hawaiian island, make sure you rent a convertible. Even if it’s a bit more expensive, you will have a thousand-times better experience, guaranteed.
It was mid-afternoon and the drive to our condo at Kaleialoha Condominiums was filled with sun, breeze and the reggae music. The airport is located on the north-central portion of the island and the main hotels and condos are mostly located on the west coast in Lahaina and Kaanapali Beach. The drive immediately runs south through the guts of the island to the southern tip and then you head west along the coast for another half hour. The drive from the southern tip heading west fills you with gorgeous views of the ocean and adjacent islands, including Lanai and Molokai. We’d later visit Lanai on a day-trip with a 45-minute ferry ride over with only two hotels inhabiting the island and nothing else. Bill Gates rented out the whole island for his wedding day. The isolation is paramount, but that skyrockets the prices. Pancakes cost $30 to give you an idea.
I had stayed at the Kaleialoha Condos four years ago on the third-floor but this time I chose a corner unit on the second-floor closest to the beach walk. The views from the balcony on all the oceanview rooms are unparalleled compared to any other view of any hotel I’ve stayed at in the world, and I’ve been to a lot. The moon at night will shimmer along the water and beam light into your living room invited itself in unannounced, but always welcome. I was always surprised how distinctly you can hear the waves this close to the water. Most oceanview rooms at hotels, you can see the water, but you aren’t so close as to hear it at night as you sleep, like your partner you roll over to in the middle of the night. The waves this close sound like you are a Seacaptain mounting the currents on a month-long journey in a prolonged storm and ecstatic for that singular moment and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our first order of business after dropping off our bags was food. We unanimously agreed on fresh seafood. I had been following Lahaina Fish Company on Instagram for a few years and always vowed to try them when I made my way back to Maui. The restaurant was in the main “downtown” portion of Lahaina. It’s a singular street with restaurants and shops and parking difficulties. The server was superb and the view of the ocean with tiki-torches set the tropical tone of the trip. I had the clam chowder, a cocktail and fish with linguine for my entree. You could order anything on the menu and it would be incredible. We each spent $75, so this would be the most expensive meal on the trip. There is also Mama’s Fish House I went to four-years ago, but that was $100+ just for me, so we’d not be venturing there this trip, but I highly recommend it for those that have never been for their lone expensive evening out. It’s located on the northern tip of the island, east of the airport, so it’s a ways away from the main Lahaina area, but worth it if you want a luxury experience.
The first full day in paradise brought the most adventurous and challenging. I always like to schedule the most daring experiences towards the beginning of trips if I can, that way you can ease into the end of the trip and relax towards the end, and also be able to talk about your experiences with other people on the island or with your own party. I had a morning rendezvous with Rappel Maui . I’d drive 30 minutes to the meeting parking lot in the south and we’d take a single van to the dropoff site where our gear would be supplied. My cousin John chose to do his own tour on Oahu to Pearl Harbor on the same day, so he left to the airport in an Uber to take a small plane to the next island. I had already done Pearl Harbor years ago on Oahu, so I was ready to scaled some hills and waterfalls in the eastern part of the island off the Road to Hana.
I met up with Chris and Megan at 9a in the parking lot and they weighed me and we went over any history of injuries to my shoulder or anywhere else. Two other guys joined the tour, and it so happened they were from Overland Park as well! They were not there for the KU games but were brothers living in two different cities on the west coast. One lived in Seattle and one had just started working for Expedia. The other lived in San Francisco. The brother that worked for Expedia had two territories and they included Maui and Orlando, FL. However, this was not a work trip, but he would need to make the journey to both locations twice per year to write about new activities to try, restaurants and travel tips. What an awesome job that I was envious of.
None of us had ever rappelled before, but on the hour drive we talked mostly about cities we were from and what it was like living in Maui. Megan was from Michigan and got up and left on a whim after college at Michigan State and lived with friends she met after she arrived. Chris lived with his wife and two kids on the northern part of the island. We drove halfway through the Road to Hana before we pulled off to the Garden of Eden where our gear would be. I had my Go Pro camera that I would strap to my helmet and got some great footage of the experience.
We hiked 10 minutes over to the first dry wall where we’d rappel. When we neared the site, you have two latches attached to your harness. One latch must always be attached to the line they have screwed into the ground in the event you ever slip on the narrow walkways. You must be connected to at least one line at all times. When you get the point of transitioning to the line that goes down the side of the hill, you first latch on to that line, then unhook your original line on the top of the hill.
Megan was the first down the dry hill that went about 60 feet. Chris stayed up top with the three of us and gave us a few pointers below:
- Always trust your equipment! You must lean back fully and trust the line will hold you.
- Keep your balance. Always keep your feet shoulder-width apart so your legs aren’t too far above you or below you as you walk down the side. If they are too far above you, you will slap your bottom on the side and be staring upside down. If they are too far below you, you will face plant into the rocks vertically.
- Your dominant arm is to NEVER let go of the rope. This acts as your breaking system and goes behind your back. The more you bring your arm to your side, the more slack it gives that allows you to walk down the hill. The problem is, is that your arm gets tired halfway down the hill and you want to let go, all while trying to maintain balance while looking where to walk next. NOT EASY!
- When we get to the waterfalls, never walk in the actual water, except for the beginning. Always walk to the left of the waterfall and stay out of the current. This is so challenging since you start out walking in the actual waterfall at the top and they slowly maneuver out of it the more you walk down, while it being super slippery. They give you boots to wear with no tread on bottom, so makes it even more slick to walk.
There were all the pointers we were giving seconds before we started as we stared down the hill. We couldn’t even see Megan at the bottom waiting for us because the rockiness of the hill jetted out. I was the last to go, thank god.
The first brother went down and fell flat against the rocky wall about 4 steps down into the rappel. I was trying to learn what he did wrong to quickly apply my own technique to avoid what he did.
The second brother went down with no problems. He had walked down hills in Seattle, so he had a tad bit of experience, but he had done it in snow and not dry, but I would assume that was more intense.
With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was the last to go. In any touch situation, I have always learned to break each step down into fragments and it makes it more manageable. I took one fundamental technique at a time and walked my way down the the hill. I had a small slip towards the bottom, but overall, it was a perfect rappel. We unhooked our harness from the line and attached to the new line at the bottom and were on to the next rappel….a waterfall.
We hiked a short distance and up a hill to the next rappel line. We attached to the new line with water gushing down from a stream, turning into a raging waterfall. It has rained the entire previous week, so the water level was high and consistent. We were to start in the actual stream at the point it turned into the waterfall and gushed down the side. My heart was racing, but I was excited to conquer it at the same time. Again, I was glad I was last to go.
There were specific foot placements he told us about as we scaled down the first couple steps in the water down the side. They were not easy to find since they were under water and not extremely close together. Once we scaled down the side, the water emptied into a huge pond where Megan was waiting. Once we reached 5 feet left in the rappel, we were to let go and fall backwards into the water. An exhilarating feeling of accomplishment mentally and physically with an exclamation point at the end.
This was the hardest of the three rappel’s. Between the flow of the water, the specific feet placements and the slow guiding to the side of the water as you walked down and the second rappel of my life, it was a lot to take in at once, but it only added to the adrenaline rush. About five to ten steps into the rappel, I found my line wanting to guide me back into the flowing water that would push me harder down the side. I stepped a few times into the water, managing not to allow the current to take me with it, while still holding on to the rope behind my back with my right arm. It was taxing on my right arm and shoulder and I felt for sure that I would let go at some point. But, I mentally would not allow it to happen, no matter the pain or fatigue. I feel I have tears in my shoulder from many years of baseball, so it’s not in the most perfect condition to begin with, but this strain was intense, all while “giving” some slack on the rope only a little at a time to walk down the side. Too much slack and your feet were over your head, too little and your feet were too far below you. You needed just enough slack while avoiding the water while knowing where to step at the same time.
I managed to hold onto the rope with five feet left on the line to the water below. I heard Megan yell for me to be ready to let go of the line and jump backwards into the water below. With a feeling of major accomplishment and sweat, I free-fell the last five feet into the exhilarating water below. The perfect ending to the most challenging rappel.
There would be one more rappel in a waterfall before we hiked back 20 minutes straight up-hill back to basecamp. We’d have some lunch before driving back to the pickup spot where we started. The perfect way to start the trip with some adventure and learning a new skill.
I’ll try to write more on this trip, finish my Iceland adventure last year and Peruvian adventure earlier this year in the coming weeks and months. It is my goal to blog more of my travels in 2020 to inspire more and more people to be adventurous and to not get stuck in front of a TV at night, but to research new destinations that will help you grow, meet new people and thrive and to inspire others. It’s so easy to subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney+ and lose all sense of creativity and sense of self and adventure. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to do that in moderation, but don’t make it a regularity so that it sucks the creative juices right out of you. By always watching other people’s creativity, you begin to mimic their style and lose the style of your own. The best ideas come in solitude, free from distraction and outside influence. Like my English professor always said before every class, “Always turn off the TV and immerse yourself into a sea of reading.”
Moonlit Wings Reflect the Stars That Guide Me Towards Salvation 