Our Maui Vacation Story

Part 1

Wow. We're home. As of 3 am yesterday.

Thank you SO much for your prayers and concern about the earthquake...I was reading them just now and I was so touched!

Well...this has been such an incredible trip, both good and bad, that I am dividing it into three posts. Here goes...our Shake and Bake vacation story...(like that? I just made it up...)

We arrived in Maui at our hotel in time to unpack, walk on the beach, buy groceries, ect. The girls were anxious to take a dip in the little kiddy pool, so their daddy took them that first afternoon.
Still on Oregon time, we all woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, hoping to to catch an early service at some nearby church before embarking on some great adventure.

We were all dressed and doing last minute things when the floor began to shake. I was with the girls in thier room and my husband was at the other side of our little suite, brushing his teeth. As it began to get a little rough, I grabbed the girls to me under a doorway and held them tightly. I'd like to say I was calm for them...but I wasn't. I was screaming for my husband, who never came until the last moment, while the three of us girls huddled together crying.

I've been in a few little earthquakes here in Oregon, and a few more little tremors, but nothing like this. And being in a strange place only added to my panic.

My husband came over as the shaking subsided, toothpaste in his mouth, and I frantically informed him that we needed to high-tail it out of there in case of a tsunomi. He didn't seem to be the least bit worried, but I had recently seen a documentary, so I insisted....well, yelled at him to come on. We were on the second floor and scrambled down the stairs amongst others, jumped in the car, and headed- literally- for the hills.

About fifteen minutes later, a radio station in Maui came back on the air and we heard that there wouldn't be a tsunomi...which was an incredible relief.
But there was no power anywhere on the island and we simply drove around for awhile. At one point, we came apon a Krispy Kreme's that was open without power, and I stood in line for donuts and my first coffee of the day. They still had some, but as I stood in the long line, they ran out right when I got to the counter.
Later, we did find a little Hawaiian church that went ahead and held service. They had a back-up generator, so they even had great music for the few of us that were there. Most of the little congregation was of Hawaiian decent, and they welcomed us with open arms. It was SO good to be in the house of the Lord during this crisis. I had been so jittery and upset, and it was a comfort to be reminded that God was still in control.

Right after the service, the power on Maui was restored to most of the island...and a few hours later, all of the island was back. That afternoon I splurged on a frappicinno at Starbucks and I was so happy I could have done the hula right there!

The following day was hubby's birthday. We woke up to....pouring rain. Oregon-worthy rain. Buckets and buckets of rain.

We decided to make the best of it and hit the Maui Ocean Center that day. There were a few open areas between building where got drenched, but all in all, it was a facinating place and the girls loved it. The huge shark swimming beside us was incredible and walking under the tunnel with stingrays a few inches from our heads was amazing! The girls seemed to fight over their daddy, though, the whole time...each wanting him all to herself. My nose was only slightly out of joint...I knew it was because he was usually at work so much and they were glad to spend so much time with him!

We stopped at my favorite Hawaiian shop, the famous Hilo Hattie's, to buy a few trinkets and gifts. (Love most of the prices, and how they greet you at the door with a shell lei!)
Later, we all changed and the girls and I donned our matching dresses in honor of thier daddy's birthday. He had some trouble picking out a restaurant, and finally settled on one in an elegant building with...ahem...elegant prices. We were all relaxing when sudden shrieks let out acrossed the restaurant. I immediately thought...OK, a tsumomi is just now coming to cover us all. (Yes, I really thought that!) I jumped up with the entire restaurant patrons, all of whom were looking out over the street. And then I saw it...a young man had been thrown off his motorcycle by a car, and a man stood over him as he lay crumpled on the road.
Although I relieved we weren't all going to die, I was heartsick to see this sight, and when I got back to the table, we all said a prayer for him. Needless to say, it was hard to enjoy the rest of the birthday dinner while a tear trickled down my cheek and sirens blared outside.

What else could go wrong on this trip, you ask? And was there any enjoyment at all?
Well...to answer the first question....a lot more could go wrong!
But to answer the second...YES, thankfully, there were some fun moments sprinkled throughout the rest of our trip.

The next installment will include a little of both...