How I learned to love the ocean... part 1

We just returned from a trip to Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. We took our family (sons, daughter in law and the Beans).  Our oldest son flew from Oakland, CA. and we flew from Sacramento. We flew to Kahului airport, met each other and rented a car. As we walked out of the terminal ,the humid breezes took my breath away. The humidity takes a bit of getting use to. Then we drove to the Papakea resort, above Lahaina on the west coast of Maui. Our other son and his family would arrive the next day.
The drive from Maalaea up the coast was one beautiful beach after another. We settled into our beautiful condo, on the forth floor, with a postcard view of the ocean and the sound of surf and strange bird calls that I had never heard before. The sliding door to the balcony never shut until the day we left.

 The condo was beautiful... with a second story bedroom and bath overlooking the living room.

And lots of room for everyone.

I could definitely do this  for a week. The ocean was out there and I've told you this before... I'm afraid of it... but up here, on the forth floor, looking down... It didn't look so menacing. Just beautiful.

We decided which bedrooms we wanted and unpacked. We also went to the Safeway store in Lahaina for supplies. The condo had to be stocked with food. A box of chocolate covered Macadamia nuts weren't going to cover the needs of our family for a week.
Later we walked across the main road to a fresh fish restrurant for dinner... ( That's right... momma was fixing NO DINNERS while she was on vacation.).

I decided that I would have to met this vast amount of salty water on my own terms... foot to surf. I would walk down, remove my shoes and put my newly painted toes into the water.

I can't begin to tell you how nice it was. No big waves. The water was warm and it lapped up onto my feet as if to say "Aloha, my friend. I hope we become acquainted while you're here. I'm the ocean that will not frighten you. Tomorrow you will swim in me and I will show you things you have never seen before."
Well, OK then... that was easy. This is a friendly ocean. I can do this.

I walked around the small beach, as the sun was going down in the distance.

The tide was coming in and the beach was disappearing, so I back up onto the sea wall and found a recliner to sit on.

The sea appeared to have two or three rows of flat,volcanic reefs out in the water that were keeping the waves down. The sea seems to settle into a calmness.

The sun set into the distant ocean. I could see a big island across the channel. The map said it was Molokai.

Molokai is an dark refuge that gives one the feeling, with its constant cloud cover, that its history has made a mark on this island. There's a sadness about it.

This photo of Molokai was taken the next morning at sunrise but it shows the bleakness... as if the something sad is (maybe tears)  running into the ocean. It's very hard to photograph.)

I sat on the lawn recliner and watched the sun set.

I watched the lights go on, up the coast.

I was thankful for being here and seeing this sunset.  I thought, in a kind of prayer... thank you for all of this... The plane didn't crash... my other son and daughter in law and THE BEANS would be here tomorrow... the ocean seems friendly and accepting (we'll see.)... I didn't forget anything important... someone we trust is taking care of the dogs, chickens, and the house... (please don't let her have to deal with rattlesnakes or fires while we're gone.)... Time to relax... have fun... go swimming in the ocean... maybe.

Oh, and my phone said 7:00 p.m. but it was 10:00 p.m. at home. It was bedtime. But wait... it took us over five hours to get here. Confusing? Yes... I thought that I would sleep on it before I tried to figure it all out... or maybe I just wouldn't bother. After all... "tomorrow is another day"...and I'm in Hawaii.