My Move to Hawaii, Part II

The flight was bumpy but uneventful... It felt really long too. I’m not looking forward to flying to Japan and Taiwan (did I mention that I’m flying to Japan and Taiwan at the end of this month?) When we arrived in Kahului, that humid tropical smell hit me, and I thought “Do I really live here now?!?” I walked down to the baggage carousel and right when I got there, I saw my boxes and bag. So I ran over and pulled them off the belt. The boxes had not had a good flight... They were smooshed all up and one had a giant gash along the side... Now I know why they had me sign a waver to check them... The box stacking job on the rented cart that worked so well in Portland now was a disaster because the boxes were all soft and messed up. As I went down a ramp, the boxes shifted and my carry-on suitcase tumbled off the cart... Good thing I hand carried over the Xbox 360, I hope it still works! (but if it doesn’t, there’s a Costco nearby, and apparently they take back anything!) Somehow I got the shifting tower of boxes to the rental car shuttle area and got all the boxes loaded on the bus. When we got to the rental car area the bus driver handed me all my boxes and then there I was, standing outside the building with two large boxes, two suitcases, a laptop, and my coat... and no cart. I took a bunch of trips to move my stuff from outside to inside, and then got in line. Once I got the keys to my sweet Dodge Neon, I had to abandon my stuff to get the car. I quickly brought the car closer to the building, and then loaded all of the stuff up (trip by trip). I was a little warm by the time I finished...

I left the airport, heading toward Kihei. Missed the turn, so I ended up going by the way of Ma’alaea, which was fine by me. I was soaking in the sights of my new home. The hulking mountains just off in the distance, wisps of clouds here and there, palm trees swaying in the wind, and when I reached Ma’alaea I saw the ocean for the first time from the ground. WOAH, I live on a tiny island in the middle of a giant ocean... BOOM (that was my brain just exploding). When I got to Kihei, I found my hotel and pulled in. I walked up to the desk and noticed that it was pretty much outside. The place had a roof but no walls, I guess what’s the point when it’s warm year round.

I walked into my room with some trepidation. I had booked my stay at the Aston Maui Lu through Hotwire.com (where they don’t tell you where you are going to stay until after you have paid). Once I discovered the name of the resort, I checked online at Trip Advisor and people were ranting about how disgusting the place is (bugs, rats, filth, you name it). But, my room is just fine, it’s just a rundown hotel room, I have no problem with that. I did do an inspection though, to make sure there weren’t bugs everywhere or something. When I pulled back the sheets on the bed, I noticed a daddy longlegs-ish spider was crawling on the comforter. No big, I flicked it off, you’d see that anywhere.

To be contiuned?