Welcome to Part II of My Hawaiian Honeymoon With 90 Year Olds in Maui
If you haven’t already, I highly suggest reading Part I first. It covers why we were on our honeymoon with Carrie’s 90 year old grandparents, how they became airport royalty and some overall observations and lessons.
Let’s do New Stuff That’s Close…
Going into the trip, Carrie and my biggest question was “what are we going to do with Mary and Ron in Maui, Hawaii, for six days?!” We figured it would be a lot of relaxing, sitting on the balcony and watching the waves crash. Sounds good to me!
Upon arriving in our condo in Makena (on the southeastern side of Maui), we all sat down and discussed our plans. We all liked the idea of seeing sweeping views from atop the Haleakalavolcano or heading to Lahina for a free breakfast were out, but the drive was too long for something they had already done before. There wasn’t much around us other than shops and things that required lots of walking or driving, so our options became fairly limited.
So What Did We Do?
It’s Hawaii! We spent lots of time lounging around the condo and going out for dinners. A few walks were had along the oceanfront. And on my birthday we went to a Luau, which Mary and Ron enjoyed but found to “way too loud.”
One morning Mary and Ron went to a local church and heard hymns sung in native Hawaiian while Carrie and I went snorkeling. We even took one road trip to the botanical gardens, but fate was not on our side as the drive was longer than expected and when we got there we had to flee from an onslaught of mosquitos
I Got to Be a Hero
A few times we all took the five minute walk down a steep-ish hill to the beach where we set Mary and Ron up with beach chairs and an umbrella while they watched Carrie and I swim, snorkel and boogie board.
One day, I even got to do my best David Hasslehoff Baywatch impersonation! Mary had fallen out of her chair and I came sprinting in from the ocean with my arms pumping at my side as I ran to her rescue. She was laughing the whole time and calling me her “hero.”
Battling 6 Foot Waves to Board a Boat
One activity request we kept hearing was that Mary and Ron wanted to go on a sunset cruise: so we booked one for our last night through the front desk of our condo. What they neglected to tell us was that we had to board it from the beach.
When we got to the beach, there was our catamaran: way out in the ocean with huge waves crashing down around and beneath it. In order to board, Mary and Ron would have to run through the waves and climb a small and slippery metal ladder.
I think we all knew it wasn’t meant to be, but bless ‘em, Mary and Mary and Ron still wanted to stay and try. The four of us stood and watched all the comedy show as the other passengers zigged and zagged to avoid crashing waves and reach the ladder. Some were knocked over, others just got soaked to the waist. No one had an easy time: regardless of age.
Finally, with everyone else on the boat, it was Mary and Ron’s turn. Carrie and I refused to be the ones to tell them they couldn’t do it, but believe me we breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when Ron finally said that it wasn’t worth it. The staff was kind enough to give us a full refund, which we then used at a lovely restaurant in Wailea where we watched the sunset from the comfort of stable chairs on flat and dry land.
Here’s a random coincidence
One week after returning from Maui, I was invited to a press reception about Maui in San Francisco. While there, I met representatives from the following great places…
EXPLORE SOMEWHERE NEW
BUY A PRINT
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