Shannan, we're not in Kansas anymore

Three cheers for Mokulele Airlines. I've flown first class before. Back in the day, when i was a court reporter and basically commuted to Boston from Newark weekly, I racked up so many frequent flyer miles, i was automatically upgraded to first class if a seat was available. That was the life. Over the years since then, i stopped flying so much. I didn't even have a frequent flyer card anymore. I was one of the common people. Once you fly first class, it's very hard to go back to coach. It's almost better not to; then you never know what you're missing. We got upgraded to first class because of the SuperFerry going into dry dock for maintenance. Even though Honolulu to Maui is only a 30-minute flight, we enjoyed every bit of the royal treatment. I love how the flight attendant takes your order before takeoff. We ordered some tropical juice, but I was tempted to order a scotch. Not sure why; it seems like the thing to do. This plane was really quite nice, even coach, with leather seats throughout. The whole plane seemed shiny and new. The same flight attendant who took our drink order was quite the tour guide and pointed out all the cool sights along the way, along with historical tidbits.

Once we touched down and collected our bags, we headed to the Thrifty Rental Car booth. Oh, by the way, my bag was still 3 pounds over the weight limit, but the woman at Mokulele Airlines who checked us in smiled and said, it's ok. People are just nicer here! Ok, so we find the Thrifty booth, but it's empty. A lonely phone with a sign directing us to pick up is all that resides here. We are directed to walk to the back and wait for the shuttle. The shuttle deposited us at the Thrifty lot where, once again, we were greeted by happy people. Wouldn't you be happy if every day was 80 and the sun was always shining...even when it rains? Another rookie mistake. I forgot to call my car insurance company and ask if we have full coverage for rental vehicles. I should've called right there on the spot, but i was so anxious to get to our condo that i just paid the extra daily charge. Dumb.

We got quick instructions on how to remove the soft top from the Jeep Wrangler, and we were off. Oh, that is after Shannan wrestled with my 53-pound oversized suitcase, trying to squeeze it through the Jeep's small window frame. We made our way out of the busy airport area of Kahului on Rts. 36 and 32 to scenic Rt. 30, aka Honoapiilani Highway, which starts off going south and then curves around the coastline heading west and finally north, all the while hugging the shoreline offering incredible ocean views. We stopped at the first lookout we came to and just soaked it all in. We're really in Maui!! It is amazing how incredibly miserable I am in the wintertime in New Jersey. I think i suffer from that weather-related depression. i don't even know what it's called. Some acronym. Not SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)! SJDSIW, sudden jen death syndrome in winter, i guess will do for now. The minute I feel that mild, tropical breeze, i am a new person. I think i was a fish in another life. That would explain my insane love for water. I can't even drive by wetlands without exclaiming, ooh, water! Imagine how excited i am to be surrounded by the cool blue-green Pacific for 14 days.

Check-in wasn't until 3:00. It was like noon. We took a chance and lucky for us, our condo was ready. This place is heavenly. It's just a studio but turned out to be plenty big. The basic layout is that of a hotel room but the owner spared no expense when decorating and we appreciated her attention to detail. The bathroom is small but really nice with gorgeous tile and black granite countertop and an oversized vanity, plenty of space for all my crap. The kitchen is, again, small, but completely stocked with fridge, stove, sink, dishwasher and even an island, the same black granite countertop adorns the area. A huge (and I mean huge) closet was plenty of room for all of our clothes, shoes, suitcases, etc., not to mention stocked with beach chairs, beach mats, beach and bath towels, 2 boogie boards, a safe, cooler, iron and ironing board, extra blankets...i don't even know what else is in there, way more than we needed! There's even a large dresser that we had a hard time filling (even me!), a king-size bed, a TV, CD, DVD, couch, which we barely used or cared about, and finally, the best part of all, the lanai. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it's basically a balcony but "lanai" sounds so much better, doesn't it? And this lanai overlooks the beach. We spent a lot of time on the lanai, every morning, coffee, breakfast, perusing travel books, people watching and -- get this -- whale watching. Yes, tons of them, all day, every day, blowing water (or air??) thru their blow holes, frolicking, jumping, diving. It was awesome. In the afternoons after returning from the beach or whatever activity we did (more to come on that later), we'd enjoy a couple beers and some cheese and crackers out there.

No need for air-conditioning this time of year. We left the wall-to-wall sliding glass doors open and let the crashing waves lull us to sleep, which for the first couple nights was REALLY EARLY because we were still on East Coast time.

J.Bo.