index maui
The ride over was uneventful. Just time to think and listen to music. Time to marvel at all that heavy metal out there, so high in the sky.
The site, down below, of the familiar island heightened my senses. Down below was a dreamy world of palm trees and water.Here we are about 50 feet up, just about to touch down.There was the thump of the landing wheels, and the force of the reverse thrusters. We are now home, once again, in Paradise for a few days.And when you exit the plane, you can breathe the warm thick air of a tropical paradise.I remember it all so well.
But the reality of modern life, as it exists on the mainland, has infested Maui. The cancer of traffic and massive condos has invaded Maui. Big money is a brute that is impossible to stop.
Somehow, the original beauty still remains...
This is at our first place: WorldMark. Here, in this picture, there is red ginger and a banana tree. WorldMark has overbooked all their rooms, people crowd the swimming pool and fill the parking lots.Even booking months ahead, we could only stay two nights. Normal bookings are 13 months out. But that is OK, we found a much better condo in Kiehi, and way cheaper too.Don't kid yourself: TimeShares have a price. The only difference is that the price is at the front end instead of at the back end.Well... There is also the difference of price too. There are permanent and ongoing monthly costs of over a $100. And there is the loss of interest from the principle of your initial investment.It is ALWAYS cheaper to buy, independently at the moment, using free capitalism and opportunity.
Linda and I never use the TimeShare. And if you do not use the TimeShare, they "steal away" your points.They expire after two years. Well... unless you give them a lot more money, and then they expire in three years.But buying more points defeats the purpose, and they get to steal away even more points.
They call the monthly fees "maintenance" fees, implying that it goes to maids and ground keepers. But that is not true. The reason that I know is from a letter stating that we would be prosecuted by Woldmark attorneys if we did not pay the fees. We have always paid our monthly fees, but I did get involved in discussions of suspending going places, and not using Worldmark, for example, for a year. Owners, like ourselves that don't owe a dime on it, may want to take a break, and will not need to pay the "maintenance" fees. It would make sense; We would not be dirtying any bed sheets or using the grounds. With the letter, I now know the "maintenance" fees are in reality a different type of revenue fee, and used in a sinister category. Much like the gangster days of "Loyality fees", "Protection fees" and "Insurance fees".
It is a miracle the beauty still shines through all the human greed and destruction.
The whole point to coming here is to get away from evil, money-hungry people. So, the first place to run to is the beach.Any beach! It is all good.
Timeshares and tourism in general has seen a tremendous increase. The beach is five times more crowded from just a few years ago.And the traffic is also congested.
This is one of our favorite places in Maui: Peggy Sues. We knew the original owners from many years ago. Now, the prices are high, food not as good, and the place is packed.But the music is the same. In fact better, because now you do not have to wait for someone to put more quarters in.The songs play all the time.
Here is our new place, and it is right on the beach. Much better than WorldMark, and cheaper. You should never join a Timeshare.There are cheaper places, and with more convenient bookings. You are better off "On your own".
Oh, I love this couch. This is at Cafe O'Lay. And this decor is found on shirts too.
And this food is super good and cheap. Only $8 bucks. Cheaper than back home on the mainland. But, in this case, these are good people and management.Low prices are not generally true on Maui. Linda and I have both found that the more expensive the food, the less quality and less quantity.We have had some terrible experiences with high-end food. We don't have much money, so it is not something we normally need to watch out for.Just something to be aware of...
Wow! Found this turtle crawled up on the beach. Just looks at us with her eyes, and flips a leg.Maybe to lay eggs? Maybe to get away from sharks? Maybe just to get warm...
Regulation wants you to stay so many feet away. I do not know the distance, but I still came in close enough to get a couple of close up pictures.I have been closer before while snorkeling. Once, while under water, I swam along side a large Green Turtle and I could touch the shell.The turtle just turned its head and looked me in the eye and swam away. They have huge heads and huge eyes.
There is another story to this turtle...
There is a well hidden grass shack 10 feet from the turtle. I almost missed it. It is a homeless "house".As we were walking away from the turtle, a homeless man came out of the grass thing, and bent down to within a few inchesfrom the turtle's face, and began to cuss at the turtle. I have seen other homeless wave their arms and cuss at trees and the sky, but never a Green Turtle. I took my cell phone out to call 911 for a ranger to come out. Those things are protected! But before I could dial, the homeless man left. Maybe he will overdose.
Wow, what a sight out from our third story lanai. The ocean is right there! So nice to get away from the timeshare.So nice to anyplace we want.
There are free lawn chairs down there, and games like shuffle board.
The rooms are not much, but good.
See... That is pretty happy on the lanai!
Also a view from the lanai: These are the wind turbines of Maui. The locals don't like them. But I am an engineer, and I like them.
I don't know why this picture is here. I already said I was happy.
And we got to see the sunset every night - all from our lanai.
This strange seed fell down on the top of the car at the Plantation. Thought I might have to pay for a dent.Linda wants to take it home and see if it grows.
Very windy here. About 35 miles an hour. I do not need a face lift if I look into the wind.I am a happy person when my skin is pulled back tight.This is at the marina at Maahala. The last time we were here the waves were crashing over the rocks.
Here is the view from the other side of our room. This is Haliokula extending out of the clouds.
One more parting shot of a beautiful sunset. We have to go back, I am missing my stupid dog too much.I should not call her stupid. That is my wonderful Callie.
So confusing; I don't want to leave, and yet at the same time, I do want to leave. I am healed now. I no longer have my sinus infection, and I feel unstressed.I can now tackle the damn shit at home. But I do hate to leave... And Callie misses me...
Flaps fully down, and the plane jumps into the air with a tug on your body, pressing it down into the seat.Looking down, I see other wore out fools just now coming in on that United, for rejuvenation.
Going back on the plane, I saw something like never before: a very dark red sunset. The picture does not do justice to the blood red color.
And there is Sacramento.
We were flying up around 36,000 feet, but cabin pressure is maintained (I think) at 8,000 feet.Sometime while flying I opened and closed this coke bottle. Upon landing, still sealed from the vacuum high up, it looked like this...Quite a real eye-opening demonstration of the real place that we were living in for the last several hours.
Are we getting enough oxygen that high up?
I know we were getting more radiation.
Fortunately, I do not suffer from the effects of altitude pressure or vacumme; I can open my eustachian tubes at will. I can even breath inside my middle ears.Linda can not do it. I can hear the air rush in and out of my middle ears. Kinda cool, but Linda says "childish". Well... Unless I am diving below about 10 feet of water; then I can no longer open my ears. And much deeper can be painful.
As we come out of the sky, I know that I will have to seriously start Masking. I will have to come back to reality.After being a happy kid in paradise, I know this is not my natural home. And unfortunately, put on another face and act normal. Gotta get the bags, and remember where I parked the truck.
