Maui is beautiful.
Ka’anapali Shores is beautiful.
I got a good nights sleep. Woke up at 6:30 am Maui Time, that would be like 11:30 am east coast time. At first I couldn’t understand why I was seeing my co-worker’s text. Then I realized it was Monday and I was waking up in Paradise.
To prove it I stepped out on our balcony to check out our “ocean view”.
Our alarm clock was the best kind. The natural kind.
The birds.
I was about to tell you that except for last minute flight changes travel with American airlines was uneventful. I received timely text messages with flight changes, happy smiling faces answered questions willingly, got priority boarding because my back was hurting and they even offered me a wheelchair. I assured them that wasn’t necessary.
The flights were on time and landed early at each leg of the journey. The longest layover was at LAX. Our flight from Philly arrived almost an hour early. Our flight from LAX to Maui had been changed from 2:30 pm to 5 pm so we had a long wait.
Finally our flight was called. It was a full flight since 2 other flights had landed late causing passengers to miss connections so they were crammed onto our flight until every seat was taken.
We took off on time and everything seemed to be business as usual until about the middle of the flight.
The window passenger in my row wanted to sit with her husband who was seated several rows back. The flight attendant went to ask if the other window passenger would swap seats but both the husband and his seat mate were sound asleep. That should have been the end of it but noooo. I had just fallen asleep when the attendant returned to say the husband and his seatmate had woken up and the seatmate agreed to swap with our window passenger. It didn’t matter that I’d just fallen asleep, The flight attendant woke me up so that my whole row could get out and allow the window passenger to swap seats. Finally everyone got settled in their new seats and I resumed my attempt to get a nap in.
I had just dozed off again when the announcement came in. Is there a doctor on board? Actually they asked if there were any licensed medical professionals who could lend a had with a sick passenger. Of course that got everyone’s attention. The cabin lights, which had been dimmed, were back on full. There was a commotion in the aisle. Apparently the passenger had passed out or fallen. She was eventually moved to the exit seats as there was more room and several doctors were attending to her. The airline was lucky. There was a doctors convention in Maui so they had ample assistance.
I saw them administer oxygen and a saline drip. Once we landed in Maui we stayed seated until the EMT’s met the plane had helped the patient disembark.
Luggage claim was very quick and picking up the rental car was also a breeze.
The only remaining snag was locating the resort. A 25 minute drive turned into a 1.5 hour search. My great directions were to look for a pink hotel but it was pitch black and nothing had any color!
After several frantic phone calls we finally found the hotel and got checked in. That bed felt so good! I was definitely down for the count but the travel part was over for now. We were on Maui!
When I spoke to the concierge from Diamond Resorts he said the whales hadn’t arrived and that the whale watches weren’t running.
I told him it made my Facebook feed that the first whale had been spotted. He said it was possible a few were there but still no trips. He suggested we watch for them from our balcony.
Well now I have more news:
The whales are most definitely here! This #amazing photo was taken by Jamey Baumgardt, one of our guests on board Ocean Voyager during Molokini & Turtle Arches Snorkel cruise. Mahalo Jamey! We don’t officially offer our first #whalewatching cruises until Nov.7. #maui
And check out the date! Whale watches start November 7. Looks like we’ll get to go after all!
No I’m not there yet but I did get a call.
Yes a nice surprise. The phone rang and caller ID said Diamond Resorts. That’s my time share so I grabbed the phone before it could go to voice mail. As I gasped out a Hello I heard a man’s voice call out “Aloha”.
That got my attention.
It was a combination confirmation call and orientation, not that I remember everything he told me. He gave me so much information. We confirmed check in times, talked about the facilities, tours and events, what I had in mind for the vacation, everything. It wasn’t a short call but it was very pleasant.
Oh and we talked about the weather. I mentioned it looked like they were getting a lot of rain. He laughed. He said the weather reports always show rain because at any given time its raining someplace on the island. Right now he says its mostly 70-80, low humidity and sunny. If it does rain, its warm and no lightening so just keep on with what we’re doing!
Nice touch Diamond Resorts. Mahalo!
A few passing clouds. Low 71F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph.
I didn’t get to finish telling what we expect at Kaanapali Beach Club. I have a self imposed limit to my posts so I don’t get boring. (Hopefully) and with the long description of the resort I went way over that limit.
So here’s what I didn’t get to in yesterday’s post.
1 Bedroom Ocean View
Discover comfort in our beautifully appointed accommodations featuring a king size bed, sofa bed with Tempurpedic mattress, and full bathroom complete with garden bath and walk-in shower. Enjoy the convenience of the partial kitchen equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher and coffee maker among many other modern appliances. Additional in-room amenities include internet, cable television, DVD/Blu-ray player, telephone and a balcony/lanai.
Doesn’t look like we have an in unit washer/dryer this time but it does look like there are laundry facilities on the premises. Not quite as convenient but still a good perk.
There are loads of activities on the resort calendar from adult bingo to Bowling, lei making and glass etching. There’s a beach walk that might be interesting, Other onsite activities include snorkeling and scuba diving and whale watching. I have heard that sometimes the whales are close enough to shore that they can be watched from land!
So far the weather hasn’t looked too good. It’s bee raining a lot. Maybe by the time we get there it will be a bot sunnier. When we went to the Bid Island it rained every day on the wet side of the Island. Its why the islands are so lush.
Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.