We took off from work early Friday afternoon and picked up the kids along the way to SFO. The flight to Maui was nice and smooth and before long we had arrived in the land of Aloha. It was dark by the time we checked in so there were no lines to wait in thank goodness since it had been a long day for us all. We headed straight up to our room and made ourselves at home while Alex headed out to get us some midnight grub.

After a good night’s sleep, we woke up and got ready to explore the surrounding area. The kids begged us to eat the buffet breakfast at the nearby Westin hotel where our friends (the Lams) were staying and low and behold, we did chance upon the Lam ladies while at breakfast. We got a quick update from them on what they’ve been up to the past week. Rex on the other hand was still atop Mt. Haleakala taking those picturesque photos we are so accustomed to seeing.

Dinner in Lahaina
Unfortunately, we only had a few days overlap with the Lams so we met up with them and several of their friends from the Islands and enjoyed a nice meal at Compadres Bar & Grill in nearby Lahaina. The evening was lovely though our boys did not last long into the night. Wesley fell asleep on my lap. This night also marks Alex’s first face-to-face encounter with Vince, a fellow member of his Age of Empires (AOE) internet gaming posse.

Gemini Catamaran
The following day, Alex and Nicholas joined the Lams on a snorkel sail which launched in front of the Westin hotel. Apparently, there were lots of fish, dolphins, and one sea turtle seen on this trip. The crew even had prescription goggles for Alex to use. Anyway, Nicholas had so much fun with the Lam family that he specifically requested for them to join us at our pool for some swimming fun. Luckily, the Lams obliged.

Swimming
This activity is without a doubt the absolute highlight of the day for the kids. Our boys don’t particularly care for the ocean at least for now, but they could spend an entire day in the pool, next to the ocean, if we allowed them to… so much for finding an ocean-front property to vacation at. Last year, Wesley still had to use his arm floaties, but this year, he wanted to be free of any confinements in the pool so he pretty much only swam in the 3 ft section of the pool but did all sorts of twists and turns and flips in the water to entertain himself.

2008 Olympics
The olympics took place these exact two weeks that we were in Hawaii. Unfortunately, it also meant that we had to miss both the opening and closing ceremonies because we were either at the airport or on the plane.  On the other hand, our kids were mesmerized by Michael Phelps during the olympics and could not wait to get in the pool each day to “swim like Mike”. Little do they realize how hard this man works to achieve those goals since he makes it look so easy on TV.

BBQ
While on Maui, we actually BBQ-ed one evening at our resort. Both grill and utensils were provided for us so it just took us firing up the grill to get things started. We didn’t get very adventurous on the grill, but we saw plenty of people walking back to their rooms with platters full of 1″ thick meat patties, juicy steaks, and whatnot which made us salivate at the meer sight of it all.

Local Area
Maui and specifically the Kaanapali area is expanding at a phenominal rate. In just one year’s time, a local shopping center had already sprung up across the street from were we do all our grocery shopping. The new marketplace has a Barnes and Noble, Melting Pot (yum), Outback Steakhouse, Burger King and Panda Express.  My goodness, the retail markets are movin’ in. Before long, I’d expect a Target to spring up next door.