El Dorado condo - Maui, Kaanapali

We got Maui'd
If New York is the city that never sleeps, then Maui is the Disneyland that never closes. Tourists are woven into every inch of the island’s fiber, visible as a loud Hawaiian shirt in this seemingly foreign land, where native languages still write the road signs and shake each town’s hand. Waves of island music blur the lines of reggae while reciting a rendition of “Islands in the stream” by Dolly and Kenny, followed by a new hit song from the #1 singing sensation that’s never been heard of on the mainland. This is where wide-eyed youth gamble their faith on tropical paradise, but rarely win, and where honeymooners come to celebrate. After nine years, Bubba and I had bitten the bullet and gotten married...we were here to honeymoon.

El Dorado
We decided to rent a condo in Kaanapali since we were going to be there for a full week and couldn’t afford that many meals out. Who wants to pay $50 for bacon and eggs every morning? Plus, the luxury of waking up and having breakfast in your pajamas or happy hour on the lanai was enough to make the decision for us.

We were upgraded to a suite- sweet! It was really just their one bedroom instead of a studio, but the granite countertops, plasma TVs and Ipod hookup (yes, Bubba was forced into “Dance Party USA”) made us pleased as (Hawaiian) punch. And for nights when we spilled some “punch”, we had a washer and dryer, while our bathing suits could air dry on our lanai equipped with a dining table, two lounge chairs and drop shades for privacy.

Grocery shopping was done at Safeway in Lahaina (10 minutes away) and the Star Market was right around the corner (a little pricier), making the $200 we dropped for a week’s supply of food well worth it.

El Dorado’s beach cabana quickly became our “Copa” and was ranked our favorite, daytime party spot (key the music… “They fell in love.”) A quick walk from the condo (or a swift ride in the chauffeured golf cart when we felt lazy), Copa was fully equipped with refrigerator, chaises, beach loungers and even books in case you forgot to bring one.

Black Rock (prime snorkeling) was right around the bend and we ventured out one morning to find ourselves swimming with a sea turtle! It was pretty hard to resist taking a ride on his shell, but the experience of floating next to him was more than enough. With my ears full of underwater silence and steady sounds of snorkeled breath, a bottle of euphoria was dumped over my head. Maui peaked the senses on a primal level that found divinity in the everyday. It was the best type of intoxication and now I knew why the tourists didn’t leave...they were addicts.