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| Mark at Wailea Beach |
Today was the first day of our Hawaiian vacation. Just 5 hours away, I considered Hawaii to be an affordable "puddle hopper". Although the hotel and food is not generally cheap, the airfare certainly is. And due to the downturn in the economy, food and lodging was a bit cheaper than normal.
Mark had been particularly looking forward to visiting Hawaii. This was his first time visiting the archipelago. He had also been feeling particularly burnt out. I, on the other hand, hadn't visited Hawaii in more than 15 years and had never scuba dived in Hawaii before. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from diving in Hawaii, especially after diving in Fiji the previous year, but I promised to keep an open mind.
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Grand Wailea Resort
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On our 5 hour flight over from San Jose, I had an interesting conversation with my seat mate, a "metaphysical" massage therapist. This means she works with clients' past traumas and treats the trauma with massage. She also treats the San Francisco 49'ers regularly. (As part of my self-improvement program, I have been trying to network more. I feel like I always benefit by networking. At minimum, I learn something new, and at maximum, I gain an opportunity.)
After landing, we immediately hit the nearby Wailea beach, known for its posh hotels and beaches. I felt a little disappointed. It was certainly more beautiful than the beaches down in Southern California, but I guess I was expecting more vibrant blue water.
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| Botero Sculpture garden |
We also walked around the Grand Wailea Resort. We read in Lonely Planet that this was an interesting place to walk through because of its expensive works of art - worth $30 million according to some sources. The hotel architecture certainly looked dated. It was nice, back in the day, I'd imagine. Other than the numerous Botero sculptures (shown at right), I didn't recognize any of the artists displayed. But the artwork was still interesting to look at.
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| Matteo's Pizzeria |
Finally, we ate at Matteo's pizzeria - based on travel recommendations from the New York Times. Although the pizzas were certainly cheap ($12-22), and the ambiance was nice, we didn't think the pizzas measured up to the pizzas from the "mainland", and certainly did not taste like authentic Italian pizzas, as they were touted to be.
Tomorrow we'll be diving the back wall of Molokini crater. We're looking forward to it.
-- Post From My iPhone
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