hi, hi, hi
A bit more than a week ago, I took a brief weekend trip to Maui to attend my mother's wedding (congrats, Mama :) ). Aside from the brutally long flights, it was quite a refreshing change from the daily life in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The first thing my brother and I noticed coming off the flight was how much slower the pace of life was on the island. We were used to the hustle mentality of the East Coast, and had to consciously take everything down a few notches (driving, walking, talking etc.).
Our first stop off the flight was Choice, a raw vegan restaurant known for their acai bowls.
Since the wedding was the purpose of the trip and we both couldn't stay longer, my brother and I had very little time to explore Maui. We managed to squeeze in some tanning, stargazing, and The Road to Hana.
Stargazing in Hawaii was quite an indescribable experience. Sitting in the convertible Mustang with the top down on a clear night with Gallant's Ology blasting on the speakers was something out of a dream. I don't really know what else to say about it, except that everyone deserves to experience something like that at some point in their lives.
“I was a pauper
Fickle and bruised
Wishing I could atomize these lonely lunar views
But with thorns in my ankles
And rocks in my shoes
I weather through”
Another Gallant song, but this one is my favorite:
We parked in a roadside turnout and I made my first attempt at astrophotography. I had my Gorillapod and my X100T, but no remote shutter release so I had to hold the camera as steady as I could for more than a minute. Rain was falling sporadically, but the skies remained clear enough to capture this.
Our next Maui experience was The Road to Hana. We got the GyPSy Drive Tour app which was worth every cent--we definitely would have missed a lot of subtleties of the journey without it. I realized this might have been my first rainforest experience. The rain came and went in seconds, drenching us within seconds and revealing the beautiful blue sky within the next minute. The intense heat and humidity didn't help the being drenched situation, but by the end of it, I didn't really care. Each viewpoint made me question reality, and made me realize (as traveling always does) how little of the world I've seen.
As we were driving, my brother also mentioned "that Tumblr quote," which I will include here:
“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.
”
This is indeed a very "Tumblr" quote, but it still seemed relevant at the time. Maybe because I was in the ocean sweating from the heat and crying at the beauty of it all, or something like that.
We encountered waterfalls, bamboo forests, an abundance of mangoes, and incredible coastal views. We also saw some large spiders and mongooses...I guess that's what you get in the rainforest. I'll let photos do the talking here.
My time in Maui was sadly short, but I find it hard to believe that I won't return there at some point. For now, I'm back in good old Cambridge, excited for more summer adventures.
Entire photo collection here
