Wednesday, March 11, 2009

mahalo for the memories

Katie is gone, sadly, and now I'm sitting in my room trying to figure out what I will do for the next three days. I think it's quite likely that I'll just lie on the beach, although I will need to be careful -- while I'm not burned all over, there are patches where I clearly missed a sunscreen application that are a bit tender.

Katie and I woke up fairly early today and decided to go for a drive in the upcountry around Haleakala. We did not do the famed voyage to Haleakala Crater for sunrise, because that would have necessitated leaving at three a.m., but we drove around in the area around Haleakala. It was quite beautiful; Haleakala is a former volcano, once the tallest (from ocean floor to tip) mountain in the world, and it's still absolutely massive. We did not drive very far up, but we did get some magnificent views of the rest of the island with the ocean falling away in the distance. We also stopped at one of the few wineries in Hawaii and did a tasting; I quite ridiculously bought a bottle of sparkling wine made out of pineapple, so some lucky friend is going to be forced to drink that with me in the near future.

After Haleakala, we came back to Ka'anapali, changed into our swimsuits, and spent a few hours on the beach. We took a break when we were feeling a bit scorched to have a late lunch by the pool, then spent a final hour in the sun before getting cleaned up and packed up so that I could take Katie to the airport. We stopped for dinner at some pizza place that was delicious despite the ridiculously spacey waitress, and then I said adieu to Katie before coming back to the hotel.

Katie and I had a fabulous time together, all in all, and we spent a significant amount of time talking and catching up on each other's lives and rehashing our past experiences. Now, I have the next three days to myself, and I intend to do very little; I think I could use three days of virtual nothingness to center myself and return to California ready for the various tasks ahead.

That's all for now; perhaps you'll get some pictures someday, but I'm too lazy tonight. Goodnight!

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