Election Day is upon us once again, and thus the perfect time to check out of politics and check in for a flight to Maui. Our United 737 Max departed at 850am from a bustling Terminal 7 at LAX. Fortunately, the masses were not going to Maui and we enjoyed a row to ourselves. I had booked a hotel at a discounted rate several months ago, a change from our normal standard of booking while boarding the plane. The exact same hotel is now charging $550/nt if we reserved it today. Maui is not cheap, and one of the reasons we (Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple) have never been there together. In fact, I haven’t been there since early 2008, when my sister kept proclaiming to the world that she had been “Maui’d.”
We had specifically chosen to be gone during this election to try and control some stress and apprehension, not unlike our monthlong getaway in October and November 2020. The common thread of these two elections of course being Trump, everyone’s favorite celebrity fascist. We here at Passports & Pepto-Bismol are open to differing ideas and viewpoints right and left, as we are after all a travel blog and the world is full of different cultures, thoughts, and ways of life. With that being said, we do draw the line at election deniers and insurrectionists, as well as casual racism, mysogony, and fermenting of divisions, but also the stripping of women’s rights, gay rights, possessing a total disregard for the constitution, threatening use of force on political opponents, and being a menace to American democracy as a whole. But other than that, I hope both sides just have a good time.
Maui’s Kahului airport was quite crowded when we arrived, but we were on our way in short order nonetheless. We took an old-timey looking train bus to the rental car center, which is presumably a new setup, but last time I rented a car here, it was a rusted-out Buick from the early 1990s that broke down upon its return. This time, I was of age and rented a car through Budget using their Fastbreak loyalty program which allowed me to bypass the line and into our Kia. It was about a 25 minute drive to the Maui Coast Hotel in Kihei on Maui’s south coast. The hotel is popular with flight crews, which is probably why I got a deal on it to begin with. There is an older part that they put the flight crews in and an updated part for everyone else. You can guess which one we got. Our room hasn’t been updated for some time, but at the end of the day, it’s still Maui.
We walked around the neighborhood and beach area of Kamaole Beach Park 1, part of the 3 Kamaoles. Having not had a proper lunch, however, I was becoming a bit famished and we drove to Foodland to get me some Spam musubi and other treats. We returned to the hotel to chill on the lanai with our snacks as we pondered our next move.
We drove down to Maluaka Beach, a fifteen minute drive through neighboring Wailea, to watch the sun work its way down. This beach appeared to be quite popular at this hour with multiple couples getting their wedding photographs taken. For all I know, my sister had hers taken at this very same beach.
As the sun set below the horizon,we also visited nearby Po’Olenalena Beach to watch the colors illuminate the sky in the fading light. Now it was dinner time. We decided to go to Maui Brewing Company. It was a large and very popular establishment. We had to wait for about twenty minutes to get a table. I had a chicken sando. Nicole had some pulled pork sliders. We got a flight of the Maui ales. Whether light or dark, they all tasted pretty decent, which is a rare feat for a brewery.
I left the Maui Brewing Company feeling a bit bloated from overeating, but perhaps I will run tomorrow and toot it all out. We don’t have any clearly laid plans for tomorrow. It is Election Day, of course, but we already voted and I have expressed interest to Nicole that I would like to try and find a sea turtle whilst swimming if possible. I don’t think that should take up the whole day unless they lead me on quite the underwater pursuit. Aloha for now.
passports & pepto bismol 