Visit the Hawaiian Island of Maui

   Excerpt from the book I Need to Get L'eid from the Teresa the Traveler series of books. I arrived in Maui on Hawaiian Airlines around 6 pm and took a cab from the West Maui Airport to the Kaanapali Ocean Inn, a budget hotel that I had booked online the night before.  When we got to the hotel, a groundskeeper informed me that the hotel was closed and would not be re-opening until the resort was busier.  What the...? He suggested I check in at the reception area of the Royal Lahaina Resort on the same ocean front property so I walked across the parking lot, a little bewildered, and visited the reception desk where I was informed that I had received a complimentary upgrade to a villa in the Royal Lahaina Resort. They gave me a room key and sent me off in a golf cart with a porter who gave me a short tour of the grounds and escorted me and my luggage to a beautiful luxury villa.  When I walked into my new abode, I felt like I had just won the lottery.  I was in a room that usually cost over $200 a night and I was paying less than $100.   The recession was bad for the businesses in Hawaii but it was great for Teresa the Traveler! Hawaii is usually very expensive to visit and that is what prevented me from coming in the past but now it was almost as cheap as Las Vegas!
    I called Francine to let her know I was in Maui and she promised to pick me up in the morning and bring me zip-lining.  I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with her.  Francine and I met online over 5 years ago after discovering we were both dating the same man who we had both met on an online dating site.  Men have no idea that women compare notes and this dim-witted Don was no exception. After catching him in a lie, we quickly realized the only good thing about him was his taste in women.  We’ve been cyber sisters ever since and I looked forward to the day we would finally meet face to face.  Hopefully we had more in common than our bad taste in men.  

Best Things to See and Do in Maui

1. Visit a large volcanic crater at Haleakalā National Park
2. Swim with large turtles at Turtle Town
3. Ride Hawaii's largest side by side zip line at Piiholo Ranch
4. Drive the scenic Road to Hana
5. Visit Maui's last lava flow at La Perouse Bay
6. Stop by the Wailea Beach Marriot Resort and Spa and pick up tickets for their Honua’ula Luau
Click on the pictures below for more information on these places!

Crazy Hawaiian Facts

    1. The Hawaiian chain of islands is actually made up of 132 islands, but most people are only familiar with the eight main islands of Ni'ihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Kahoolawe and Hawaii.
    2. The Humuhumukununukuapua'a is the Hawaiian national fish.  It is also called the Picasso Triggerfish and the Reef Triggerfish.  In Hawaiian its name mean "fish with a pig's nose".
    3. More than one-third of the world's commercial supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii.
    4. The Hawaiian Islands are the projecting tops of the biggest mountain range in the world.
    5. Hawaii has its own time zone (Hawaiian Standard Time.) There is no daylight savings time.) The time runs two hours behind Pacific Standard Time and five hours behind Eastern Standard Time.
    6. There are no racial or ethnic majorities in Hawaii. Everyone is a minority. Caucasians (Haoles) constitute about 34%; Japanese-American about 32%; Filipino-American about 16% and Chinese-American about 5%. It is very difficult to determine racial identification as most of the population has some mixture of ethnicities
    7. Honolulu is the largest city in the world -- at least it has the longest borders. According to the state constitution any island (or islet) not named as belonging to a county belongs to Honolulu. This makes all islands within the Hawaiian Archipelago, that stretch to Midway Island (1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii) part of Honolulu. Honolulu is about 1,500 miles long or more distance than halfway across the 48 contiguous states
    8. The world's largest wind generator is on the island of Oahu. The windmill has two blades 400 feet long on the top of a tower twenty stories high
    9. Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the United States
    10. Kalaaupapa on the island of Molokai was once a leper colony administered by Father Damien.
    11. Kilauea Iki on the Big Island of Hawaii is the world's most active and largest volcano
    12. The Big Island of Hawaii houses the world's biggest telescope and more scientific observatories in one place than anywhere else in the world.
    13. There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet - vowels: A, E, I, O and U and consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P and W.
    14. Hawaii has the highest life expectancy in the United States. Life expectancy for males is 75, for females 80 years
    15. On the Island of Kauai, it is illegal to construct a building taller than a palm tree.
    16. Kauai is home to Waimea Canyon also known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” It measures about 3,000 feet (914 m) in depth and 12 miles (19.3 km) in length
    17. The island of Kauai is home to the wettest spot on Earth. The average yearly rainfall on Mt. Waialeale is about 397 inches (10 m).
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Me, Dale and Francine at a Luau
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Flowered Leis cost anywhere from $5 to $25 and are often sold or given out at Luau's
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Swim with giant turtles off the beach at Turtle Town
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Me and Francine on a beautiful Maui Beach