Hawaii Holiday [Day 1]

WE FLEW IN to Maui's Kahului Airport [OGG] by United Airlines' flight 47 which left San Francisco around 8:40am US Pacific Time. We were airborne for about 4.5 hours and the flight would have been largely comfortable, were it not for the fact that Rohan kept trying to NOT be the 'lap child' he was supposed to be! Anyway. We picked up our car from Dollar Rent-A-Car complete with a car seat for Rohan (which, in hindsight, was an expensive mistake, IMO) and got to our hotel, The Whaler, at Ka'anapali, Maui. This place is an imposing, two tower structure located right on the Ka'anapali beach, flanked by several other hotels and vacation resorts, including The Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa, the Westin Maui Resort and Spa and the Ka'anapali Ali'i on the south, and the Sheraton Maui Resort on the north. There's nothing architecturally striking about the buildings of The Whaler, but, contrary to what you'd think, this does not take away from its desirability as a place of stay. Infact, in my opinion, the stark boxiness of the structure perfectly offsets the surrounding land- (and sea-)scape, causing you to marvel, every time you look around, at the astounding beauty that lies about. We were allocated in Tower 1, in Room #413, a comfortable 'studio with kitchen apartment' that afforded a splendid view of the Pacific Ocean and of several boats that seemed to moor nearby, as you will doubtless see from some of the pictures accompanying this post. We checked in around 4pm after a sensible-yet-sumptuous meal at the nearby Whaler's Village complex.

No sooner had we unpacked the essentials, refreshed ourselves and fed Rohan than it was time to go down to the hotel lobby for the weekly Mai Tai gathering (which, in reality, is nothing more than a handing out of free food and drinks, but if you know Americans, you know that where you have free food and drinks, Americans will come. And so we went). After picking up a couple of light snacks and a glass of fruit punch each, Richa and I took Rohan for a light stroll along the beachwalk, where he thoroughly enjoyed the sights and sounds of the crowds milling about. We came back rather quickly, for we had to make a trip to the local Safeway in order to pick up a few rations for use during our stay. Just imagine: even a staid old Safeway is located in the Lahaina Cannery Mall complex! What more proof can there be that holidaying is the very life blood of Maui? Anyway, returning to The Whaler in short order, we put the groceries away and retired early in preparation for the breakfast appointment with Pleasant Holidays at 7:30am tomorrow.