March 14, 2025 · Kaʻanapali, Maui↓ READ ON
I’ve been coming to Maui since I was ten years old. This island isn’t just a destination for me — it’s personal. So when I landed on March 14th, I wasn’t arriving as a tourist. I was coming home. Just not quite on schedule.
The Detour
The plan was a direct flight from Las Vegas, arriving at OGG by 11 a.m. Instead, we got rerouted to Honolulu. What started as a two-hour delay kept stretching — delay after delay — until 12+ hours had passed and we were still on Oʻahu. I had a choice: sit at the gate and stew, or make something of it. I went to Waikiki. Soaked up the vibe, felt the Hawaiian air, and reminded myself that being stuck in Honolulu is still being in Hawaii. We finally lifted off at midnight.
Then came word that the road to our villa in Kaʻanapali was closed — a Kona storm had flooded parts of the route. We navigated carefully around the flooded areas and pulled in around 2:30 a.m. Bags down. We made it.
The Storms — and What Comes After
A second Kona storm rolled through during the trip. The ocean, usually that stunning blue-green off Kaʻanapali, has been cloudy and brownish from mountain runoff — a reminder of just how much rain these storms carry. It’s clearing up now. And through all of it, Maui kept offering its other side: the most vivid, full-arc rainbows I’ve ever seen, and sunsets that stopped conversation mid-sentence. The island has a way of balancing the ledger.
Being this close to Lāhainā carries weight too. The Lāhainā Strong and Maui Strong spirit is visible everywhere you look. The resilience of this community is something you feel, not just observe — and it’s one more reason this island holds such a special place in my heart.
Wailuku — The Happy Accident
I had planned to explore Kihei on the south shore, but with the storm damage there, it wasn’t the right time. We went to Wailuku instead — and it was the best pivot. Wailuku has a realness to it that the resort areas don’t. And that’s where I stumbled onto an authentic Korean restaurant with Hawaiian ingredients woven beautifully into the menu — the kind of place I never would have found if we’d stuck to the original plan. There are a few other spots nearby I want to go back and try. That’s what happens when you let go of the itinerary.
And Then the Jeep Died. In The Costco Parking Lot.
Our premium rental — a Grand Cherokee — simply stopped working. Not on some dramatic stretch of the Hana Highway. In the Costco parking lot. Two hours of tow trucks, logistics, and rental center paperwork later, the Uber was comped, we walked away with a better vehicle, and the drive back to the villa was smooth. By the time we pulled in, we were already laughing about it.
“Some of the best travel happens in the parentheses — the hours you didn’t plan for, the detours that don’t appear on any map.”
Years of travel — to Maui and all over the world — have taught me that the glitches are part of it. They always have been. And this trip delivered more than its fair share: a 12-hour reroute, two Kona storms, a flooded road at 2 a.m., and a rental car that quit in a parking lot. But it also delivered rainbows between the showers, a sunset that made everything else irrelevant, a hidden restaurant gem in Wailuku, and the quiet reminder that this island — and its people — are still here, still strong, still worth every complicated mile to get here.
The lesson this year, like every year: stay flexible. Stay curious. Stay open. It always works out. Maybe not perfectly — but it always works out. 🌺
Still here. Still going.
Written in March 2025 · Live from Kaʻanapali