{"id":1037,"date":"2026-03-25T22:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T22:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drkareneng.com\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2026-03-25T22:34:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T22:34:58","slug":"embracing-the-unexpected-my-maui-adventure-unscripted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drkareneng.com\/?p=1037","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the Unexpected: My Maui Adventure Unscripted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 14, 2025 \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 Ka\u02bbanapali, Maui\u2193 \u00a0 READ ON<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve been coming to Maui since I was ten years old. This island isn’t just a destination for me \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Detour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 delay after delay \u2014 until 12+ hours had passed and we were still on O\u02bbahu. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came word that the road to our villa in Ka\u02bbanapali was closed \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Storms \u2014 and What Comes After<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A second Kona storm rolled through during the trip. The ocean, usually that stunning blue-green off Ka\u02bbanapali, has been cloudy and brownish from mountain runoff \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being this close to L\u0101hain\u0101 carries weight too. The L\u0101hain\u0101 Strong<\/em> and Maui Strong<\/em> spirit is visible everywhere you look. The resilience of this community is something you feel, not just observe \u2014 and it’s one more reason this island holds such a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wailuku \u2014 The Happy Accident<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Then the Jeep Died. In The Costco Parking Lot.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our premium rental \u2014 a Grand Cherokee \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some of the best travel happens in the parentheses \u2014 the hours you didn’t plan for, the detours that don’t appear on any map.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years of travel \u2014 to Maui and all over the world \u2014 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 \u2014 and its people \u2014 are still here, still strong, still worth every complicated mile to get here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lesson this year, like every year: stay flexible. Stay curious. Stay open. It always works out. Maybe not perfectly \u2014 but it always works out. \ud83c\udf3a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still here. Still going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written in March 2025  \u00b7  Live from Ka\u02bbanapali<\/p>\n

<\/p>

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 14, 2025 \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 Ka\u02bbanapali, Maui\u2193 \u00a0 READ ON I’ve been coming to Maui since I was ten years old. This island isn’t just a destination for me \u2014 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<\/p>\n

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