Paradise Found, Again

Cute here. This blog finds Cutest and me on vacation. How can those who are retired be on vacation some of you may inquire. Yet, somehow, it happens!

Our good fortune has led us here to Maui, definitely an island paradise. Visiting here in November may not be as rewarding as being here in January or February. During those months you can text your friends at home, bragging about your tan while sipping an umbrella festooned beverage, on the beach, under sunny 85 degree skies. Meanwhile at home, our friends are facing yet another somber, gray-hued sky while cutting northerly winds make the dog hesitant to go outside.

Still, Maui in the throes of winter is a terrific place to visit.  Here one leaves the trappings of midwestern blahs behind, along with any other worries that drag you down. Swaying palms, tropical flowers in bloom and picture-perfect sunsets brighten anyone’s soul.

Maui isn’t perfect. The price of food at either the grocery store or a restaurant comes with attention-earning prices. For instance, one of Maui’s forms of entertainment is observing migrating whales pausing in these deep blue waters to bear their newborn calves. But to see them only occasionally surfacing from the deck of a tourist boat will cost you much more than a good seafood dinner. And gasoline for your rental car is $4.50 a gallon, a $20 meal is now $30, and just getting here cost more than your first car. Hotel prices have doubled since 2022 we're told.

But here we are, soaking up the beauty that surrounds us. Sure, there’s the plick-plock of pickle ballers resonating in the background, but otherwise all is good. Although we occasionally play, we now hate pickleball.

For more about our Hawaiian adventure, Cutest will fill you in next week. She says it will be much more exciting. She also notes that complaining about prices in Maui is like buying a Porche and whining about the sales tax. Aloha.

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