Maui Day 3 - The Sun Peaks Out

Wednesday (January 29th), we woke especially early.  We were scheduled to go snorkeling, and had to be at the harbor by 6:30am.  We loaded up the car and pulled out of the parking garage only to encounter a Jurassic Park-esque downpour of tropical storm proportions.  The palm trees whipped in the wind, and our windshield was hammered with fat drops of rain.  I placed a call to Pacific Whale Foundation, and was told because of the rain, that the trip had been canceled.  

So, Bryce and I ventured out to walk on the beach again.  This is what awaited us:

I promise that this will be the last I talk about the rain, but at this point, I became very discouraged.  I kept thinking, "Did we REALLY pay all of that money to come to Maui and sit in our hotel room and have all our events cancelled?!"  What was so frustrating was that the locals kept telling us how unusual it was, and that usually on the island, if it was raining in one spot, you could drive somewhere else and have it be sunny.  Not so for us.  The entire island was soaked.

With our snorkeling trip delayed, Bryce and I once again ventured into Lahaina to get some shopping done.  And something amazing happened.  The clouds began to clear.  The sun shown through.  We stopped to get shave ice, and I felt like we finally got our first real taste of the island.   

We also made my favorite purchase while in town.  We stopped at a jewelry store, where I cracked open some oysters and got some stunning pearls - 2 white, 2 pink, 1 purple, and 1 grey-blue.  My wonderful husband then let me get this beautiful necklace setting for one of the pearls.  I'm one lucky girl.

That night, we went to a sushi restaurant on the north end of the island.  It was mind blowingly amazing.  We had rare Ahi, crab salad with a thai mango salsa, and a few other delectable rolls.

We ended the meal with deep fried macadamia nut ice cream.  Okay, let me just tell you, when I hear people talk about deep fried ice cream, a huge sign flashes in my brain, "Does Not Compute."  I have never been able to wrap my head around it.  But let me just tell you - this may have been one of the best desserts I've ever had.  The ice cream got all melty around the edges, and the crispy breading?  Oh man.  

Now THIS is paradise.