Our last full day on Maui was also a very special one for Julie and me: it was our 15th anniversary. Yes, somehow this woman had spent 15 years of her life under the same roof with me and hadnt called it quits or gone insane yet. I cant help but think that this has only happened with the help of some powerful medications, but whatever the reason, I aint gonna mess with it.
Wed pretty much explored the entire island by now and the kids wanted one more beach day, so that was the plan. My aunt recommended Polo Beach, which is nestled among the hotels in Wailea and is serviced by a free public parking lot. And as you know, if its free, its for me.
We got into our swim gear, packed up the boogie boards, towels, chairs, lunch, etc. and headed down the road. If you recall, it was a good 45-minute drive from Kula to get down to the southern coast of Maui.
The skies were pretty clear that morning and we had a great view from the slopes of Haleakala toward the valley and the West Maui Mountains. You could see both the northern and southern coast lines, so we tried to get it all into one picture here:
We were passing Kihei and getting close to our destination when our cell phone rang. I was driving, so Julie answered. It was the hiring manager at the DOT who had interviewed me the day before our trip. I found a place to pull over and take the phone to hear the news.
As these things typically turn out, I did not get the promotion, losing out to someone who had more experience in the job area of expertise. It was a tough blow, as Ive been trying for a while and have been rejected numerous times. The hard part is that the feedback I get from the interviews is greateveryone tells me I was a terrific interview, was a great candidate, just needed to show some diverse experience. Of course, I always answer that Im trying to get diverse experience by applying for these other positions, and theres only one way I know of to get experience in a particular field. Basically, in order to get a new position, I need diverse experience. And in order to get diverse experience, I need a new position. You might understand why this is frustrating.
Anyway, the hiring manager is a good guy, and he told me this was the hardest call he had to make. I had told him ahead of time to go ahead and call me on my vacation since I didnt want to hold up the hiring process, and he was still reluctant to do so. He also e-mailed me the very next day with a link to a new job posting that I would have missed if he hadnt alerted me while I was travelingand I have to think that if he thought I stunk, he wouldnt have bothered.
In any case, I hung up and then took my family to a beach in Maui. Which really made me thinkwho am I to complain? Sure, it hurts to be shot down again and again, but Im pretty sure theres a law that says you cant complain about anything if youre sitting on a Maui beach. At the very least, its a good place to forget your troubles.
So we went here:
And we did this:
We did a lot of that, actually. And we had a blast. Take that, People Who Keep Constantly Passing Me Over. Lets check on Scotty:
Hmmm. It might work better if you try it on a breaking wave. Let me give you some pointers
There, thats more like it! A few more pictures just to show you that nobody was having any fun:
At some point during the day, we wandered along the coastline. We found an area full of lava rocks and tidal pools. We climbed around the rocks for a while, looking for fish or other creatures trapped in the pools. We saw a few tiny crabs, but otherwise nothing too exciting.
And lest you think we would leave our belongings unguarded on the beach, we made sure they were in good hands:
Ill leave it to you to guess what we ate for lunch on the beach.
Sometime in the afternoon, we packed up and drove back to my aunts house. She and my cousin had graciously offered to watch and feed the kids while I took my bride out for our anniversary dinner. I had looked far and wide for a suitable dinner location for this special event. In my research, I discovered that there are generally two types of restaurants on Maui:
1) High-end seafood restaurants that specialize in dishes you cant pronounce, presented in a form you cant recognize, and that cost more than the GDP of Nicaragua.
2) Burger joints and greasy spoons.
Obviously, my preference was for the latter, but even I had to admit that our 15th anniversary is a pretty special occasion and worth celebrating in a nicer way. Julie has similar tastes to mine, so she wasnt interested in the ultra-expensive froo-froo places, either. Plus, we both hate seafood. But I was really struggling to find some place in the middle ground between those two categories.
It was my Nemesis who came to the rescue.
Brian (middlepat here on the boards) is my Official Nemesis® in the DIS Dads Club. This means we are sworn enemies who show our mutual distaste for each other by making fun of each others sports teams, trying to pull pranks, and occasionally buying each other dinner when we get together. Ok, so maybe were not very good at the nemesis thing. Anyway, Brian recommended a place in Wailea that he enjoyed quite a bit on his visits. And even better, they offered an early-bird special if you arrived before 6:00 p.m.: buy one entrée, get one free.
So it came to pass that on the 15th anniversary of our marriage, my beautiful bride and I enjoyed a quiet, romantic dinner at
Joes Bar & Grill.
I know, the name doesnt inspire awe, but can you blame me? Buy one, get one is a good deal.
The restaurant is located on the grounds of a tennis club, and its actually somewhat hard to find if you dont know where to look. You have to park in the lot for the club, and then they have a guy driving a golf cart who picks you up and gives you a ride to the restaurant (for a tip, of course).
Side note: there is actually a Monkeypod restaurant nearby, which we would have been happy to go back to for our anniversary. But we wanted to try something new here.
Joes is owned by the Gannon family. Bev Gannon is (apparently) a famous chef who owns a few restaurants on Maui. Joe Gannon was formerly a record producer, having worked with KISS and various other acts, producing their albums. He has some memorabilia displayed at the front of the restaurant.
We were seated in a nearly-empty room overlooking the tennis court. Oh, and the setting sun. I got my Longboard Lager and Julie had a virgin something-or-other with mint in it. We thought it was cool that they included a sugar cane stick to stir the drink.
Dinner included meatloaf for Julie and prime rib for me. Because when I hear buy one, get one, my rule is to immediately go for the steak entrée.
Amazingly, everything my nemesis recommended was great. So I must begrudgingly say: thanks, Brian!
We enjoyed a pleasant evening of conversation, and it was nice not having to worry about any little ones who needed to go to the bathroom, didnt want their food, wanted to know how much longer we had to sit here, etc. We also didnt have to worry about the kids trying to steal our dessert. We got chocolate bread pudding to share. It was very good, and even better when we got more than 2 bites apiece.
After dinner, we drove back to Polo Beach to try and catch the sunset there. Unfortunately, we were a little late.
Win some, lose some, I guess.
But it wasnt a big deal. I was alone with the most beautiful woman in the world. Life hasnt always turned out the way we expected. Weve dealt with the frustrations of my job, loss of family, major surgery, and surprise pregnancy. Its those types of fires and pressures that can make or break a marriage, but I think theyve only served to bring us closer together. I think every marriage settles into a routine, where you develop a familiarity and shorthand with each other as you learn that one person better than anyone else in the world. But every once in a while, we still surprise each other. I hope I never take this woman for granted. Shes a special person, and the perfect companion for me. Not only has she shared her life with me, but she gave up her career in order to give me our 3 (soon to be 4) children. And shes been even better as a mom than she was as a teacher. What an amazing sacrifice, and what an amazing legacy! I love you, Julie.
Coming Up Next: Anybody want to explore another island?
Just so you know, not EVERYONE from NJ behaves that way on the course. My husband, for example, is very well behaved out there.
Everything about them- the mountains, the water, the windsurfers- so cool!
). I truly hope everything opens up there for you soon-
