Trip Journal Entry for Sunday, September 13th, 2009.
An early start to our travel day, and 3 flights later returned us to the island that we love.
Things are going to get really, really busy once the Maui Photo Festival starts Wednesday night, so I thought I’d try to squeeze in a few journal entries before my free time goes out the window. Our travel day started earlier than most, with our first flight leaving O’Hare airport in Chicago at 7:30am. It was only the first of three flights for the day. Given the circumstances that made us wait until the last minute to book our flights, the 3 flight journey was better than not, but nothing something we’d volunteer for again.
The flights went off without a hitch, which was a welcomed change from last year. After about an hour getting our rental car, we made it to the Hyatt by around 5pm.
Aloha Hyatt
Regulars at the blog here now we’re big fans of the Sheraton over on Black Rock, so we knew it would be different coming back to Maui and staying at the opposite end of the beach. The Hyatt itself is a very lovely hotel, don’t get me wrong. We’re just not convinced yet, however, that it will overtake the one-and-only Sheraton in our hearts.
Because we booked our trip late, there weren’t any rooms available as part of the Maui Photo Festival rate. That didn’t turn out to be such a bad thing, however, since we were able take advantage of another one of the Hyatt’s current deals and score a deluxe ocean view room for only about $400 more for our week stay than festival rate. The deal included 2 nights free and breakfast for the week, so it turned out in our favor.
Our room is up on the 20th floor of the center building (aka Atrium Tower). Of course, I had to snap a shot before we headed out for the night.
The lighting wasn’t ideal, and I didn’t take the time to fuss around with it too much, but you’ll see more like this from the week, for sure. After unpacking, it was off to our arrival day tradition.
First Things, First
After a total of 17 hours from leaving home for the airport and getting settled at the hotel, it was time to eat. Since we were stopping at Safeway at the Lahaina Cannery Mall after dinner, we decided to return to Lulu’s for flatbread pizza. Okay, it was really for their malasadas, but don’t tell anyone.
We discovered Lulu’s last February and had enjoyed their malasadas for Fat Tuesday during Mardi Gras. In fact, it was around that time when my diet starting going to you know where. 
In any case, Lulu’s might have just earned a spot in our arrival day tradition going forward.
After the yummy food, we hit Safeway and headed back to the hotel. After we parked, Cindy looked up and noticed the stars were out on a very clear summer night. Sure enough, right above us was the Milky Way, and my tired body started wondering if it could stay up for a few hours of nighttime shooting. It turns out I was able to get a few shots before the clouds rolled in, one of the better ones is below. These clear nights have been hit or miss for me on our trips in the past, so I try to take advantage of them whenever I can.
Once the clouds started rolling in, I turned my aim lower and grabbed a few shots of the nicely lit Hyatt grounds down below. From 20 floors up, and with a few tweaks, I got a few photos to be proud of.
I’ve always been a big fan of Maui at night, and given that the night time temps will be warmer this week then during our trip back in February, you can be sure we’ll be down there enjoying a stroll or two this week.
All in all, a great first evening on the Valley Isle. Looking forward to a lot of fun on this bonus trip for us this year. Be sure to stay tuned.
Mahalo,
– Kris
