We finally bought a pineapple, one of the few cheap things at the grocery store.

It was delicious.

Early morning sugar cane burn.

For Ken, our FREE Matson key chain!

Welcome to Hawaii, car! Our sweet ride finally made its way across the ocean and into our driveway. I have to admit, we felt a little sad when we were saying goodbye to our rental car, it treated us well for 3 weeks.

This sucker might not look that big without a reference point but believe me when I tell you it’s about 2 feet across. That’s a lie, it’s actually about 5 or 6 inches from the front legs to the back legs and it’s web is about 4 feet across. I’m pretty sure it’s waiting to kill us in our sleep tonight. Read all about the Argiope Appensa’s appearance on the world’s most disappointing TV show, Lost.

Skunky’s archrival engaged in a serious cat stare-down from next door.

And finally… My last meal with co-workers at Evanston’s finest burger joint. Great people, great co-workers, great friends and a great way to make me fat before I hit the beach! Thanks again for the awesome send off, I really do miss you guys a lot!!!

We started the day with a visit to the local diner, Tasty Crust. I had the “local omelette” which included Portuguese sausage, green onion and Spam. Darlene went for the Tasty Crust specialty, pancakes covered in about 2 cups of margarine. Breakfast was good but it has been a while since we have eaten like that, so we were feeling a little sluggish. Then we headed down the The Four Seasons resort in Wailea for Darlene’s job interview. It would be a great place for her to work, for many reasons, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. She will be interviewing at another restaurant on Tuesday which could also be a really good opportunity for her, so we will just have to see what happens.

We can see the Kahului port from our lanai and today I noticed the ship transporting our car was docking and unloading. As long as they didn’t drop my car into the ocean, we should be able to pick it up in a couple days.

Other than that, we were super lazy and boring today.

Tasty Crust in Wailuku

Excuse me ma’am, can I get some more margarine, I can still see some of my pancake.

See you soon Explorer!

Things continue to be great here. Other than constant internet issues, Maui has treated us well. Darlene went from being worried about finding work to possibly having too many job offers. In the span of a few days, she was offered a part-time position at a large company, offered a part-time job assisting our current landlord who is a successful painter and sculptor and getting a job interview at a restaurant that she would really like to work at. She has a good shot at getting this restaurant office manager position and since it’s full-time with benefits she might not be able to even take the job she was offered. It’s a tough call for her and a bit of a gamble but I think things will work out.

The position with the artist is really cool and she would get a chance to work side-by-side with our friend and neighbor Ashley who also assists him. He’s a really nice mellow guy (like most people here) and his house is INSANE. It’s one giant open space surrounded by windows that overlook the ocean. Oh yeah, and most of the space is filled with a beautiful indoor pool that features a living room built over the center like a bridge.

Skunky pretty much officially lives on our lanai now. She used to just come by at dinner time but now she kind of never leaves. It kills us that we have to move in a couple weeks and leave her behind. She’s basically our pet now even though apparently she has another home someplace. Although I find the lizards to be very cute, it’s still funny to watch her casually grab one and eat it whole in less than 5 seconds. She’s not playing around.

Our new Hawaiian bank account is open and our car is scheduled to arrive on Monday. After that, we will get new license plates, driver’s licenses and invest in some stickers for the back of the car that will make us look more “local.” Apparently this simple step can go a long way when it comes to preventing car break-ins. Life is starting to feel normal again as we complete these small tasks. The next big step will be moving into our new place and patiently searching for good deals on used furniture and having family members slowly ship us the mountain of flat-rate USPS boxes we left them with. It will be nice to see some of our stuff again.

“Our” pet cat Skunky.

Skunky is getting more and more friendly.

Our friend CJ gave us a papaya from his yard. It was the best papaya we have ever tasted. We can also walk right into the back yard and pick fresh bananas and avocados. These perks will be missed after we move.

The Central Valley is mostly large sugar cane fields and when it comes time to harvest it they light the field on fire, leaving only the stalks behind. It fills the air with smoke and the smell of caramelized sugar. Luckily this does not happen very often. Sometimes ash will gently fall from the sky and it’s referred to as “Maui snow.”

We bought some decent snorkel gear.

Crazy night sky over Kahului.

We watched Skunky claw, kill, and eat a lizard. The entire process took approximately 15 seconds.

We came home last night from an awesome dinner with our part-time Chicago gal, part-time Maui gal-friend Carol at Sansei, and noticed our little cat-friend Skunky at the bottom of the driveway. We parked, and naturally she came running over for a good petting.  As we were getting the keys to get inside, we spotted a good-sized anole lizard sprinting down the walkway. Skunky noticed too. Within seconds her thumbed paw was able to catch and kill the little guy. She picked him up in her mouth, carried him off to the lanai and ate him in approximately two bites.

Oh Skunky. Does she know that I used to have an anole lizard for a pet? Oh well, she’s a wild cat and I shouldn’t expect her to seek out canned cat food.

Fortunately I do not have footage of this, but did take a couple of pictures from our hour of drinking before dinner.