This last week provided a break from our adventures on the loop. While Dave & Murphy hunkered down in ever decreasing temperatures in Huntsville, AL, I had the honor of flying to Maui for my forever friend, Patty’s daughter’s wedding. Patty and I have been friends since I was 18 (that’s a very long time!). The trip to get to Maui was a bit convoluted, with being on the river system during our Great Loop adventure, there wasn’t a lot of larger city options along our route to travel to Maui. Originally, I thought we would be near Nashville, TN, but alas, we visited there in early October, too early for an October 30th wedding date. I was able to update flights to depart from Chattanooga, TN, flying first to Atlanta; Atlanta to Denver; Denver to Oakland; and Oakland to Maui. In Denver, I connected with Lisa, another longtime special friend, and after 21 travel hours, we arrived in Maui.
The wedding ceremony was everything you could imagine. Located on a knoll with breathtaking ocean views, bright bougainvillea, and palm trees galore, Danielle and Taylor shared their vows with a brief moment of levity when a nearby golfer yelled “fore” doing the ceremony. With Covid, this was the third date they had set for their wedding. Danielle even said “finally” as her Dad walked her toward Taylor. Too cute! The reception was held at Gannon’s, a restaurant just down from the knoll, where the wedding party and guests dined and danced the night away.
With just 3 short days in Maui, Lisa (a seasoned Maui traveler) ensured we made the most of it. On our first morning, we traveled north to Napili Shores, Lahaina to have breakfast at the popular Gazebo restaurant, then back to Wailea to spend a few hours with Patty before the rehearsal dinner – doing what girls like to do, shop, cocktails and a bite to eat. After a yummy dinner at Humuhumunukunukuapua’a at Grand Wailea, we met the wedding party and guests at a Friday reception after their Rehearsal dinner. That was Fun day #1.
Saturday, Lisa and I got up early, drove to Lahaina for another scrumptious Maui breakfast (including Mahi Eggs Benedict), shopping in Lahaina (where I bought a new pair of Maui Jim sunglasses), Hula Pie at Duke’s, and then back to get ready for the wedding, not getting into bed until 1 a.m. (that’s tough with a 6-hour time difference!). Fun Day #2 in the books.
Lisa and I had red-eye flights Sunday night, so we made the best of Sunday, hanging out with Patty in her oceanfront condo’s private beach, chatting with newly married couple and Leanne and Sam (Danielle’s twin sister and husband), and then a filling lunch at Maui Brewing Company. We ended the day watching Sunday Night Football and then off to the airport. Fun Day #3 complete. Back to reality.
While I was traveling, Dave and Murphy enjoyed some down time at a longtime friend/ex-co-worker’s gorgeous house in the hills in Huntsville, AL. Todd and Mary live only a mile from the marina Slo Pace was docked, and although Dave and Murphy could have stayed on the boat, they graciously offered a guest suite and a car to use. Dave used the time to work on boat projects and spending time with his long time friends. Todd & Mary walk 2 miles early each morning and Todd willingly brought Murphy along with their dog, Pickles. They had a gorgeous brook running down their backyard, but with Murphy, they had to keep the water turned off!
Upon my return, Dave and I spent the next day running errands and provisioning the boat, ready to restart the loop. It was really great to have a week off of the boat and a huge thank you to Todd & Mary Brooks for opening their house and to Patty, mother-of-the-bride, and the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
Fun Facts: Distanced traveled so far: 5,033 miles in 223 days, stopping at 134 unique locations, traversing through 65 locks, with even more to come!
Thanks for following along on our adventure,
Brenda with Captain Dave, and Mr. Murphy