Day 2: The Adventures of Jen and RaeRay...

Jen and Ray’s first morning in Maui broke to a chorus of roosters crowing in the darkness. Wailuku is by no means an agrarian society, but chickens roam the streets as freely as tourists. Daybreak wouldn’t arrive until well after 6 a.m. Rae planned for them to hit the beaches early, but the puffy clouds and scattered showers begged to differ. A richly flavored vanilla macadamia nut Kona blend coffee brought their senses to live as the rest of the condo slept. As sunlight began to filter over the island, Ray realized that the ballpark in the distance had a black sand infield. Rae had explained to him earlier about the origin of the island — two nearby volcanic peaks rising from the Pacific eventually connected by the flow of lava between. This explained Haleakala to our northwest and the West Maui peaks in the opposite direction.

This would be a day of what Rae called “big-girl stuff.” If the clouds planned to obscure the beaches yet again, Jen and RaeRay would do the things they needed to accomplish during their visit: buy Rae some prescription sunglasses for her birthday, transfer her car title to Hawaii and get new car tags and a bit of shopping. Before it all began, she had to turn Jen and Ray on to a donut shop she had discovered in Wailuku. Actually, she had never been to the shop, but she had tried the donuts at other spots around town, and they were awesome. It was called Donut Dynamite. The tiny bakery is in a small building along Main Street. The windows are decorated with the shop’s news of the day — “open for business “or “Sorry, donuts sold out for today.” The cheerful owner tells customers about the love that goes into every ingredient to create the unique flavored donuts. She said she went to culinary school, and during her time there decided her dream was to create donuts that would be more than a pastry or snack food. She wanted them to have mass appeal -- not just to children or adults with a sweet tooth. Hence names such as "Hammy Cheese," which tastes more like a brunch sandwich; or lilikoi pie, a Hawaii-specific passion fruit filling that makes this more of a dessert. The owner is a delight to meet.

The next stop would be Maui's Division of Motor Vehicles & Licensing in the Maui Mall at Kahului. The wait was nearly two hours before Rae had secured new Hawaii plates for her Subaru and transferred the title to America's 50th state. Jen occupied her time touring TJMax next door, where she collected a small bounty. From there, Jen and RaeRay decided to head to Costco to look at prescription sunglasses for Rae. Her birthday was coming up, and that would be he main gift. A cancelation in the optometrist's office left a spot open for Ray to have her eyes examined. After a short wait here and a lengthy period of trying on frames, another of the day's "big-girl tasks" was complete.

Everyone was hungry again by the time the glasses had been ordered. Rae suggested a nearby food-truck mall for a quick lunch. Each member of the group chose a different cuisine. Jen had a noodle bowl from a truck with an Oriental flair. Rae picked a açaí bow from a truck specializing in this Brazilian-inflluenced selection. Ray chatted with a Chef Dino at Dino's Gourmet On-The-Go for a moment before deciding to try his Maui Big Blue burger. The chef insisted it had been rated No. 1 in America by The New York Times, saying he had the clipping. The sandwich was juicy and delicious with its bleu cheese sauce and sweet bun. Ray went back after eating to see the actual clipping. The chef showed off a tear sheet that actually listed him No. 2 among restaurants from New York, Chicago and other major cities. He said the writer told him his was actually the best. Jen and RaeRay haded back to the condo for a rest after lunch. The weather was no cooperating for tanning, and they had a late night planned to hear some ukulele music. It was time for a rest.