Maui / New Orleans / N.Carolina / Florida (USA)

Three Years on the Road: Dropping Anchor in Maui

It’s been about three years since Barbie and I finally said, “Fuck it,” and dropped out of society.  For three solid years, we have constantly been on the move, walking the world and rarely spending more than a single week in any one place.  Don’t get me wrong—this extended, open-ended journey has been an absolute blast.  But covering that much ground gets tiring.  Our minds and bones were screaming for an extended break, and hitting Hawaii was the ultimate panacea to hit the reset button.

When we were looking for a place to hunker down, we were torn between Kauai, the Big Island, and Maui.  Oahu wasn’t even in the running—it’s just way too busy, commercial, and developed for our taste.  The beaches across all the Hawaiian islands are truly spectacular, so we couldn’t really go wrong.  But since our explicit mindset for this leg was to do absolutely nothing and just watch the wheels go round and round, we opted for Maui.  And let me tell you, doing nothing on Maui has been pure magic.

One of my absolute favorite things about the destinations we’ve picked on this RTW journey is spending the majority of our time outdoors, right in the thick of nature, and always surrounded by the ocean.  This extended stretch in Hawaii has given us the luxury of spending an inordinate amount of time on some of the world’s best beaches, just taking it all in.

We’re definitely looking forward to exploring more of the globe once this siesta wraps up.  But I have a sneaking suspicion it’s going to be incredibly tough to find anywhere more relaxing than the beach spots we’ve experienced here and in Australia.

Turning off the American Fear Machine

Landing on Maui for our initial six-month lease immediately put a massive smile on our faces.  But being back on US soil brought an unexpected side effect: suddenly, we were slammed with a full lineup of American cable channels and all the time in the world to watch them.

When we were traveling through countries like Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, the local TV networks never broadcasted the constant hate talk and “end-of-the-world” apocalyptic scenarios that dominate American television.  Now, with this 24-hour, nonstop US cable news cycle blasted in our faces, it’s a stark reminder of the ugly political divisions and systemic racism cutting through the mainland.

It always makes me chuckle when I hear Americans proclaim how unsafe it is to travel abroad.  It’s a total load of crap.  The media functions best as a giant fear machine, engineered to keep you terrified and glued to the screen.  There is no way I’m letting the nightly news and its vague, exaggerated warnings scare me out of seeing the entire world for myself.  We’ve stamped our passports in so many countries during this journey, and honestly, the United States feels like one of the most unsafe places on the globe right now.

I still think back to our time road-tripping through Japan, watching little kids—anywhere from 8 to 15 years old—peacefully walking home from school alone in their uniforms without a care in the world.  It was so innocent, and it reminded me exactly of what it felt like when I was a kid growing up.

Thankfully, out here on Maui, we’re insulated by the Aloha spirit, sitting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, completely surrounded by nature, and as far away from the madness of the mainland as possible.  The only real “Breaking News” we care about out here is when a wild Hawaiian monk seal or a massive sea turtle crawls onto the sand to bask in the midday sun.

A Quick Pitstop to the Mainland USA

We enjoyed this laid-back Maui lifestyle that we officially pulled the trigger and extended our stay for an additional six months.

Before checking back in for the 2nd six months of our island residency, we took a quick three-week pitstop back to the Southeast USA.  We hit up the New Orleans Jazz Festival for the incredible vibes, world-class music, and killer food.  From there, we headed out to North Carolina to spend some quality time with Barbie’s parents, and then flew down to Fort Lauderdale to celebrate Gary O’s 85th birthday with the Oringer brothers and their ladies.

By the time our next six-month stint on Maui wraps up, I anticipate our batteries will be completely recharged and we’ll be firing on all cylinders, ready to hit the road again.  A return trip to French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia is very high on the list.

Why revisit places we’ve already conquered?  Because they are absolutely kickass countries to wander around, and the standard three-month tourist visas we had were just way too short to effectively cover all the hidden gems and hotspots.  That said, our bucket list is still wide open, and plenty of other brand-new destinations are on the table for consideration.

Mahalo!