maui day 2

each morning, breakfast was served to us, buffet style, at nick's fish market in the resort. nick's is a great restaurant, half outdoors with a view of either the ocean, the pool, or the coi pond. we woke about 7:15 monday morning and ventured down to check out the menu. we were greeted with 2 omelet making chefs, fruit, granola, yogurt, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, cereal, milk, oj, pineapple juice, guava juice, water and coffee. there was also another table filled with bagels, breads and muffins with an available toaster should you choose to use one. the pancakes were small and perfect! i indulged in a couple of those with some crispy bacon, eggs and plenty of fruit. it was delicious!

after breakfast michael headed out to the golf course. he was playing the wailea golf club emerald course. not to be confused with the gold course or blue course. wow! about an hour after he got to the course, he gave me a call. their 4th guy hadn't shown up and instead, left a perfectly empty seat in michael's cart for me to ride in! i walked up to the event planners at our hotel and asked to be taken to the course. i was greeted with an immediate smile and a, "yes, mrs. kotze, we have the bus waiting for you here." after a brief word with the driver, i was put in the bus and whisked away! hank, another of the event planners, met me at the entrance to the golf club, "good morning, mrs. kotze. how are you feeling this morning after your late flight last night?" and "Let me get you to your husband. He is just beginning the 3rd hole, I believe." i gotta say, i felt a little special. :)

michael played with two guys named brett and jj. they were childhood friends and since brett's wife couldn't come because of work, he'd asked jj to accompany him for a week filled with golf. who could resist, right? well, both brett and jj were tons of fun. extremely friendly and outgoing. so nice!

from any angle on the course, i was granted a stunning, blue-ocean view. as if that, the beautiful birds and flowers weren't enough, i twice saw whales in the background spouting from their blow holes and frolicking together in the water.

after 18 holes of beautiful golf, we headed back to the resort where i went to the spa for a facial. glorious! i was aglow for hours after leaving there. jennifer, you rock!

we finished the afternoon with a couple of hours by the pool and a virgin lava flow (a pina colada mixed with frozen strawberry and banana puree). that night, we found a card and gift certificate to one of the restaurants in the resort, cafe ciao. we picked up some shrimp scampi with fettuccine and a margarita pizza. we enjoyed the dinner and the gorgeous view from our balcony.

it's easy to fall asleep to the smell of the sea and tropical flowers and the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach...