Aloha mermaids, 

I can't believe I have done so many cool things! Last night I went over to Maui Meadows to visit Nicole and go night fishing. We had intended on going fishing anyways, but she cancelled and I was bored so I headed over there anyways to explore the Kihei/Wailea side. Turns out she got a second wind on my way over, and she started getting ready for us to go out fishing that evening! It's funny how everything just seemed to fall into place.

Anyways, because last time I went to Nicole's I ate ALL of their Klondike bars (I'm awful, I know but I like to eat!), I decided to pick her up some cheese and crackers at this really swanky store called Guava, Gouda and Caviar in Kihei. I remember she said she liked the cheeses there and especially liked Manchego so I thought it would be a good gift to give upon arrival. Anyways, I picked up an assortment of three cheeses and some crackers with a  drink for her and headed on over! Indica (her pup) remembered me and and I wasn't even scared this time. Who am I? I might be becoming an animal loving, nature friendly, hippie girl. After she packed her Boo (turns out she has an AWD Subaru like I did), we left to FoodLand to get some bait aka some shrimp! She explained to me about all different kinds of fish, why you use shrimp as bait, the difference between night fishing/day fishing, the moon and how it affects the fish, etc. She was way knowledgable about everything and I was excited to get out and try something new! 

After FoodLand, we went to McKenna beach and set up our small green chairs, rods, laid out our chips, drinks, turned off the industrial deep sea fishing flashlight and were two of the biggest bernies of all time watching the stars and waiting for fish to bite. You can see the Milky Way so clearly from Maui. Nicole had said that when it's really dark you can even see the Milky Way as a tube in the sky, like you can see the circular shape....that's unbelievable. There wasn't a moon last night, and apparently that was also really good for fishing on Kihei side. Nicole said that the best time to fish on Kihei is when there is a dark moon and high tide. When the moon is bright, apparently the fishing in Hana is really good. Anyways, we were out there for three and a half hours and didn't catch any fish. They just weren't biting, I guess. My line had kept getting stuck and Nicole kept fixing it. She said I wasn't horrible though! I kept my line tight and was in tune with the water. Crazy. I can't believe I was out there for three and a half hours! I thought it only had been 30 minutes! I really enjoyed myself and it was really nice to just hang out and kick it on the beach at night. Nicole said, "fishing is what they used to do before television". I thought that was really interesting and kind of made me appreciate fishing even more. All you're doing is hanging out with the ocean, maybe a buddy and a fishing line. When the fish bites, you almost are playing a game and if not, you're still in great company and in such a easy and peaceful environment. I definitely want to go again. I really loved it a whole lot more than I thought I would. I wasn't even sure if I would like it initially! Nicole said that if I'm around, I might be able to go on one of their 'rugged fishing adventures' aka camping on the beach while fishing or something of that sort. Janus wasn't with us last night because he was over on Lana'i hunting (he went to an entirely different island to hunt! Crazy!) Well, back to fishing, that sounds like it would be an incredible experience and I would love to do it..... especially because now I like eating fish! Can't wait to catch my own and make it. Still not sure if I'm up for NY camping, as my last experience stiiiilllll makes my friends laugh, but I'm definitely game for camping and fishing on the beach. The last time I went camping, I was with maybe 25-30 of my friends in upstate New York with a billion tents, only beer and  20 packages of hamburger patties. They thought that all we needed was burgers (seriously, burgers and beer for breakfast, burgers and beers for lunch, burgers with beers for dinner, burgers for snacks, burgers, burgers, burgers).  I was only there for one night because of soccer or something like that, and passed out first. So basically I woke up in the morning missed my entire camping experience while everyone else stayed and jetskiied. That night they also saw a "Yeti" in the wilderness. And Ranger Don Juan was totally spoiling all of our fun. And I was hoarding the Blue Doritos the entire night. And because I was passed out in the MTV Cribs of Tents (seriously, three rooms inside the tent), Sarah was sitting on me like I was a chair. Whatever, I tried to camp. The time before that I was in Belgium with my siblings and trying to converse with people holding a french-english dictionary while we were driving from England to Germany visiting cousins. AWFUL. Why doesn't any of this surprise me? Point is: I can try to camp again now. Let's see how this goes...

With warmest aloha,

MJ

ps. Nicole thought that the reason that people kept looking at me in Lahaina was because they probably thought I was someone famous. L-O-L. Seriously though. It's interesting when people read into me because I'm so accustomed to subconsciously looking into people that it's nice to hear how someone else sees me...especially because I don't know anyone here from a whole in the wall; it's almost as if I'm being my "true" self. I love being here with every additional minute I spend. It's unbelievably beautiful, easy, and I feel like I'm slowly learning how to live life. From the majority of people I've talked to who live here, they all say the same thing: "I was only here on vacation for two weeks and kept extending it and now I'm 75", or "I came here on vacation, went back home and moved back here immediately". No one seems upset at all that they are here, and it's a truly beautiful thing to see everyone living their life so simply and with such a purity about it. Life here is simple. Expensive, but very simple. Anyways, Nicole left me with a really interesting message. She told me to be aware of my identity, and try to live life being conscious of what I offer and what I bring to the table. I know my biggest strength is my network (hey readers, 3000 views in 7 weeks?! THANK YOU!), but she also really picked up on the presence I possess, my beauty and how I am 'unaware' of it (I mean, I'm not heinous but I don't think I am stopping traffic, cops, and random ladies in Lahaina), and being humble about certain qualities I possess. I really enjoyed talking and hanging out with her. Seriously, she makes me consider getting a tattoo sleeve. She's freaking AWESOME. Also, we all know I am terrified of needles and definitely not getting a tattoo, even less a sleeve! But if I wasn't a punk, I would totally think about getting a little something somewhere. A lot of the girls here have big tattoos that take up their entire backs, or sleeves. Interesting, but it works here. Hey, whatever works.