In Other Words With Dave – June 2019

If you go to Maui, you must drive The Road to Hana – it’s beautiful. That was the advice I got from everyone who had visited the island. 

Last month on our Maui trip, Alison and I took that advice. We rented a convertible and drove the Hana Highway. The scenery, beaches and waterfalls were amazing, but the road was narrow, rutty and barely passable at some points. With over 600 curves, the 50-mile journey took us all day. And it almost derailed the purpose of our trip to Maui. To get married. 

No, we didn’t argue about my driving technique or ability. The “incident” happened at a scenic vista at Ke’anae, a “must-see” on our Road to Hana itinerary. We walked down to the shoreline for a better view. It was beautiful. The sun, waves, my bride-to-be and the bluest water I’ve ever seen. We paused for some photos, then I carefully navigated around a tall outcropping of black lava rock and waited for Alison to follow. 

Just as Alison set out to join me, the tide washed up on her path, distracting her, and she didn’t see an outcropping of lava rock jutting out right in front of her. I saw it happen. Wham. Oh, this isn’t going to be good – a pre-wedding head wound. As I comforted her and applied pressure to her throbbing forehead, she fought back tears and said, “I’m getting married in two days.”

My bride-to-be had one question… How bad is it? My answers could have been better… Yes, it’s starting to swell… It’s only two small scratches, hardly bleeding at all… Maybe you can wear a flower in your hair for the wedding – a big flower. It was not looking good. 

I quickly located some ice from a tour bus parked nearby, applied it to her forehead and got ahead of most of the swelling. The good news, two days later, it was barely noticeable.

At our wedding ceremony, Alison was beautiful and the beach, palm trees and sunset made for an amazing memory. And when the photographer asked us for some big smiles, I was directed to say something that would make Alison laugh – I said “Lava Rock!” She smiles, and it was all good.