Honey...

...I'm home!

This past week in Maui was one of the best vacations of my life.




It had been far too long since I'd taken more than a few days away from home and the office, and I'll tell you, there's definitely a big difference between a three-day road trip and a 9-day vacation. It was surprising to me how much stress I was holding on to. Routine has always been comforting to me in my life, and useful in my job, in my writing and my art, but it can also feel like a trap sometimes. Even though a regular routine can serve in completing swaps when disciplining myself to a process and a timeline, it's been easy to neglect the whimsical and serendipitous aspects of an unstructured creative experience.

To that end, on the first day, I made this:



(Well, I signed my name to it.)


So I think you'll agree, my trip to Maui was relaxing AND productive.


But when I wasn't embellishing and enhancing my environs, I was reveling in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I mean, just look at this sunset





...and the variety of the skies...

Mountains outside our hotel

View from atop Haleakala at dawn

The sky reflected in the ocean during sunset

On the road to Lahaina

Maui's sunsets are gorgeous, but all through each day the cloud formations are incredible, too. Photos of Maui's skies could fill a coffee table book, and believe me, I'd be the first person at the bookstore, asking someone to buy one for me.

But even though I would have been content to just lie around drinking kona coffee, eating macadamia nuts, and watching the peaceful, colorful skies... someone signed me up for some exciting vacation activities! Thank goodness.

Too much unwinding could really bore a person.


Next up: Chris chronicles an ATV excursion, a 5-part zipline, the trip to the top of Haleakala, a day in Old Lahaina Town, a day at the Aquarium, a dinner show with magic and hula, and flying home with or without engine number four.