Hawaii!!!

Tony and I went to Maui in May to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.  We went a month early while the kids were still in school and busy with activities so they'd be on a busy routine and not miss us too much.  It was the first time we've left them for more than a couple of nights.  It was really hard to say goodbye and the first day we were there we missed them and felt really off without them.  But eventually we were good and they were good so we were all able to enjoy ourselves and have a fun week.  We didn't call them too much because I didn't want them to get sad and the 4 hour time difference was hard as well.  But we checked in every so often and kept in touch enough.  It was so fun to spend the week as just a couple.  Sometimes when you have kids you forget what it is like to just be a couple again and we genuinely enjoyed having some "us time!"  I think it's important for couples to remember why they fell in love in the first place!

 

 

DAY 1:

We got to Maui late Saturday night so we didn't get to see or do much.  We had a layover in Portland and the flight was about 7.5 hours. We were exhausted so we took a quick walk then went to bed.  We were both up super early Sunday because of the 4 hour time change.  We had breakfast then spent most of the day hanging out at the beach and the pool.  Later that night we ate dinner at Gannon's restaurant which was the movie set for a restaurant in one of our favorite movies "Just Go With It."  It was a beautiful view on the golf course and the food was pretty good.

The top floor was where we ate breakfast every morning, out on the patio, overlooking the ocean.  It was amazing and the breakfast buffet was included in our package so we indulged everyday! (Pretty sure I gained like 10 lbs!)

Day 2:

On Monday we got up and had breakfast then headed to the other side of the island where we did the Road to Hana.  We downloaded a cool app onto my phone that not only navigated us but gave the top 5 recommended places to stop so we could actually see the good stuff without spending 15 hours on the road.  It also would tell us what we were driving by and the history of it.  Best app ever....best $5 ever spent!  The Road to Hana was one of those things that some people told us we definitely had to do and others told us to definitely NOT do it.  So I was torn since I knew it would take up a whole day of our trip.  But being the stubborn person that I am, I had to see it myself and make up my own mind.  I took a Dramamine prior to leaving our hotel which is crucial since is the windiest road you'll ever travel.  I actually didn't get car sick at all but I would never recommend anyone riding in the backseat so it's definitely a 2 person trip.  Anyway, I am SO glad we did it.  It was a long day and a lot of driving crazy roads but we saw some incredible things and I don't regret it at all.  There were eucalyptus trees that were so bright and colorful they almost looked fake (I can't believe I didn't get a picture of any!)  We stopped at this peninsula that was nearly taken out by a tsunami years ago.  The only thing that survived was a 100+ year old church.  We stopped at the Black Sand Beach which was probably one of my favorite places on the whole island.  I have never seen anything like it and I was just in awe at how beautiful it was especially against all the greenery and blue water.  We went into the caves and hiked up on top as well.  It was amazing!  We also stopped at the 7 sacred pools but because it was rainy they wouldn't let anyone swim in them and we were too tired to do the big hike so I don't think we got the view we should have.  Something I loved about the Road to Hana is that people who drive the whole day just to get to Hana find it to be somewhat disappointing because Hana is just a cute little town but nothing too spectacular.  It's the journey of it that makes it so amazing and unless you take the time to enjoy the journey, rather than rush to the destination, you won't fully enjoy or appreciate it.  Life lesson!

Anyway, the way to Hana was great but the part that I think a lot people don't like it for is the fact that after you've spent all that time getting to Hana and seeing all the great places, you have to turn around and take the same road all the way back.  If only there was some way to just get to the top and then fly back!  :)  But we made decent time and were able to make it to Mama's Fish House for dinner since it was on the same side of the island.  I had the Mahi Mahi and it was SO good.  Expensive, but definitely worth the ambiance and great food and service.  It rained a good portion of the day on that side of the island and when we got back to where we were staying it had apparently been sunny and nice all day...crazy!

That night we relaxed in the hot tub and got to bed early since we were exhausted. 

 

 

 

Day 3:

On Tuesday we had breakfast, hung around the beach and pool for awhile, then headed up to Lahaina.  We shopped around their main street which I thought was really fun.  We found this jewelry store that had live oysters and they let you pay $10 and you could choose an oyster and get the pearl inside.  I couldn't help myself.  The lady asked me what color I wanted and when I told her black she told me to choose the ugliest oyster I could find so I did.  When she opened it up it had twins...a black pearl and a silver pearl.  I was really excited...I'm easily entertained!  She cleaned them up for me and put them in a baggie for me.  I really want to make a ring out of one of the pearls.

We had dinner at a cool restaurant on the bay called Kimo's.  I had the Mahi Mahi "Kimo style" and it was probably the best fish I had the whole trip.  SO good and a great ambiance once again.  We walked around and saw the Banyan tree which is such a neat tree, did some more shopping, then got the best shave ice I've ever had in my life.  On our way back to our hotel in Wailea the sun was setting so we pulled over and watched it.  It was so beautiful!

These fishing boats literally catch the fish that you eat that day...SO fresh and SO good!

 

Day 4:

On Wednesday we woke up at 4am and headed up to Haleakala, which is a volcano that is 10,000 feet in elevation, for sunrise.  We left a little later than we should have and had to drive fast to get there, which made me incredibly car sick given the frequent switch backs.  We made it there about 5-10 minutes before the sun actually came up which was fine since it was about 45 degrees.  It was pretty incredible to watch the sun rise above the clouds...very worth seeing!

We spend the rest of the day just relaxing at the beach.  We went to Turtle Town beach and saw tons of turtles and did some snorkeling there.  We also spent some time at the beautiful pool which I was in love with.  When we build a pool, I want it to look just like that, with the floating cabanas and eternity edge!  (One can dream!)  Anyway, we went up and shopped at the shops by our hotel, had dinner at Tommy Bahamas then watched a movie in a cabana by the pool on our laptop.  Another great day!



From the top of Haleakala

 

Day 5:

On Thursday we got breakfast then headed to a wildlife preserve to snorkel.  We saw tons of fish there!  We went back to Turtletown to snorkel there as well.  We went to McKenna beach/Big Beach...can't remember if it was this day or day 4, but it was ok.  I liked Turtletown way better, though.  While at "big beach" we did the hike over to "little beach" because we'd read/heard that it is a nude beach and we wanted to check it out.  Sure enough, the rumors were true!  LOL! 

Anyway, we had a nice relaxing day at the beaches and the pool then went back to our room and got ready to go to the luau.  It was the only night we had rain but the worst one to have it because they had to move the luau indoors which kind of ruined the ambiance.  I was disappointed in the food but the show was pretty entertaining.  Tony got picked by one of the girl hula dancers to go up on stage and learn to hula.  It was pretty funny!

 

Day 6:

On Friday, our last day, we got up and got our last big breakfast then laid out at the pool for a couple of hours.  Then we had to pack up and check out of our hotel.  Our flight wasn't until 9:30pm so we drove up to the north part of the island to Na'pilli and explored that area for awhile.  We want to stay there when we go back with our kids.  We had lunch at a cool little restaurant called the Gazebo.  They are famous for their banana, macadamia nut and pineapple pancakes with coconut syrup.  I had really wanted to eat breakfast there one morning but it didn't happen. I had a good sandwich but I had to try the pancakes as well.  They were good but super rich!  We drove around for a bit then went to see the new Pitch Perfect 2 movie which was SO funny!  We had both been so excited to see it that we had to see it opening day, even if we were in Hawaii!  After the movie we dropped off our rental car, checked in at the airport, had dinner at CPK in the airport, then waited to board our flight.  We were so tired we thought for sure we'd just sleep great the whole way...but it was super uncomfortable and turbulent and I got so sick I thought for sure I was going to throw up.  We made it to Seattle around 6:30am, had a quick layover, then arrived in SLC around 10am Saturday morning.  We were excited to see the kids after a whole week away...and it was right back to reality!

 

 

 

We had such a fun time we already put a deposit down for a trip back with our kids.  We have 2 years to do it so we'll wait until Brady is closer to 4 before we go so it will be more enjoyable!