Maui Recap

I don’t even want to start this post because going through all the pictures and remembering everything is going to make me want to go back SO badly!  But it was such an amazing trip that I want to share and relive it over and over again.  Plus I kind of got called out which of course makes me forced to share. :)

Our trip started out with an adventure, but thank goodness it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  And now I ALWAYS recommend doing the early flight check-in online.  Ben, for whatever reason, decided to check us in online on Friday night, only to find out that our flight had been cancelled!  No phone call, no email…Nothing.  It had been rescheduled for Sunday sometime, but um…Yeah, that wasn’t going to work because you see, I was we were supposed to be on a beach in Maui on Sunday morning!  Thank God the lady on the phone was VERY helpful and she was able to book us on an earlier flight Saturday morning.  Note to self: ALWAYS do the early check-in online!  And aside from me temporarily losing my boarding pass, us leaving our rental car and room confirmations on the plane, and me forgetting there was a corkscrew in my carry-on when it went through security (oops!) the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. 

I took over 400 pictures, and there is NO WAY to narrow down my favorites, so I’ve put most of the pictures in a slideshow.  And in order to not word vomit on you (more than I already have!), I’ve listed my highlights of Maui.  I would (and do!) recommend all of these activities to any and everyone. 

Restaurants

• Hula Grill:  We ate here the night we got into Maui.  It was within walking distance of our hotel, the Sheraton, and my swordfish was delicious!  They also had really good lava flows and mango ‘ritas. 
• Black Rock Restaurant:  This was the restaurant in our hotel, and it was pretty good.  They had a really good onion soup that I loved.  You can also see the sunset ritual of the black rock dive if you time it right.  We couldn’t see it from our seats, but Ben ran (literally) and took pictures of it for me.
• Cool Cat Cafe:  We went here after surfing lessons, and it was just a cool little burger joint.  The portions were huge considering it was lunchtime; one basket of fries was plenty for Ben and I.
• Mama’s Fish House:  A-MAZ-ING!!!  Literally everyone we talked to about Maui said that if we went to eat anywhere, it HAD to be this place.  And it did NOT disappoint!  It was by far our most expensive meal (and they were all expensive!), but my opakapaka (pink snapper) was worth every. single. penny.  Oh, and you HAVE to get the Black Pearl dessert.  We ate it so fast that I don’t think I could even tell you what it was.  I just know it was delicious, and we devoured it.  Mama’s Fish House is definitely a MUST if you go to Maui.  Gosh it was unbelievable!

Mind you, we ate at other places as well (Bubba Gump, Buzz’s Wharf, Scoops Ice Cream, Leilani’s), but the ones above were my favorites.

Activities

• Road to Hana:  This was very neat and again recommended to us by most of the people we talked to.  It’s a little road to a town called Hana, but along the way there are little pull-off areas where you can go hiking to different waterfalls.  The roads are crazy windy so my advice is if you get carsick A) Don’t ride with my husband, and B) TURN AROUND AT HANA!  The guide CD even tells you to, but Ben’s adventurous so we drove all the way around the island.  If the windy roads don’t make you sick, then the up and down “free fall” roads will.  Trust me, I speak from experience.  But it truly was a beautiful drive, and many of the stops we went to were well worth it all.  Ben sat under a waterfall, we swam in their pools, we had a picnic lunch at a waterfall…All experiences I will remember forever.
• Molokini Crater Snorkel:  You must do this on the Ali’i Nui.  No other choice is a good one.  This ship had the best food, the best crew, the best captain.  It was one of our most enjoyable days in Maui.  Of course our good company of Clayton and Sabrina helped, but the experience would have been just the same even if they weren’t there; that’s how great everyone was.  Highly, highly recommend this.
• Surfing Lessons:  I was not sure about this at all.  I knew I wanted to try it, but I just wasn’t sure what I would think about it.  Well, what I thought about it is that I love it!  I could totally see myself being a surfing beach bum forever, if it would just pay the bills.  And who knows, maybe one day all of the money I make from my blooper videos will pay the bills!!  Just kidding, I actually got up my first time and did quite well I thought.  But there were also a few times that weren’t so graceful…But it was still a ton of fun and I can’t wait to do it again. 
• Helicopter Tour:  Even though I was again so sick from this, I would still recommend it.  You get to see parts of the island that you wouldn’t get to otherwise; waterfalls everywhere, the crater, flying in the valleys.  It was breathtaking.  We did the whole island tour and I’m glad we did.  Now knowing how beautiful it truly is, I would be disappointed for someone who only did a partial island tour. 

I wouldn’t say this was a relaxing vacation by any means; a vacation with Ben is never relaxing! But with having Clayton and Sabrina there, I think it worked out to be the perfect combination of “Come on, this will be so much fun!” and “I think hanging by the pool sounds like a really good idea today.”  And that’s all I asked of Ben was that I get a couple of days to hang out at the pool/beach. 

I want to go back.  I miss almost everything about Maui.  The weather was perfect for me; warm, little to no rain on the west coast.  But drive for a little bit and you’re in the rainforest.  There’s something for everyone in Maui, and there’s SO MUCH we still want to do.  We have half seriously joked that we’ll live there one day.  They had an LPN position open at their hospital, so I’m thinking maybe… And I’ve already scoped out the colleges for if I decide to go back for my RN… And they do have a Baptist church that I could attend… And a couple of homes that have been on the market for a LONG time… And Ben saw a position open for a wine distributor out there…  So maybe one day you’ll see us on House Hunters or something.  Until then, we’ll just plan to go back for vacation as frequently as possible.  And Sabrina and I have already decided that Maui will be her 30th b-day/my graduation celebration vacation.  So here’s to penny-pinching for the next year and saving up for another A-MAZ-ING trip.  I am already excited to go back; it was honestly a trip of a lifetime.  It was as close to Heaven on earth as I have ever been.

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