Thursday, March 27, 2014

Aloha!

A couple of years ago, I told Bryce that for our 10 year wedding anniversary I wanted to go to Hawaii.  We thought about it a lot, and ended up deciding to go to Maui.  I wanted a real vacation, not a trip.  I wanted to sit my ass down on a beach and not feel like I was wasting time if we weren't going non-stop.  

About the time that we made our plans, I also promised myself that I was going to loose 20 pounds so that I wouldn't feel self-conscious on this trip.  Instead, I gained 20 pounds.  Go me!  I had to make my peace with not looking the way I wanted to, and just focus on having fun.

My mom and dad volunteered to watch the boys while we were away.  We are so very lucky to have such amazing family close by to take care of Cole and Jack.  While we were in Maui, we saw many, many couples our same age with all of their kids.  Bryce and I were so lucky to have some time to ourselves and just enjoy being with each other.  

On Sunday, January 26th, we packed the boys up with their brand new suitcases and headed off to Pa & Nana's.  Cole and Jack had been looking forward to spending time with them for weeks. 
Bryce and I then headed off to the airport for the flight.  I had been dreading this part.  I absolutely hate flying.  I have finally figured out that it's a claustrophobia thing.  Just knowing I'm trapped in a small place with a bunch of people I don't know...breathing recirculated air...sitting on seats covered in germs from all over the world...it's just kind of horrible.  However, my doctor prescribed a severe anxiety medication for the flight.  That flight was seriously the best flight ever.  I read, I watched movies, I relaxed.  By not gripping the armrests with white knuckles the entire flight, I was actually able to just enjoy the time.  Totally worth it.  

We arrived in Maiu to be greeted by overcast skies.  We had rented a convertible, because why the hell not, and happily hopped in with the top down.  However, it quickly became apparent the light drizzle was becoming more than that.  Determined not to care, we drove to the hotel with the top down anyway.  This became a reoccurring theme for the the trip.
We arrived at our resort - Honua Kai - and made our way to our room.  We had an absolutely stunning view of the ocean.  Our entire side wall of windows could be opened up to the balcony.  This ability to merge outside and inside space is what I really wish we could have here in Utah.  The room was wonderful - equipped with a full kitchen and washer and dryer.  We were just so excited to be there. 
That night, we ate dinner at the restaurant at the hotel.  We both loaded up on seafood, and everything was delicious.  It was pure heaven to fall into bed and sleep when we felt like it - not on anyone's schedule.   

Maui Day 1 - Whales...And Eating Like One

We woke up early Monday (January 27th).  This was actually quite easy, as 5:00am felt like 8:00am to me.  We had booked a whale watching trip with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  We were very excited as we had decided to go with a raft instead of a big ship so we could be closer to the action.  Unfortunately, PWF cancelled the raft expedition because of the rain.  (Italicized for emphases on the jack-ass nature of said rain.)  Instead, we went on one of their larger ships.  We drove to Lahaina and wandered around the town before-hand.  We checked out the huge Banyan tree in the middle of the town.  This picture of Bryce shows the tree in the background.  It really is all just one tree.  Amazing.
We hopped aboard the ship and rushed for a seat in the front to best see the action. 
We rode out and began to see the whales.  The ship had a photographer on board, so we simply sat and observed - without having to hold our camera ready to go at a given moment.  It was incredible.   
This last photo, which is hard to see, is actually a mama whale (on the left), and a newborn whale (on the right).  You can just make out their dorsal fins.  The baby whale's fin is still tilted a little, which our guide indicated meant it was under a week old.  Soooo cute! 
After our tour, the sun began to peak out a bit.  We walked down the main strip of shops and restaurants in Lahaina. 
For lunch, we stopped at Burger in Paradise and had the most amazing burgers.  Mine had pineapple and teriyaki sauce.  Bryce's had pulled pork.  They were so delicious.  I also discovered my new favorite drink - a lava flow.  It's a pina colada with strawberry syrup.  Heaven.
We returned to the hotel and relaxed for a bit.  We then got adventurous and decided to take a road along the north side of the island to see some tidal pools.  I firmly believe this is the one and only poor decision we made the whole trip.  What started as a nice smooth road turned into a one-laner that clung to the edge of the coast and wound in and out of crevices.  Every turn made me sweat in fear that someone would be coming the other way.  Because of the rain, the road became flooded with water and mud.  Plus, we were so absorbed in driving, we completely missed the tidal pools.  We did stop in a little tiny village and pick up some banana bread from this little store with a tree growing through it.  Knowing how I feel about bananas, you can imagine how worth it I felt that was.
By the end of the road, we had driven almost down to Wailea - on the other side of the island.  We made a well-deserved stop at Big Beach, and enjoyed the waves and sand for a bit. 
We returned to our hotel and snacked on crackers and treats from the hotel's small store.  This was the first of many nights that we made a late-night trip to the hot tubs, which definitely helped us forget about our crazy afternoon in the car.

Maui Day 2 - Cancelled Plans

Tuesday, (January 28th), we had planned on driving the road to Hana.  When we woke to the pounding rain, we decided, you know, because of the rain, we would delay that until later in the week.  We took some time to walk down the beautiful beach in front of our hotel. 

This picture totally documents our walking style, and in some ways, our style about life in general.  On the left is Bryce's trail of footsteps - totally straight and regular.  On the left is my trail of footsteps - all over the place.  Seeing that picture made me laugh.
You know what didn't make me laugh?  The rain.  While it was very nice to walk down the beach, it would have been even nicer to do it in the sun.   
Later that morning, Bryce and I enjoyed a couple's massage and sat in the hotel's "Himalayan Salt Room," which is basically a room with salt crystals all over the walls.  Supposedly, breathing in the microscopic crystals will clean out your lungs.  We thought it couldn't hurt to try and get all of the Salt Lake City smog out of there.  

That night, we had booked a luau, but because of the rain, it was cancelled.  We thought we would try out the Aloha Mixed Plate that everyone had been telling us about.  We made it to the restaurant just in time to be the last to place our order.  That's right, because of the rain, the restaurant was closing early.  However, we got our order to go and we did indeed get our mixed plate on.  I am here to tell you I think it just might be a tad over-rated.   
However, we reminded ourselves we were in paradise and had to laugh as we ate pork, rice, and super-mayonnaised macaroni salad out of to-go containers in our hotel room. 

Maui Day 3 - The Sun Peaks Out

Wednesday (January 29th), we woke especially early.  We were scheduled to go snorkeling, and had to be at the harbor by 6:30am.  We loaded up the car and pulled out of the parking garage only to encounter a Jurassic Park-esque downpour of tropical storm proportions.  The palm trees whipped in the wind, and our windshield was hammered with fat drops of rain.  I placed a call to Pacific Whale Foundation, and was told because of the rain, that the trip had been canceled.  

So, Bryce and I ventured out to walk on the beach again.  This is what awaited us:
I promise that this will be the last I talk about the rain, but at this point, I became very discouraged.  I kept thinking, "Did we REALLY pay all of that money to come to Maui and sit in our hotel room and have all our events cancelled?!"  What was so frustrating was that the locals kept telling us how unusual it was, and that usually on the island, if it was raining in one spot, you could drive somewhere else and have it be sunny.  Not so for us.  The entire island was soaked.

With our snorkeling trip delayed, Bryce and I once again ventured into Lahaina to get some shopping done.  And something amazing happened.  The clouds began to clear.  The sun shown through.  We stopped to get shave ice, and I felt like we finally got our first real taste of the island.   
We also made my favorite purchase while in town.  We stopped at a jewelry store, where I cracked open some oysters and got some stunning pearls - 2 white, 2 pink, 1 purple, and 1 grey-blue.  My wonderful husband then let me get this beautiful necklace setting for one of the pearls.  I'm one lucky girl.
That night, we went to a sushi restaurant on the north end of the island.  It was mind blowingly amazing.  We had rare Ahi, crab salad with a thai mango salsa, and a few other delectable rolls.
We ended the meal with deep fried macadamia nut ice cream.  Okay, let me just tell you, when I hear people talk about deep fried ice cream, a huge sign flashes in my brain, "Does Not Compute."  I have never been able to wrap my head around it.  But let me just tell you - this may have been one of the best desserts I've ever had.  The ice cream got all melty around the edges, and the crispy breading?  Oh man.  
Now THIS is paradise.

Maui Day 4 - Pure Beauty

Thursday (January 30th) dawned bright and lovely.  Bryce and I packed up the convertible, and left for Hana early.  With the warm air blowing through the car, and lots of sunscreen slathered on, we started down the famed road.  Before we left for our trip, we had people tell us we didn't really need to drive the road to Hana - that it was just a road.  Those people are idiots.  This is the closest we came to experiencing the real island.  Now, that being said, I won't say that the narrow, winding road - one lane in spots - isn't a tad nerve-wracking.  But the stops along the way?  Exquisite. 
One of our favorites was the black sand beach we stopped at about half-way there.  The combination of blue water, black rock, and green leaves was so striking and stunning.
We continued our way down the road to the Pipiwai Trail and Waimoku Falls.  I'm not going to lie - this part got a little tricky.  It became pretty warm, and we were running out of time before our luau started.  I also had not really broken in the shoes I wore on the trail, which was pretty muddy because of the rain.  I may or may not have become whiny like a small child.  "Are we there yet?"  "My feet hurt."  "I'm TIRED!"  Despite my complaining, the trail was incredible, especially the section leading through the bamboo forest.  I have never experienced anything like it - the bamboo was so thick, only a little sunlight filtered through.  As the wind blew, the bamboo knocked together.  It was so lovely. 
We rushed back down the trail, and hopped in the car.  We blazed through the unpaved section of road and came out on the south side of the island, which is flanked by rolling lava fields and waving grasses.  It was so stunning.
We raced back to Lahaina and made it back just in time for our luau.  I had pictured myself in one of my flowing maxi dresses, make-up perfectly in place, with my gorgeous luau around my neck.  Instead, I flopped down in my seat in my stinky clothes I had worn hiking and in the car all day; my swimsuit underneath digging uncomfortably, and my hair greasy and flat. 

Not the most romantic of moments.

However, the luau was so beautiful...and blessedly dark...that no one noticed.  This luau was not a buffet - instead servers brought the food to our tables.  We had courses from the various islands represented in the performances - Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, and New Zealand.  It was so much fun to try different foods and watch the dancers. 
We certainly appreciated the sun and enjoyed every moment of time we had!

Maui Day 5 - It Can't Be So!

We woke up on our final day in Maui (January 31st) to a beautiful sky.  We had re-booked snorkeling for Friday, so we hurried off to the harbor.  We found ourselves another seat at the front of the boat and sat soaking in the sunrise.  
I sat trying to keep my anxiety down.  I had never been snorkeling and was overcome with the thought of swimming around in the water with little fishies biting my toes or pooping by my mouth.  (I know, but seriously, they have to poop just like us!)

We finally arrived off the little island of Molokini - a crescent shaped spot of land that has an incredible variety of fish.  I awkwardly put on my fins and face mask, took a deep breath, and jumped in.  

And promptly fell in love.

Snorkeling was nothing like I thought.  The fish were beautiful - not the carp sucking disgusting fish I had somehow imagined.  They kept their distance and fed near the bottom of the corals.  Their dainty fins flashed with an amazing range of colors.  I could just float near the surface and watch.  The hour we spent at Molokini flashed right by.  Bryce and I had purposely not rented an underwater camera.  While I wish I had some pictures of what we saw, I am so glad that we were able to just focus on what we were seeing and not worry about capturing that perfect shot. 

We got back on the boat and went over to a cove by Wailea which is known for sea turtles.  By now, I was anxious to get in the water and not waste one minute.  The first thing we saw was a manta ray, feeding near the bottom.  Our guides said that manta rays are uncommon in this area, so we were very lucky to see one.  We then began swimming slowly around looking for turtles.  Almost immediately, I spotted one near the surface only 10-15 feet away.  As I watched, it slowly dove right under me.  I just floated near the top and watched it slowly descend.  Later, Bryce and I came across another breathing near the surface.  The turtle took a few breaths, and then headed right for us, diving a little below as it passed.  We had been drilled not to touch the turtles, so I kept my arms and hands tightly clenched at my chest to keep from reaching out to touch it's bumpy shell.  It was such a breathtaking moment to my soul to be so close to something so amazing.

The whole ride back to harbor, Bryce and I kept talking about how happy we were to end our trip on this note.  As we got closer to land, our captain suddenly killed the engine to the boat.  Floating right in front of us was a baby whale and it's mother.  The baby whale literally swam towards the front of the boat and went right under.  It circled the boat a few times before swimming off.   
Bryce and I made our way back to our hotel.  We took naps and spent some time on the beach.  Then we packed up our things, and made our way back to the airport.  Our time at Maui had simply flown by, but it was a beautiful, frantic, hilarious, relaxing, and marvelous trip.  Aloha, Maui!  We hope to see you again soon.