Aloha!!
I just returned to the mainland from a dreamy week on the island of Maui spent with my sister and boyfriend. I ask you, what more could one ask for?
Here's a brief synopsis of the trip...
One day of travel (post wild birthday party!) arriving in Maui in the early evening. Plenty of time to tour the Marriot Resort and hit Whaler's Village for dinner :) Our first tropical drink: Mai Tai's of course. Then, we discovered the "Lava Flow". This became the drink of the week. Yup, it's got coconut in it. I think I like coconut now... Of course, we hit the spa before retiring to the sound of the ocean crashing outside our room.
Day One: We drove the road to Hana stopping to tour a lava tube (cave below the ground left from flowing lava!). The lava tube was used as a fall out shelter for a while, but is now open to public tourists who love to wear bright yellow hard hats and carry big flashlights. We lunched at Hana Bay and continued the road around the perimeter of Maui stopping for a swim in the Seven Pools.
Day Two: We were up bright and early for a 7am boat departure for a snorkeling adventure. It turned into an opportunity to SNUBA!!! It's as cools a scuba diving, but you don't have to carry the air tank. It floats on a raft and you are connected via tube. We had 20 foot tubes and weight belts to help us sink down to swim with the fishies. It really is a completely different world down there. We didn't get a chance to swim with them, but we saw some LARGE green sea turtles off the side of the boat :)
The afternoon was spent recovering at the resort playing in the pool and on the waterslide
Day Three: We slept in and cruised over to the Ocean Center, to see and learn about all the marine life we swam with the day before :) The sea turtles at the Ocean Center were tiny compared to the ones we saw in the ocean! The afternoon involved a stroll under the 1 acre banyan tree and a little Lahaina shopping. Evening brought the Luau! Every trip to Hawaii has to include a luau! We watched the pig get dug out of the sand pit...he was already all chopped up! The dancing inspired me to work on my hula.
Day Four: This day of luxury started with a real restaurant breakfast at Moose McGillicuddy's. Sis loved the banana muffin. Stuffed to the brim, we took our ritzy selves to the Shops at Wailea and visited all those brand name stores that we can't afford. But, we could afford to look (and gawk). We bought stuff at the ABC store! From there, we walked along the water front path that passes the high end hotels...we toured the gardens and pools of the Grand Wailea, the Fairmont, etc. We thought our waterslide was cool, until we lost count of the number of water slides at the Grand Wailea. It just goes to show that just when you think you have it all....there is always more.
Day Five: We drove up to the top of Mount Haleakala to view the eroded crater and more recent cinder cones (volcanic vents). It was totally cold and windy up there! Back down at the tropical elevation, we strolled through a botanical garden. Yup, even in December, there are beautiful flowers to be seen! We stopped at IAO Valley State Park on our way back and gazed at the phalic monument of a mountain (something important to the Hawaiian culture I think...I wasn't one of the two sign readers on the trip). I did see that the sign said it was 133 steps to the view point. I counted as I went up. The sign is correct.
Day Six: For our last full day on the island, we decided that we needed to spend it in true resort style. We layed by the beach for the morning (dug a huge hole to China) and played in the pool for the afternoon. It's truly amazing how time flies when your relaxing.
Another day of traveling rounded out the trip...and I'm back in the winterland of Sacramento.
-Mahalo
