Maui Memories - Day 3

It takes awhile to adjust to the time, so we were up around 5:00/5:30 in the morning. That gave us time to lie (lay?) in bed and be lazy. While I don't check Facebook for updates nor post as frequently as I used to, I enjoy peeking into friends' lives when I get chance and providing a quick update of our own. Fortunately, because I posted the day before, I learned that some of our friends happened to also be on the island and were just a building away! We made plans to meet up later in the morning which meant we had a few hours to kill. We got up while Adam and Noah slept in and headed over to the Westin Nanea for some real Starbucks coffee and to see where we'd be meeting up with our friends later. Here are a couple of nice pics of my hubby and kiddo with the Maui morning sun.

The Universe must've really wanted us to meet up with our friends. As we continued our walk over, to their building which had the nearest Starbucks coffee brewing, we ran into Faye. She was heading out for a run while her family was still sleeping. We agreed to meet back in the lobby in a couple of hours. Onward we went to get the Starbucks that had been on my brain since morning.

Here's a tip - - Don't get Starbucks coffee unless you really prefer it. My normal "tall mocha" cost about $7.50 including a $1 tip. Needless to say, I drained that cup of deliciousness. I don't know how much a mocha would cost at a Starbucks in town vs. at the resort, but my guess is that it's still relatively expensive just as most things are in Maui compared to the mainland.

We were back to the hotel around 8:00 and got Adam and Noah up to grab some breakfast. Luckily they're quick to get ready. It wasn't long before we were in the car  heading to Lahaina to eat at Aloha Mixed Plate. I'd def recommend it. There's outdoor seating and a nice assortment of traditional American breakfast mixed with local deliciousness.

Common local dish called "loco moco" - yummy!

You really can't beat the fresh fruit - so sweet!

Fried rice plate topped with an egg = perfection

After our tummies were full, we headed back to the resort and met with our friends. I knew Alain from when I started at Best Buy in the mid-2000's. He was one of the people who decided to take a chance on me coming from outside of retail. Along with several other people, those years were among the best! There was a tight group of us and going to work didn't feel much like work. Since then, we've all moved on in our professional lives and many have moved out of state. Running into him and his family was a highlight and a very fortunate coincidence. I wish we had made the connection sooner. I'm sure Keira and Noah would've had fun playing with the kids. We weren't able to visit for too long as they were in the middle of packing to head home that day. But, I'm grateful for the short time we had to say "hello" and quickly catch up. You really can't meaningfully pack in a 10+ years into a quick visit. Maybe we'll run into each other again in the future!

After the long day we had taking in the Haleakala sunrise and Road to Hana, we promised to have a slow day and just enjoy the resort and beach. That is exactly what we did. We spent the day by the pool and the beach. Mark and Adam were elated when Alain and Faye left behind some groceries including a supply of beer. We passed the day reading, swimming, eating, soaking in the sun, etc. We even had dinner at the poolside restaurant, Pailolo. It also overlooked the beach and ocean. While we enjoyed dessert, we also took in another memorable sunset before heading into the room to play cards, learn card tricks and pass out exhaustion that can only be had after a day of pure fun.

One of the many gorgeous pools

Enjoying the Pacific

Pretzel bigger than Keira's head

Buddies at dinner right before sunset

So much more relaxed on vacation ;-)

Sunset at dinner - it doesn't get better than this!

Love!

Maui Memories - Day 2

Because of the time change, despite going to bed around 8pm, we knew we'd be up early just as we always have when first arriving in Hawaii. We took advantage of it, got up early and headed to Haleakala National Park to see the sunrise. I'm sure it was much harder for Adam and Noah to get up, but they were great sports about it. NOTE: If this is something you want to do, you need to visit the National Park Service site to reserve your spot because it's a very popular thing to do on Maui. I don't think you need to reserve a spot for sunset though. It only costs $1 for the reservation, but it will be $25 to get into the park. If you don't have a reservation, you won't be allowed into the park until 7:00am (well after sunrise). If you are in the military/have a military ID, they waive the entrance fee.

We were up ~3:45am and out the door by 4:15am. We arrived with about 10 min to spare before the sun came up around 6:30am. It was a beautiful sight and an experience you should make time for if you get to Maui.

As you can see from the photos, it does get cold up there because of the high elevation. As the sun rises, it gets warmer, but you should definitely bundle up with a warm coat, hat and gloves until the sun comes up. You can see us and others in our gear as a testament to the chilly temps.

Since we had already driven quite far, we decided to go ahead and cram in another "touristy" thing to do and that was the Road to Hana. After a fast food fueling at a nearby McDonald's, we started our adventure. Here's what you need to know. You should do it. It's beautiful! However, you should allocate an entire day instead of cramming too much in like we did. Then, you'll enjoy it even more if you go about it in a more leisurely way.

The Road to Hana takes you along the northern coast of Maui. You can enjoy the beauty of the island with lush greenery on one side and the beautiful Pacific Ocean on the other. Along the way, you'll also see many waterfalls, picturesque scenes and have the opportunity to stop at scattered shops, restaurants and stands along the way.

If you get to stop for fresh pineapple or local dishes from food trucks, you should! It's a nice break in the long journey (50+ miles). Here's what you need to know.

*The entire drive is very twisty with many switchbacks and narrow roads. We did have a mid-size SUV and Mark did a fantastic job of navigating, but if you're not a solid driver, don't feel comfortable in the vehicle you're driving or are prone to vertigo/have issues with heights, you may want to take a tour bus. When we stopped for some food along the way, it was to stretch our legs, but also to shake off a little car sickness that was just starting, especially for those of us in the backseat.

*There are close to 60 bridges to cross, but they are one-lane bridges. That is, drivers have to yield to one another to cross over coming from opposite directions.

*As a tourist, pay attention to drivers that may be locals. It's greatly appreciated if you let them pass you when you have an opportunity. It's most likely that they aren't "enjoying" the Road to Hana like you and are trying to get somewhere. Usually you can spot the locals because they maybe driving the switchbacks with more speed and confidence.

When you actually get to Hana, it's kind of a let down if truth be told. There's not much to it.  The Road to Hana is LITERALLY about the drive to get there. However, if you have additional time, you should continue on to visit the Seven Sacred Pools at Ohe'o. It's not much farther and worth it, especially if you want the opportunity to do some hiking and swimming in the falls. It's another 15-ish one-way bridges. Entry to the park is $25, but waived for military with ID.

So, here's what I didn't know...Once you get to Hana/Ohe'o, you have to drive it back...you can't just loop back to where you started coming from the West. Doh! To prepare for the trek back, we grabbed dinner at Charley's in Paia. That was probably my least favorite restaurant, but it was still decent for fast, bar food.

To help with the drive, we counted all the one-lane bridges on the way back. We came up with 75, but that was going back from the Ohe'o pools, not the Road to Hana which online sites say have 55-65 bridges. If you make this trip, let us know how many you count!

It was an exhausting, but fun day! The whole time, Noah and Keira were most interested in getting back to swim in the hotel pool. We got back about 6:00pm, caught a gorgeous sunset and let the kiddos swim for a little while before we headed in, washed up and went to bed. We were asleep by 8:30pm. Zzz...

Maui Memories - Day 1

It sadly already feels like a distant memory, but from what I recall, Mark, Keira and I had an incredible spring break in Maui late last month. It was Keira's first time on this Hawaiian island and just about 13 years for Mark and me. The last time we were there, I was a maid of honor in a friend's wedding, but it was just a couple of months after my mom passed away. Between grief and the frenzy of weddings, I don't remember much other than having difficulty finding a place to eat at one point. If it wasn't for photos, I'd be left thinking I had never been there.

Anyway, we received a phenomenal offer ($798 + taxes and fees) to stay at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas and our only obligation was to attend a 90-min presentation to become "owners". Before you roll your eyes, I highly recommend going this route if you don't mind giving up 90 minutes of your vacation to stay at an amazing resort for a fraction of the cost, especially places like Maui where it's more expensive than most places. You also need to be very comfortable saying, "No." While the sales folks didn't apply pressure and were very nice and energetic, they were also skilled at trying to turn your "no" into a "maybe if". Thank goodness Mark was there to give them a firm, "No," when I almost said, "Well, maybe." Ha! Anyway, if you get a similar offer for this particular property, or if you're fortunate enough to afford staying here, you should! The property and proximity to the beach, town, etc. were phenomenal!

But, let's rewind back to Day 1 which was mostly a travel day. If you didn't already know, it's nearly 3,900 miles from MN to Maui. The Hawaiian islands are 5 hours behind and it takes roughly 8-9 hours on a plane to get from here to there. What I'm trying to say is, if you go to Hawaii, take the time to enjoy it because quite a bit of your time will be eaten up getting to and from, it's not an easy adjustment to the time difference and there's so much to see and do!

We had a bumpy start the day before we left. Mark and I both worked a full day and Keira went to school. We frantically packed when we got home knowing we had to get up and out the door by 4:45am. Yuck. On top of that, we had a moment of panic when I received a call from United airlines 12 ours before our flight to tell me they were proactively reaching out to customers to see if we'd be willing to opt for a direct flight with Delta which would delay us by several hours, but we'd be compensated for the change. Because of the grounding of the Boeing Air Max planes, United had to bring in "spare" planes (um, what? you are going to put my family on a "spare" plane - you just have them sitting around?) and these spares couldn't accommodate the same number of passengers, so they were now oversold. Gah! After vetting the options, we decided to stick with our original itinerary and hoped we wouldn't be turned away nor canceled upon. 

Fortunately, that was the worst of our travel hiccups. We got to MSP by 5am and sailed through security thanks to TSA pre-check (spending $100 or about that much on Global Entry which comes w/TSA pre-check is one of the best investments I've ever made). At the airport I ran into a guy I worked with at BBY and we also ran into our neighbors. Small world! We flew from MSP to SFO, had a 2-hour layover there, flew to OGG (Kahului, Maui) and arrived about 3pm Maui time (8pm CST). Our friends Adam and Noah flew in from Honolulu to join us for the first part of our trip. We were definitely on island time -- by the time we got our luggage, got our rental car and drove the 45 minutes to our villas, we didn't arrive until 6pm. Whenever I first arrive, the slow pace and lackadaisical approach drive me crazy. But by the next day, it's what I love most - slowing down and enjoying life.

The drive from the airport to the villas was beautiful and what I expect every time we visit Hawaii - beautiful lush mountains on one side and brilliant blue waters of the Pacific ocean on the other side. After the many snowstorms and record-breaking snowfall back at home, this was just what we needed. The sun and warmth helped temporarily revive us from our sleep-deprived state. We even saw a beautiful rainbow partway through the drive.

Anyway, once we arrived, the crew settled into our villa while I met with concierge for 15 min to get our packet of information for our stay. I was a zombie as it was well after my bedtime back in MN. We knew it was important to stay up for as long as we could to more quickly acclimate to the time zone change, so we grabbed a quick dinner at Pailolo, a bar and grill on-site. We were in bed and passed out by 8pm (1am in MN). If we had slept on the flight over, it may not have been such a big deal, but as it were, the three of us were close to almost 24 hours with no sleep by then. No wonder I strained to understand the concierge and our waitress that evening.