Maui

Charlie and I traveled to Maui this spring- Here is a little bit about where we went and what we did...

Charlie's last day at Concussion was April 5 and he decided to take off some time before starting his next job May 7. We have been saving for a trip to celebrate our 5th anniversary but had not actually gotten around to planning or taking time off for the trip. So with the large amount of time off that Charlie had we decided to go for it! We booked our trip to Maui just 14 days before we left. Heidi was awesome to come down and keep Harrison for us so it could be a vacation just the two of us.

So we left Tuesday morning bright and early, 5am to be exact, and we were off! After a stop in LA we landed in Maui at 11:45 even though we had been traveling for close to over 10 hours....crazy time changes! We had Dinner (or lunch) by the poolside and headed to bed by 6pm Hawaii time- 11pm Texas time.

Day 2: we woke up at 2:30am to head to watch the sunrise on top of Haleakala Crater. This is an active volcano that is over 10,000 feet above sea level. We literally drove through the clouds to get to the top. The sunrise was stunning. We heard it described as the place where heaven touches the earth and that could not have been more true. The sun looked like liquid as it passed through the clouds. We took lots of pictures but none do any justice to what we witnessed. P.s it was also below freezing on top of the mountain so pardon the pics of us with our crazy layers on.... and yes I took my winte coat to Hawaii just for this moment. =)

After sunrise we headed back down the volcano and at breakfast at a restaurant called Grandma's. This was one of Charlie's highlights. A little hole in the wall filled with locals. We had omelets and homemade cinnamon raisin bread french toast....yummmmm.

We lounged by the pool/beach from breakfast til dinner time. For dinner we experienced our first Luau! Ours was called the "Drums of the Pacific." The Luau told stories of the Polynesian culture that span across Hawaii and the Pacific ocean. There were beautiful luau dancers and even men that danced with fire. The dinner was open buffet and open bar. So much fun!

Day 3: We had a breakfast buffet at our hotel that overlooked a waterfall and swan pond. Absolutely gorgeous. We walked the beach and the grounds of our hotel and then headed to Lahaina- an old whalers village. Charlie found this awesome vintage poster shop. The owner is a collector of only real prints of posters. The posters were huge and very inspiring for him to see in person! Some of the prints were worth more than cars and all of them had to be handled with white gloves. Pretty cool experience for him. We also got to see the historic Banyan Tree. The tree is over 100 years old and it is HUGE! Covers nearly the whole park. We had a late lunch over looking the beach headed back to hotel for some beach time and had my favorite dessert for dinner- creme brulee out of a coconut. ohhh so yummy.

Day 4: I woke up early and decided to get up and watch the sun rise....HUGE mistake. We stayed on the west part of the island- so the sunrise was hardly impressive... Should have stayed in bed. We had breakfast at the hotel again overlooking the pool and beach and then headed to Charlie's surf lesson! He surfed more waves than you can imagine from 10-12. They said it was the best day of waves they have had in a long time. He never got a break in between waves- it was just one beautiful wave after another and he caught almost every single one. He did awesome!

We headed to another local spot called Cafe Ole for lunch where we got awesome fish for a very good price. After Lunch we drove down to Wailea to the most beautiful beach called "Big Beach." The waves there were out of control! People were getting tossed around and injured left and right. We were smart enough not to go in the water but just to watch. The water was crystal clear and blue as can be. The waves were spectacular to watch.

After our time on the beach we stopped at a local stand and bought a fresh frozen coconut to drink......fun experience....wont be drinking that anymore though....yuck yuck yuck. =)

We had dinner at The Plantation House which was a special treat from my parents to truly celebrate our anniversary. The view was incredible. We overlooked the beach and a gorgeous golf course. I truly felt like I was living in one of those golf coffee table books. I recommend this restaurant to ANYONE going to Maui....it is a definite MUST see!

After dinner we walked the beach and lounged in a hammock on the beach at our hotel. I kid you not, you could actually see the stars twinkling- it was so beautiful.


Day 5: We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel again overlooking the swan court and beach. We spent the morning by the pool relaxing and this morning we decided to try out the hotel's water slide. It was over 200ft long and totally pitch black inside. It was quite a thrill. We walked down to "Whalers Village" for lunch at the Hula Grill where they had home brewed Hawaiian beer- so fun! We walked down further to Black Rock and planned to snorkel here for the day- however, the waves were too high and people were getting injured. We got a tip from a local to take our snorkel gear over to Honolua Bay. Most. AMAZING. Experience. EVER! No one was out there except a pod of dolphins playing in the bay- jumping and flipping around. Charlie and I swam out together in the most beautiful water and coral ever. This is so amazing for me because I get so sea sick- I never get to go snorkeling because you usually have to take a boat out to the area where you snorkel. Here we just walked right off the beach and started snorkeling. It was quite an adrenaline rush too- because no one knew where we were, no one was out there, and of course I was afraid of sharks. The two of us enjoyed about a 30 minute snorkel out with the dolphins and enjoyed God's beautiful creation. This was definitely and experience I will never forget.

That night we had dinner at a restaurant at the hotel called Japango- we had amazing sushi and fish and again my favorite dessert creme brule out of a coconut.

Day 6: We had breakfast overlooking the pool and beach. We headed back to Lahaina (where Charlie fell in love with the poster's) and grabbed some souvenirs we had been eyeing (a tshirt for Charlie, a hand carved Christmas ornament of some fish we saw snorkeling, and a pandora charm.) Then we headed up the coast. We drove past Honolua Bay again to get a birds eye view of what we had been snorkeling in and then we drove to see a blow hole. This was quite a beautiful and fun place. The waves were crashing against the rocks and then all of a sudden a huge gush of water would come up through the rocks. This was our last day so we started toward the airport. Luckily our flight was later that night so we stopped at a beach near the airport to watch one more Hawaiian sunset.  Absolutely breathtaking sunsets in Hawaii!

This trip was the most amazing place I have ever been and by far and away the most fun I have ever had. We made sure to spend part of each day on the beautiful beaches/poolside and part of the day exploring the island and because of that I do not regret one minute. This will be a trip I am forever thankful we took. It was hard being away from Harrison, however I am proud of Charlie and I for continuing to take time away just the two of us and focus on each other. It is a goal we set for ourselves every year. Speaking of...looking forward to next year! =)

Here are some more pictures of our trip if you are interested....
http://photos2.walmart.com/walmart/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=7467837008/a=467880008_467880008/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walmart/