Maui - Best Vacation Ever!!!!!

Josh and I had a great time in Hawaii, we both agreed it was the best vacation ever! We kind of needed a vacation from our vacation though. We didn't come back with hardly any sun - some wondered if we even went on vacation. Well, we did and I have the pictures to prove it. Check them out here. I don't have any pictures of the surprise party (which was priceless), so I will have to get those from my Aunt Diane who was our official photographer for the week. Here is a quick snapshot of what we did all week:

Sunday, March 13th we arrived in Maui about 2:30pm - mom had been texting me all day because they were arriving in Maui the same day but a few hours earlier. Since we were staying in the same hotel we had to make sure we didn't run into each other. We did NOT want to ruin the surprise on Monday. Later that afternoon Josh and I picked up the birthday cake, some food for the breakfast surprise party and then unpacked our stuff (once we finally got into our official room... it's a long story).

Monday morning we (Karl, Audrey, Jackie, Diane , Josh and me) surprised Dad at breakfast- he was speechless. After breakfast, five of us (Josh, Jackie, Diane, Haley Spooner and me) went to the Maui Ocean Center and the Maui Tropical Plantation. That evening we went to the Spooner's hotel and had some appetizers and drinks.

Tuesday we got up at 6:15am to begin our Road to Hana Tour. Josh and I were accompanied by Karl, Audrey and Diane. It was about a 12 hour day, but we saw a lot of great scenery. A couple highlights were the Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park and swimming in the Oheo Gulch Seven Pools. It was definately a long day - but worth it.

On Wednesday me, dad and Josh went on a Snorkeling trip. It was extremely windy that day so the water was rough and they were unsure if we were going to be able to visit both snorkeling spots on the agenda. We went to Turtle Town and Molokini Islet for some snorkeling. This was my first real snorkeling adventure, but dad had been a few times before. He said that there was quite a variety of fish at Turtle Town - he said that was rare. When we were heading back to the harbour after our snorkeling adventures we saw some whales - I got some pretty good shots. We got back to the hotel about 2:00pm - at that point we needed to get ready for our evening plans. We had tickets to Warren and Annabelles Magic Night Club (Extremely funny - good food too) which was in Lahaina. We had a little bit of time before the show so we walked along Front Street in Lahaina and got an opportunity to check out the local shops. It was a great day!

It wasn't long before we were on our next adventure in Maui. We got up about 2:15am on Thursday to begin our way up Haleakalā for the morning's sunrise with Diane. Haleakalā, "The House of the Sun", is a dormant volcano and the tallest peak on Maui, reaching 10,023 feet above sea level. We got to the top about 5:30am and sun was expected to rise at 6:25am. It was very chilly up there and extremely windy - Diane was used to it since she lives in Iowa. The wait and weather was worth it - the views were amazing to say the least. I think I easily took 100 pictures that morning. The view was constantly changing as the sun was coming up and the clouds were rolling beneath us. It was also Diane's last day and she was supposed to leave the hotel at 1:00pm to head towards the airport - well after our early sunrise we had a couple hours to spare and she really wanted to see the Olivne Pools (north side of the island). So we went on a quick road trip. It was fun! We are so glad Diane was able to join us on vacation. We rarely get to see her so it was a special treat to be in her company for the week. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting on the patio of our hotel room to catch a few rays and Zzzzs. That evening we hung out at Mom and Dad's room and ordered some Pizza from a local restaurant just a couple blocks away.

Friday was our last day in Maui. The six of us (Mom, Dad, Karl, Audrey, Josh and myself) had breakfast in Mom and Dad's room to clean out the refrigerator. Our flight wasn't until 9:00pm that evening so we had a lot of time to kill since we had to check out of our room at noon. We saw a lot of stuff that day - we went to Iao Valley, a black sand beach just south of Wailea, Peggy Sue's Restaurant, Island Paperie (scrapbook store) and we also checked out a local mall. After all that we headed to the airport to drop off our rental car and get checked in.

Before our trip to Maui I was very worried about the long flight, but I managed really well. Josh and I had a great week and would love to go back some day - there was still so much to see and plus this time we didn't really RELAX like you are supposed to on vacation, nevertheless we still had a great trip.

We send a HUGE thanks to Mom for planning such a special surprise and generously paying for our hotel for the week. We really did have a great time!!!!