Aloha! Maui - Part 1

Aloha! You know what is uber depressing? Two weeks ago my Hawaiian vacation was just starting... and now I am sitting at home dreading going back to work tomorrow... seriously, I'm sitting here eating cookie dough (feeling like Bridget Jones) and getting myself all sad.  I've been trying to get Miguel to move to Hawaii and have the two of us start up a food truck and live a low-key, stress-free, Hawaiian life, but he's not that in to it ;) 

So, yeah. This year my family vacationed in Maui. Um. I feel totally spoiled. I think I really should start out this post by expressing how grateful I am to my parents for always taking us to such amazing places and for being overwhelmingly generous. 

When I was born my dad was finishing up seminary and supporting a wife and two small children. During most of my childhood my dad worked in ministry. Throughout my life my parents made sacrifices for our family that I am only really starting to appreciate now. Though we were never swimming in pools of gold, I never, ever was in need of anything. In fact, I always felt very spoiled. My dad always put value in traveling with the family, and by the time I started college I had traveled all over the states and been to Europe many times. I have experienced so much because of my parents' generosity, and it is because of them that we got to build new memories together this year in Maui. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really do feel spoiled beyond belief that I got to take this trip and even now as I try to recount it all I feel as though I should pinch myself! Anddd I wouldn't even be writing this if it weren't for my parents... and my sister...

You see, this whole trip began with my sister, Sarah. She and my brother-in-law, Jared, decided they wanted to take a trip to Hawaii to celebrate their thirtieth birthdays this year. Originally they asked my parents to travel to Seattle to babysit my niece, but that somehow developed into the five of them going to Hawaii together, and then my parents had the foresight to know that I would feel very left out and suggested that the whole family make Hawaii our vacation spot this year. Um, yes please! Also, besides being the brains behind the idea, I feel that I should also give a "thank you" and shout out to Sarah for playing travel agent. Sarah did the majority of the research for this trip. It's such a treat to just show up and have everything all planned out for you! She also has written about our trip and has been way more on top of things than I have, so if you want to read about our trip at a faster pace check them out here! I'm borrowing her format of breaking down our trip into multiple blog posts. There is just too much to write about to fit it all in one, and I seem to have a hard time limiting how many photos I had and how much I gab etc.


WHERE WE STAYED

Our family stayed on the south end of Maui in the Wailea-Makena area. We rented a villa in a community called Ho'olei. Ho'olei is right across the street from the Grand Wailea Resort and The Four Seasons. We really enjoyed both the resorts and their amenities, but it was so nice not to be staying in a hotel. (Um, but I would 100% stay in either of those resorts just to be clear). The villa set up just works much better for our family. We all had our own space to retreat to and relax in but it was also great to have common space to spend time together. The villa also felt much more private and isolated and gave us a break from the crowded resorts.

Our unit was at the top of the development (which wasn't my favorite when walking back from the beach) but it was the best because it provided us with 180 degree views of the ocean and mountains! And just in case you are looking into purchasing a unit to own, that is about a 1.5 million dollar view compared to the unit on the tier below. If only I could win the lottery... which I don't play. So if any of you happen to come into loads of money and buy a place in Maui, please, oh pretty please, let me come visit! 

An outside view of the lanai

The property's best feature was definitely the lanai! It was almost 700 square feet of outdoor space with smack-you-in-the-face views. We had stretches of ocean, Lana'I to our right, Kano'Olawe (a barren island that the government used to use as target practice for bombs-kinda sad, but it produced beautiful red landscape views) and Molokini Crater to our right. Both sides of the lanai that led into the house were walls of glass that all slid open. At any given time during our trip you would find many a family member out on the lanai sitting and admiring the view, taking a nap, eating a meal, or chatting. I've never wanted to spend time in a place more than I wanted to be on the lanai during this trip. The weather in Maui is of course beautiful, and there are no bugs, so it was really just ideal.

Southwest view from the lanai

Kaho'Olawe in the background, Molokini crater in front with all the boats.

One afternoon I caught a rainstorm over Kaho'Olawe. I thought it was so cool to see rain surrounded by gorgeous sunshine!  That was part of the draw of sitting on the lanai. You never knew what kind of view you would get. Some days you couldn't see Lana'I in the distance at all, other days you could see the windmills on the western part of Maui, and it was always fun to watch the boats take snorkelers out to the crater. 

Molokini Crater (clearly I did not take this photo)

DAY 1

Let me start off by saying that it takes a longggg time to actually get to Hawaii from the East Coast. We arrived in Maui around 8 PM local time, which is 6 hours behind EST. We were all exhausted once we arrived and since we had to wait for Sarah, Jared, and Karis to land from Seattle we stayed in a hotel near the airport for our first night on the island. Sarah, Jared, and Karis's plane was delayed 3 hours (parent awards to Sarah and Jared for surviving that ordeal with a toddler!) so Miguel, my mom and I all crashed in bed and slept very well until the morning.

In the morning I woke up super exited to get going. Ohh the first day of a vacation is always the best! I love that feeling of a whole adventure at the tip of your toes, not a worry about real life in your head, only exciting things to look forward to!

Being in Maui is super awesome, but I was most excited to get up and greet the cutest little thing on the whole island, my baby niece! Ummm, HELLO ADORABLENESS! I don't get to see my west coast family often so spending a whole week with them is beyond great!

Smallest, cutest little Tevas!

Frustratingly toddlers need to take naps. Humph. So while the cutest thing to hit Hawaiian soil was sleeping under Lolly's watch, the rest of us headed out to a local Swap Meet. Dad bought some of the most amazing flowers and breakfast for us from the swap meet earlier in the morning and we all jumped on the chance to go back with him and check it out for ourselves. There were tents of vendors selling jewelry, produce, clothes, chotchkies, etc. and food trucks selling local favorites, tacos, and shaved ice. We all tried some shaved ice in Hawaiian flavors (yum!) and even shared a coconut.

Sarah and I also purchased some fun Christmas Tree ornaments made from dried flowers to add to our collections.

After we went back to the hotel and collected Lolly and Karis, we packed ourselves tightly into the car and drove down the Hana Hwy to Mama's Fish House for some lunch. Our first day was kinda gray and rainy, but as soon as we walked down the path to our lunch destination it really started to feel like Hawaii (or my idea of Hawaii) for the first time. 

We had our first taste of Hawaiian fish and filled our bellies up! Karis had fun watching the birds fly in and out of the restaurant (that sounds like it could be dirty, but it wasn't that kind of restaurant, it was actually really nice) and had fun taking turns walking on the beach with family members in an attempt to entertain her while the rest of the family ate. 

The food was realllly good. Man, looking at these pictures of the food really wishes I was back there again. It all was so tasty. We really ate so well during our trip.

With full bellies and happy hearts we headed to our villa. The rest of the afternoon we settled in and made several trips back to the hotel to pick up all our luggage.

We had early bedtimes as we were all still adjusting to a new time zone and the guys had to wake up very early the next day for a fun adventure! More to come soon, but I'll wrap up this post with the glorious sunset view from our lanai. Great photo, Jared!