First we had to get there, that was a feat in itself as we were very far from it. We had a 6 hour flight from RDU to SFO and then what was supposed to be a three hour layover in San Fransico turned into a seven. It was an exhausting day, between the traveling, waiting and going through so many different time zones, by the time we actually arrived in Maui it was 11pm Hawaii time so 4 am our time, so we drove to condo and promptly went to bed.
Day 1: 3/2 Friday
An itinerary of our day in pictures RDU to SFO to Maui
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| Rdu 7am |
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| Sfo 11am |
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| SFO layover hour 7 |
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| SFO finally on the airplane |
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| Unfortunately we experienced some pretty bad turbulence in the air and I got extremely motion sick most of the 5 hour flight from SFO to Maui...so what we looked like when we finally arrived in Maui. |
But after a good nights rest and not really sleeping in...as our biological internal clock was set 5 hours ahead we all woke up early and headed to what it called the "Maui Swap Meet" basically a craft fair/farmers market. We saw so many cool things and had an authentic coconut water and meat tasting.
We went and grabbed some lunch and then went to our first Hawaiian beach! It was so beautiful! The waters are so clear and its different how close the rocks and plants/trees are to the shore A lot different than beaches back here. The water was a tad cold for my taste but the other three didn't seem to mind it...I am kinda a wuss.
But eventually we all got warm laying on the beach and went to the waters. While Colby and Zach were father out in the water, Dallin and I were closer to the shore, probably around mid thigh deep. Dallin joked to Colby that he saw something move and again lots of rocks in the water, so we all thought it was just a rock. But then it actually started to move towards Colby. So she freaked out and started to swim for what looked like her life while the thing made a b-line for Zach. Dallin was panicking but he stood still, I think because fear didn't let him move. I started to panic and yelled at Zach to swim faster. We all made it to the shore with heart rates in the 200s and looked out to see if we could see what had spooked us and out of a wave a sea turtle poked his head out...
a sea turtle...
we then learned that another major difference of Hawaiian waters is the vast marine life. Something that we hadn't really prepared for. But what was a frightening moment turned out to be a hilarious one.
We spent the rest of the day on that beach and later went out to Aloha mixed plate. All food was delicious there just an FYI.
Day 3: 3/4 Sunday
The next day was Sunday so we were able to go to a local wards service for what is known in my family as "discount Sunday" meaning we just stayed for sacrament. Luckily for us, though, it was fast and testimony Sunday. It was fun, every time someone would get up to bear their testimony they would say Aloha and everyone in the congregation would say "aloha" back. Such a happy, friendly, relaxed culture. We loved it! While the language was in Tagalog it was still such a wonderful thing to go do that morning.
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| sea turtle |
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| Have I mentioned I adore him. |
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| Dallin, Colby, me, Zach- we had so much fun with them! |
After beach and cliff exploring we drove down a road not too far away to explore some of the lush forests on the island. It was beautiful and as always the pictures just don't do it justice.
Another fun thing about Hawaii is their local chicken population. While we have possums that are wild they have chickens...absolutely everywhere!
A tree Dallin and Zach climbed...they are both wearing teal if you cant find them in the picture.
Day 4: 3/5 Monday
(Unfortunately I have no pictures from this day as I was asleep for most of the ride due to Dramamine (motion sickness medicine) and then the disappointment from not being able to hike made me not in a picture mood.)
Before we had left I had compiled a list of some of the best hikes to go on while on Maui and the one we chose was called Pipiwai Trail. It is a beautiful bamboo/jungle forest hike on the west side on Mauii, about three hours away from our condo and we had to take a sickening winding road called "Road to Hana". We left around 8am and stopped shortly an hour away for lunch and started our trek on the road to Hana, when we were about 7 miles away from the trail head a gate had been put up saying that road construction was being done due to mudslides that had occurred. We all were pretty bummed to say the least, mostly because we had spent an entire day driving with no sight seeing but on the way back to our condo we stopped at a cliff and explored and watched the humpback whales swim and jump on the horizon. (side info: Oct/Nov to April is whale season in Hawaii, meaning that the humpback whales come in close to the island to have their babies, which is safer than the open sea. So we were able to see on multiple occasions jumping whales and the mist from their blow spouts).
We headed back to the condo after exploring and then went out to a nice restaurant later for dinner. And then spent the rest of the evening going to a beach close to our condo and hot tubbing later that night.
Day 5: 3/6 Tuesday
The next day we slept in and then drove to one of the raved about snorkeling spots on the island, called Molokini bay. It is beach that is an inlet from the ocean so the water stays relatively clear but also calm. The only catch is that it is a very rocky beach and you have to hike a little ways out on the rocks to get out of the shoreline where it isn't as clear. When we had chosen our spot everyone but me went snorkeling. I didn't due to my own fear of the ocean and when I attempted to go I slipped on a rock and cut my bottom pretty badly on a barnacle and decided that blood running into the water was not such a good idea. It was alright though because it started raining after that happened and we all decided to call it a day at this particular spot.
After lunch we headed to the another beach to just lounge, swim, talk and play a game we made up with fallen coconuts that we called "Coconut Pickle". We named it this for the sole reason that one of the coconuts had fallen before having the chance to grow and looked like a pickle. It was similar to bochi ball basically though. We played that and then watched the sun set.
Day 6: 3/7 Wednesday
Our last full day in Hawaii! We woke up and promptly went to the beach. I decided to give snorkeling another try and I am so glad I did! We went to a different beach called Black Rock this time and the water was so beautiful. And snorkeling was so so so amazing! We saw a variety of fish of all colors, a bright red squid, lots of pink and yellow sea urchins and lastly a sea turtle! He swam right under us over and over again (the water was anywhere from 3 feet to 10 feet deep) They aren't the most majestic animals on land but he/she was beautiful in the water.
After snorkeling and laying on the beach the entire morning/early afternoon. We decided to get lunch. While doing my research at home I came across a highly recommended restaurant over and over again called "Mamas Fish House". The only hold up was that it required, usually, reservations weeks in advanced. But I decided to give them a call and see if they had anything open for lunch. Miraculously a party had cancelled 10 minutes before I called and we were able to get their table. It was delicious and beautiful. I don't have pictures but the restaurant was on its own private beach and was open air seating. So you could hear and smell the ocean as you ate. I got the stuffed Mahi Mahi, and I don't even like fish but I liked this one.
After Mama's we decided to go to a downtown area, Lahaina, and walk around. It is a historical town so it was fun to see some of Maui's history such as the banyan tree. This tree is what the ancient villagers used to build their villages under and around. I can kinda see why, can't you?
After walking around Lahaina we headed back to the Condo for some food and took a nice walk on the board walk.
Luckliy our plane was departing at 2pm so we had some time in the morning to hit one more sight seeing spot. We decided to go to a beach, I forget the name, where a ton of sea turtles go to hang out apparently.
How many turtles do you see...or are those rocks?
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