Hawaii has been on our bucket list since we got married. After years of "not right now", things seemed to fall into place and we finally decided it was time. We were back in the USA, which made the trip a little shorter. Brenna was old enough to appreciate the trip and remember it, and Jacob had racked up lots of air miles thanks to all his international travel with the new job. So, I jumped into action and started planning. It was fun, since it was something completely new and different that I'd never tackled before. After raking through which island to visit, which region of the island to stay on, and what resorts we liked, we settled on Maui! It turned out to be an adventure of a lifetime!
We started our trip with an easy 3.5 hour mid-morning flight out of Houston to Los Angeles. It was my first time in California and the views of the mountains were really lovely as we made our approach. We had a quick 1.5 hour layover in Los Angeles, which gave us just enough time to grab a bite to eat and restock our snack supply for the next flight. Then it was off to Maui!
Coming into Los Angeles
First view of Maui, Hawaii!
We check-in at the hotel just before sunset and were met with smiles and leis. We went upstairs to drop off our luggage and then headed out to explore the grounds of the beautiful Four Seasons Maui Resort. The garden and ocean views from our lanai were gorgeous. We headed down to the sand to walk Wailea Beach and soak up the beautiful sunset. It felt like a prize at the end of a race after our long 14-hour travel day. We headed back up to our room to discover some sweet surprises from the resort and our travel agent. Brenna always collects a stuffed animal from each of our vacations. The Four Seasons had a beautiful stuffed whale waiting on her bed and her name was spelled out in sponges along the bath. We also found a treat of fresh banana bread, oatmeal cookies, and lemonade waiting for us. We slowly unpacked and ordered room service, since the idea of going back out was more than our tired bodies could do and we turned in early.
Despite having been up 22 hours the day before, jet lag hit hard and I was awake at 4:30 in the morning. We lounged in bed for a while, but still got an early start to the day. We had breakfast outside on the patio of the hotel (we ate nearly every meal outdoors thanks to the amazing weather) and we made our way back down to the beach for a morning walk along the Wailea Beach Path. The trail lived up to its highly publicized name and provided some gorgeous views.
Jacob and Brenna headed back to the room to get ready for our morning outrigger tour while I took my time on the way back to snap some shots of the hotel and grounds. Throughout the week I collected lots of the shots of the central fountains because they looked so picturesque from every angle. The resort is at the foot of the mountains on the south side of Maui. The lobby, resort lounge, corridors, fitness center, and all three restaurants are open air. It's cool and breezy and the ocean sounds make it a relaxing environment.
Our first full day on the island did not disappoint. We booked an outrigger canoe tour with the Four Seasons Maui Outrigger Team. Travis and Jimmy taught us the techniques and Hawaiian commands to maneuver an outrigger canoe. We toured the Wailea Beach shoreline with the opportunity to snorkel from the canoe. Travis dove down about 15 ft to retrieve several different species of sea urchin for us to hold and inspect. We were leisurely paddling along when a giant friendly sea turtle popped up and swam right up to our canoe! The pictures don’t do him justice. He was nearly the size of my coffee table! We got to give him a friendly pat on his shell as he swam along side and underneath the canoe. I stuck my camera underneath the water and got some fun shots as he made his way back out into the ocean. We really enjoyed the experience and the amazing scenery. It was a fun way to kick off vacation.
First time dipping our toes in the Pacific Ocean.
Getting trained on proper outrigger techniques.
Check out the sea urchins!
Friendly sea turtle coming in for a visit!
After a quick change we decided to enjoy lunch outdoors on the shoreline at one of the resort restaurants. We ate all of our meals outdoors while we were there. The weather was always beautiful, not too hot and not too cool. No pesky mesquites or bugs to deal with like in Texas. I tried out the local root beer. Some people enjoy a nice mug of beer or others a glass of wine. I prefer a nice cold bottle of root beer and the Maui Brewing Company did not disappoint. I indulged in it's root beer a couple of times throughout our stay along with lots of Hawaiian Sun POG (pomegranate, orange, and guava) juice.
During our down time at the resort, Brenna really enjoyed the All Seasons Kids Club. The club offered activities throughout the day and Brenna enjoyed joining in on activities like gecko hunts, Hawaiian crafts, lawn soccer, scavenger hunts, and capture the flag. She also enjoyed watching the Lighting of the Torches ceremony each afternoon and managed to fit in lots of ping pong and shuffle board in the resorts game room.
The next day we had arranged for a private tour with Hoaloha Jeep Adventures for Road to Hana. Marcus, the owner and our driver, picked us up at the resort bright and early in a rigged out 4-door, 4WD, hard-top jeep for a full day of exploring Maui's east side. Road to Hana is the 52-mile stretch between Kahului to the town of Hana through the lush tropical rainforest. It changes elevation frequently moving along the edges of cliffs to high-up overlooks and then back down to the shoreline. There are 620 hairpin curves along the route with more than 65 one lane bridges that were built over 100 years ago and are still in use. It's a slow-going adventure!
The first stop on our journey was Ho'okipa Beach Lookout where we were able to spot sea turtles sunning on the beach and surfers wiping out in the water. We hiked down to the shoreline and watched the surf come in against the lava rocks and checked out the tide pools.
We also paused along the Road to Hana route for a glimpse of the painted trees, also known as Rainbow Eucalyptus.
Marcus pulled off the highway onto a small dirt road that I would have never noticed if he hadn't made a sudden sharp left to pull in. We toured down through the overgrown forrest until we emerged onto a beautiful pebble beach know as Honomanu Bay where we pulled the jeep right up onto the shoreline. We had the entire bay to ourselves.
At this point we were only about 30 minutes into our adventure. Unfortunately, Brenna (the kid who's been on countless cruises and never had any issues with motion sickness) was starting to look green in the backseat of the jeep because of all the twists and turns. Luckily, I was prepared. Our next stop was Waikamoi Falls, so after a dramamine and a frolic in the waterfall she felt much better and was ready to continue our twisty journey.
We hiked up the waterfall for a glimpse from the top.
We only swam at Waikamoi Falls, but we stopped off to enjoy the view of several waterfalls along the way.
Our next stop was Ke'anae Peninsula. Ke'anae is a small traditional Hawaiian village that's nestled in Maui's north shore and is most know for its black lava rock formations. The waves along this particular stretch of the north shore are known to be treacherous and the village itself, along with 24 residents were wipeout away into the ocean when a sudden tsunami struck the area in 1946 with 35 foot waves. Only the stone Ke'anae Congregational Church was left standing after the tsunami.
More than eight hours after departing for our roundtrip Road to Hana adventure, we returned back to the resort. It really was an amazing day and is definitely one of the best ways to see the true natural beauty of Maui.
Since the previous day was so travel intensive, we decided to stick around the resort and enjoy it's amenities. The resort provided complimentary snorkel gear for it's guests and we enjoyed scouting out the local sea life, but after a while the waves made it hard work. So, we traded in our snorkel equipment for a boggie board and spent the rest of the morning body surfing. There was some significant wipeouts by both Brenna and Jacob. One particular incident nearly caused me to drop my camera into the ocean so I could fish her out of the aftermath of the wave. She did eventually get the hang of it and learned to ride on the wave and not in front of it. We caught a few waves and really enjoyed the experience.
Beautiful start to the morning.
Big waves!
Later that afternoon, we ventured out on foot down to the Shops at Wailea, which is an outdoor shopping area that was just a short walk from our resort. Even the mall itself offered beautiful views of the mountains and beach. The primary objective to was visit The Surfing Monkey, one of Maui's most well known Hawaiian shaved ice shops, because no trip to Hawaii is complete without some shaved ice. It was totally worth it! Nothing (no, not even a New Orleans snowball) compares with this sweet treat. Brenna demolished a snowball that was nearly as big as her head. The ice is so light and fluffy. After our treat, we leisurely toured through the shops picking out souvenirs. The highlight for me was the National Geographic Fine Art Gallery. It was such a photographic treat to see these award-winning National Geographic published photos in wall-sized prints throughout the gallery. Even Brenna enjoyed touring it with me and the gallery director was so helpful and informative, providing the backstories and locations of each of the shots. We finished off our day with dinner at Tommy Bahamas before heading back to the resort.
The next day, we had plans for a Luau that night, so we decided to hang out at the resort again. We started out the morning on the beach with a trip to rocky shore side to explore the tide pools and see if we could catch sight of another sea turtle. We found lots of curious crabs that would scatter with each crashing wave. We basically had the entire beach to ourselves for the morning. In general, we really picked a great time to visit, as most of our trip the resort was never crowded or full. We did notice on our last day, that suddenly public areas and pools were starting to feel full. We caught the last slow week before summer vacation was in full swing. After our beach adventure, Brenna spent the rest of the morning in the kids club enjoying the activities there.
After picking Brenna up from the kids club, we decided to explore the resort. There were so many levels that you need to dedicate a little time to finding all it's hidden gems. The beach at the resort, where we'd spent most of our time so far is stunning, but the resort gardens are equally beautiful. The gardens are on the 3rd floor and fill up the bend of the U-shaped resort. In the corner of the gardens is a beautiful pavilion where we watched a wedding take place from our lanai. Also, tucked away in little alcoves we found grass huts built along the edges of the large central fountain. The huts were very secluded and had hammocks inside. Brenna and I stretched out and hung out there for a while, before we headed back to the room to change and get ready for our luau that night.
Just a few steps from our resort, down the Wailea Beach path is the Grand Wailea which hosts The Grand Luau at Honua'ula. It's a beautiful setting right on the beach. We got there early to watch them dig up the pig and enjoy the setting. The show was great and was a mix between a traditional luau and a cirque-ish type experience. There was the traditional story telling and fire dancing but also men on stilts, hula girls doing ribbon dances while hanging from palm trees, and a dancing cloud. Brenna went on stage and learned the hula. We all enjoyed the dinner. While the pig was certainly the best part of the meal, we also made sure to try some Hawaiian favorites like tuna poke, poi, haupia, and the pineapple upside down cake.
At the luau we sat with a very nice Canadian couple who happened to be from very close to our old city in Ontario. We chatted with them throughout the luau. They were also staying at the Four Season, so when the luau was over we all made our way down the Wailea beach path in the dark headed back to our resort. As we wandered along, I noticed a woman and man coming toward us on the path laughing and generally looking like they were having a good time. She was carrying a bottle of wine and they stepped off the path to make their way down to the beach. After we passed them, my new Canadian friend asked, "Do you know who that was?" I did not recognize her in the dark, but it was Amber Heard. You may know her as Mera from the Justice League movie and co-star of the upcoming Aquaman movie. Or maybe you just know her as Johnny Depp's ex-wife. This was our one and only celebrity sighting, despite being there the same week as the Maui Film Festival.
As we made our way back to the room, I snapped a few night-time shots of the beautiful fountains and beach.
The next morning we were up bright and early to spend the day on a 64' catamaran named Trilogy II for a snorkel tour to Molokini. Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater located just off Maui's south coast. Legends state that Mo’o, a beautiful woman who was also the mythical figure of a gecko, fell in love with a Maui Chief named of Lohiau. Unfortunately the tempestuous volcano goddess Pele also loved Lohiau and in a fit of romantic fury Pele cut Mo’o in two pieces, turned her into stone, and tossed her into the ocean. Today, the head of the Mo’o exists as Pu’u Olai, a cinder cone above Maui's south shore and her tail became the crescent of Molokini.
The crescent shape serves as a natural wave breaker and makes snorkeling easy. The wildlife and coral was plentiful. It was one of our best snorkel adventures. We anchored at two different locations around Molokini. The first spot was shallow water where it started at about 10 feet deep from the rock of the crater out to about 30 feet deep. You could easily dive down to pick up sea urchins and starfish from the ocean floor. The second location was more than 150 feet deep, but the water was crystal clear and you could see all the way to the bottom. A young boy accidentally dropped his snorkel mask off the side of the boat as he jumped from the boats railings into the water. A crew member quickly dived in to try and catch the mask as it sunk, but he could not reach it before it became too deep to dive. We clearly watched as the mask slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean. We had breakfast and lunch on the boat and enjoyed to the whole sailing experience. It was the highlight of the trip for me.
Beautiful morning at Ma‘alaea Boat Harbor waiting to board Trilogy II
Leaving Ma‘alaea
First sight of Molokini as we approached the crater.
Underwater adventure!
Our above-water view from Molokini.
View from underneath our boat.
Sailing back to the shore!
Following the jam-packed day before, we decide to take another resort day to relax and enjoy the views. Brenna started off the morning in the kids club, but later we hit one of the three resorts pools. The pool attendant got us all set up in one of the complimentary poolside cabanas and Jacob did laps while Brenna worked on her hand stands and enjoyed the slide. I settled into the lounger and read while taking in the amazing views. There was literally no where you could look without seeing some of God's best work! We had lunch poolside in the cabana, before Brenna was off again to the kids club for the afternoon activity of Capture the Flag that she was so looking forward too.
My views from the poolside cabana!
After we dropped Brenna off at the kids club, Jacob and I explored the adults pool area. It's on a different level from the other pools and has an infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The effect is stunning.
Since sunning and pool bars aren't really our thing, we escaped away to the hidden hut with the hammock!
On our final full day in Hawaii, we visited Maui Tropical Plantation. The gardens are meticulously manicured and beautifully lush. The plantation sits in the Waikapu Valley and offers stunning views of the West Maui Mountains.
While at Maui Tropical Plantation we ticked off another bucket list item. I've always wanted to go zip lining! But, being a part of the oil and gas industry instills a very high level of safety consciousness. I've never been able to convince Jacob we should do it on any of our others vacations. His primary argument has always been that other countries don't have the high standard of safety requirements and restrictions that the United States does. Well, in Maui he couldn't really hold that argument! So, we zip lined over palm trees in paradise! The views from the platforms were amazing! We zipped through six platforms starting at a height of about 900 feet. The first time stepping off the platform was alittle nerve-racking for me. Brenna, however, barely hesitated and by the end of the runs was zipping across the lines dangling from her harness without a care in the world.
First platform. Jacob took the first step off the platform.
The views of the mountains were incredible!
Not sure if I was more nervous about myself or my camera!
It was a race and she was already declaring victory before we even made it to the platform.
Jacob and Brenna zipping back down to the ground platform.
You can't bend like me!
That's as far as Jacob bends!
After the zip, we headed over to The Mill House for a fantastic lunch made from fresh ingredients gathered from the plantation grounds and enjoyed our last views of the mountains before heading back to the resort. I had the best beef ragu pasta dish I've ever enjoyed!
The Mill House at Maui Tropical Plantation.
Beautiful patio views from The Mill House.
We enjoyed watching the sun set over this beautiful location every evening during dinner. But, since it was during dinner I never had my camera in hand to catch these gorgeous Maui sunsets. So, our last evening I made it a point to set our reservations alittle later so that I could capture the last sunset of our Maui adventure.
Hawaiian tradition says that you should leave your lei in the place that you most want to come back to. We decided to leave our leis on the lanai where we enjoyed our evenings discussing the day's adventures.
The trip back home seemed much harder than the trip there. Going back isn't nearly as exciting as starting a vacation. We flew out late in the afternoon. We had some delays at both airports and were lucky that we didn't miss our connection. I snapped one last shot of the final minutes before sunset above the clouds somewhere over the pacific ocean. It was an amazing vacation that was completely worth the years of waiting. I would love to go back and I hope one day we get the opportunity.
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