Our long awaited vacation finally arrived - Josh and I had been planning our Maui "anniversary" trip since the beginning of this year and by the time it rolled around, it was MUCH needed! We weren't able to go on our actual anniversary due to scheduling conflicts, so we chose to kill 2 birds with one stone - our 5th anniversary & Josh's 35th birthday! We had plans worked out for the kids, half of the time with Josh's parents & half of the time with mine, so it wasn't too overwhelming for either pair.
We boarded our plane on Monday night - we left McCarran and flew directly to Honolulu, Oahu, before catching our connecting flight to Maui.
We reached our final destination early Tuesday morning and after grabbing breakfast at a local cafe 'Marco's' we loaded up with bottles of water & jumped on the Hana Highway to get our vacation started.
We stumbled upon this hidden little graveyard - the headstones were very old and weathered, and written in an unknown language, pretty cool.
Once we hit the official 'Road to Hana', the density of the rainforest change dramatically - there seemed to be waterfalls around every turn, and if you've been on the Road to Hana, you know that's A LOT! The road follows the North Eastern edge of the island - the views are nothing less than spectacular. The road narrows to single lane bridges around each bend, making it a very dangerous drive for anyone going slightly over the very slow speed limit of 15! It took us almost 5 hours just to reach Hana, but we took many pit stops along the way, whether it be a view directly from the road or a short hike in to see some beautiful waterfalls.
While researching, I stumbled upon a short little hike through a lava tube that led to some secluded waterfalls, so that was MUST stop along our drive. It's hard to tell, but in the picture below I'm sitting directly in front of the "hole in the wall" you have to climb through!
Once we reached Hana, our first stop was the Wai'anapanapa State Park, best known for its beautiful and expansive black sand beach. Along one side of the beach, there are remnants of a lava tube that we were able to walk through to view the ocean out of the other side.
Our next stop was a few miles up the road to a little hike to find a hidden red sand beach. Unfortunately, as soon as we found the beach, so did the rain - it POURED, by the time we made it back to the car we were drenched from head to toe!
Soaking wet, we found the nearest covered place to eat, Hana Fresh - as soon as we sat down, the rain subsided and the sun returned! The 'restaurant' was more of a food stand, but their food far passed our expectations - Josh got fresh fish & chips while I opted for the Ahi Poke with brown rice.
We continued our drive along the Hana Highway until we reached Haleakala National Park, home to the Ohe'o Gulch Pools, most commonly known as the Seven Sacred Pools, and the Pipiwai Trail Hike.
We decided to do the hike first - we loaded our backpack and started our journey up the mountain. It was one of the most beautiful and most diverse hikes I've ever been on - we started in the rainforest, walked on lava flows, over banyan tree limbs, crossed several bridges, walked through a bamboo forest, all the while snaking along the edge of a babbling stream, and ending at a beautiful and HUGE waterfall. The hike was a total of 4 miles, but fairly easy, only taking us about 2 hours to complete.
After the Pipiwai Trail, we took the Kuloa Point Trail to take a dip in the Ohe'o Pools - the water was so refreshing after hiking most of the afternoon, especially with such high humidity!
We hopped back on Hana Highway to finish our loop around the Eastern part of the island. Before we got to the brown, desolate, and what seemed like deserted, side of the island, we stopped for a fresh coconut to sip on during the last leg of our drive.
The difference in topography between the North side of the volcano and the South side is jaw dropping, we felt like we were driving on Mars! We drove along the edge of a cliff, sometimes turning into a dirt road, which opened up to pastures filled with cattle owned by the nearby ranches.
We finally arrived at our condo at Ekhai Village in Wailea and cleaned up before heading to Coconuts Fish Cafe for dinner, highly recommended!
Wednesday morning we enjoyed the view from our balcony before heading into Lahaina for breakfast.
We ate a Betty's Beach Cafe and had a killer view of the ocean - the food was very good, but the Bloody Mary was definitely lacking! What I love most about Hawaii is that everything is open air, from the airport to the restaurants, you always feel like you are outside.
After stuffing ourselves, we decided to take a tour of the Western side of the island. Our first stop was Makalua-Puna Point, also known as Dragons Teeth, just North of Ka'anapali. On the short walk down to the point, we passed the Honohakua Preservation Site, containing over 900 ancient burial spots dating between 610 and 1800 - Hawaiians believe that from this place, ancestor spirits continue to watch over the land and its people.
Dragons Teeth was our final destination on the hike, originally shaped by the wind sweeping over the point caused the lava to harden in an upward and jagged fashion, similar to sharp teeth, thus the name. It was created by one of the last lava flows on Maui, but is much lighter in color and denser than the rest of the island from hundreds of years of salt spray whitening the lava, even eroding holes through some areas.
The scenery became much more green as we continued our drive North towards the Nakalele Blow Hole.
We parked along the edge of the highway and took the short walk down to view the blow hole, which was caused by the ocean wearing away the shore below the lava shelf, allowing the high tide and strong surf a passage through to the top of the lava.
In the video below you can see a giant wave crashing onto the shore, on the left of the frame you will see the blow hole spout out a few times in succession - the sound on the video doesn't even do it justice. We sat above the "wet area" on the lava flow for quite some time just listening to the ocean crash into the rocks.
Our next and final stop was to swim in the Olivine Pools, unfortunately the ocean was much too rough because of the impending tropical storm in the area (just downgraded from Hurricane Guillermo), so for our own safety we opted to stay out of the water.
After hiking back up from the pools, we took the very windy one lane (yes, ONE LANE) Kahekili Highway for nearly 10 miles before making it to Waihee and jumping on the freeway back to Wailea. Once back on our resort, we decided to do a bit of exploring. The grounds around our condo were very lush and beautiful, full of many different kinds of exotic plants & flowers.
We found this little guy on the stairs to our door and saw him almost every day during our stay!
After playing on the beach, we relaxed back to the condo before cleaning up and heading to dinner. We decided on 'Sarento's on the Beach', beautiful view and really great food - Josh and I both ordered the Grilled Hawaiian Ahi and were very impressed!!
Thursday was our day of rest - we slept in, grabbed breakfast on the beach in Lahaina, and wandered around Banyan Tree Park. The park is centered around a GIGANTIC Indian banyan tree, planted in 1873, which now spans .66 acres! The Old Fort & Lahaina Courthouse are also located in the square, now converted into a gift shop and art museum, so we did a bit of browsing.
Our next stop, Hale Pa'ahao, meaning 'stuck in iron house' in Hawaiian, is the old prison originally built in 1852. I have a 'thing' for visiting old prisons, so I definitely couldn't pass this one up!
Inside the 'cell block', old letters were posted from people who served their sentences in this prison - it sounded much more like paradise than expected, fresh fruit & fish daily, free roam of the yard, and use of alcohol and tobacco!
That afternoon we relaxed on the beach, body surfed, and enjoyed the peace & quiet.
Originally we planned on cooking, but by the time dinner rolled around, we decided on burgers instead. We grabbed our food from Stewz Maui Burgers, made with all local ingredients, and found ourselves a great spot on the grass to watch the locals fish and the sun set.
EARLY Friday morning we met with our captain, Killer, from Start Me Up Fishing Charter and made our way to the open ocean to catch some fish! We got to watch a beautiful sunset and lucked out with great weather, unfortunately the luck stopped there, we didn't get one single bite.
I was really disappointed overall with the lack of fishing on our charter, but we did get to see a giant pod of dolphins, which almost made up for it.
After our uneventful morning, we took to the beach.
That evening, Josh, the birthday boy, opted for dinner at home - we took a trip to the store to buy some fresh fish and all the fixin's to make a salad. I seared Ahi and sautéed Maui onions, while Josh BBQ'd Opah, also known as moonfish - both turned out delicious!
Saturday, our last full day on the island, we went on a snorkeling adventure with Blue Water Rafting. Our captain, Joe, and tour guide, Teddy, made our experience. They explained the different formations caused by the volcano on the island, as well as all different sorts of wild (and sea) life.
Our first stop out of Kihei was along the Southeastern coast to see the different aged lava flows and the cones that formed them, ranging anywhere from 200 to 600 years old. Captain Joe explained how lava tubes are formed, like the remnants of the one pictured below... on a day when the ocean is calm, they actually drive the boats through the tunnels! The ocean was quite turbulent that day, from the nearby tropical storm, which made our ride very rough - the front of the boat was called the "rodeo zone" and it lived up to it! We were facing 8-10 foot waves, and crazy winds, which just added to the experience - I don't think I've laughed so hard (or screamed so loud) in a long while!
WE SAW A MONK SEAL - one of the most endangered species in the world, with an estimate of only 1,100 left in the wild.
Our first snorkeling stop was in La Perouse Bay, where we ate breakfast, before diving in to see all of the beautiful sea life.
Teddy pulled these little guys out of the water for us to examine - the red, a pencil urchin, & the black, a collector urchin - we were able to hold them, and believe it or not, you could feel the urchin crawling very slowly across your hand!
Our next stop was Molokini, a crescent shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater, which hosts a lush reef with a large variety of fish species, and the clearest water I have ever seen, with visibility as deep as 150 feet!
We saw too many different species of fish to name, ranging anywhere in color from yellow to purple - they all were very exotic and beautiful. Our most unlikely swimming partner was a Japanese Moray Eel, nearly 7 foot long!
Our last stop was along the shore of Makena Beach State Park to eat lunch & swim with green sea turtles - and did we ever! We found a cove FULL of turtles, ranging in size from 2 foot to 5 foot long - they were the most graceful creatures I have ever seen.
At the end of our 6 hour adventure, we were exhausted! After a long nap, we spent our last afternoon at the beach, enjoying the warm water temperature and crashing waves.
Saturday night we celebrated Josh's birthday, Hawaiian style, at Humuhumunukunukuapua'a's. Instead of ordering our dinners, we opted for the Chef's 4-Course 'Tasting on a Whim' with wine pairings - we figured who better than to chose your food! We each got 2 appetizers, a main course, a dessert, and glass of wine to go with each.
The view from our table was like heaven on earth! We were seated at the edge of the palapa, which sat over top of a million-gallon salt water lagoon, looking out on to the beach.
Our first appetizer was 'Carpaccio of Japanese Hamachi' - amazing!
Next up... 'Seared Day Boat Scallops' served over a crispy potato cake - delicious!
My main course was 'Crispy Mahi Mahi' served with forbidden rice and book choy - heaven!
And Josh got 'Hawaiian Ono' - super yummy!
Dessert came out as the sun was setting, we couldn't have asked for a more breathtaking view.
Our desserts were 'Coconut Panna Cotta' ...
& 'Chocolate Peanut Auka Kula' ... both devine!
On Sunday morning, we slept in & dragged our feet, not quite ready for our vacation to be over, but definitely ready to get home to see our babies! After washing all of our laundry, I got our suitcases packed and loaded into the car. We headed back towards Kahului for breakfast - we ended up eating at a little hole in the wall cafe 'Paia Bay Coffee', the patio made for a great atmosphere and the perfect spot to people watch - the food was quite good, too! I think my coke can was made for our trip... to share with my 'Better Half' - we couldn't have ended our trip on a better note!
After dropping off our rental car, we were shuttled to the airport to catch our connecting flight to Honolulu.
From there, we boarded our final flight of the trip, back home to Vegas - the Hawaiians even name their airplanes!
The perfect way, to end our perfect week together in paradise.
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