Babymoon

MAUI

We recently got back from an awesome vacation in Maui. It was our last vacation before we enter the world of parenting and true responsibility. This will be a long post, but it was such an amazing place I want to tell as much as possible.

First Class
Our flight was upgraded to First Class by my boss as a token of his appreciation for all the work I have done and "not acting pregnant and complaining". You have to know him to appreciate his sense of humor. We had to call 24 hours in advance to upgrade so we crossed our fingers both trips to make sure seats would be available. You can get spoiled in First Class -- free food and drinks, leg room, flight attendants that are pleasant, etc.

Arrival/Departure
As we are driving to our condo, taking in all the landscape, we see all these cars pulled off to the side of the road. Well, we did too and saw a mother whale and its calf. We actually saw whales 2 -3 times daily everyday.

On the last day we left Maui at 10:20pm. When booking the flight it seemed like that was the best idea so we would have full day. We should have known we were in trouble because 1. we never stayed up past 9:30 during our stay 2. The highway streetlights are few and far apart 3. It was our last day so we woke up early to fit in as much as possible. Brent was asleep on the plane before it even took off.

Beaches
The beaches are amazing. You will see white, black and golden sand beaches. You can also lounge, snorkel and bodyboard at all beaches. I have never been to a place that offers so much at one place. Most of the beaches I have gone to you can only lounge or bodyboard but not both. The other amazing thing is the clarity of the water. It was crystal clear. I could see the legs of the people wading in the water when a wave would pick them up.

Ocean Life

Brent and I snorkeled at 3 different beaches on our own and saw colorful fish, sea turtles and untouched corral. Often times snorkeling you would feel like you were right on top of the coral only to swim away and see it was 10 feet below.

The sea turtle I saw had roughly a 3-foot shell. We followed him for 15 minutes as he swam through the coral, surfaced for air and laid at the bottom of the ocean. It was so neat. Brent later saw an even bigger turtle after I returned to the beach. Like I mentioned above we also saw whales every morning from our balcony and then occasionally as we were hanging out at the beach. Our underwater camera did not do justice to the color of the fish or how big the turtles are.

Food
Maui is a place for seafood and fresh fruit. Brent and I went to the grocery store and bought items for breakfast and lunch, but I will have to admit that you can only eat so many ham sandwiches before you need a change. There were also times at dinner that we were just too tired to go out. We ate Domino's one night :)

Below is a picture of an item I ordered at Mama's Fish House. I guess I didn't understand when the waiter said "It's a small fish, so we serve it whole". I was thinking both fillets, but what a surprise! And yes, I did eat it!

Luau
The Luau was a really fun experience. We were welcome with fresh leis and tropical drinks. They cut my lei as a Hawaiian tradition for women that are pregnant. We saw the buried pig unearthed. It was good, but somewhat gross to watch them take it out of the ground. It reminded you that what you are eating was once an animal.

The hula dancers were amazing! I think the women's hips are not connected to their torso. The guys were great too.

Activities
There is so much to do in Maui! I highly suggest getting the book Maui Revealed by Robert Doughty. We found lots of hiking trails and side excursions for beaches, look-outs and food that we would have missed without the book. A few pictures below are from the Nakele Blowhole, Olivine Pools and Hana.

BodyBoarding
Brent was brave enough to body board with some of the locals on Kaanapali Beach. The waves were about 12-15 feet high so I stayed back to video tape. Two demolished body boards later, we have a few good videos and pics.

There are a ton more pictures and stories to tell, but if you can find a good deal to go to Hawaii like we did . . . GO! It is the most beautiful place I have ever been.