Maui Trip: Day 2
On the second day of our trip (our first full day in Maui) we decided to be crazy and get up super early to do to the sunrise tour of Haleakala, Maui's dormant volcano.
We figured, "Hey why not, we'll be leaving at 2:30 Maui time, which is really like 5:30 California time..." however we didn't go to bed until 12:00 (Maui time) so we only got a few hours' sleep. Oh well. We're on vacation, so we can take a nap later, right?
Our tour guide Fred picked us up at 2:30, and turns out there was only one other person on the tour. So it was kinda like having our own private tour of the volcano.
We started with about a 20 minute drive to "base camp," where Fred loaded up our bikes (more on that later) and there were donuts and coffee. At 3 a.m., though, I wasn't really ready for breakfast.
Next was about a 45 minute drive to the top of the volcano, where we waited for about another 45 minutes or an hour for the sun to rise. The point of getting there so early? We realized the benefit of it as tons of other vans and buses filled the top of the mountain. The place was packed!
Our tour guide Fred wanted to make sure we got a good seat ;) The other passenger, Kyle, and I all took a different seat in the van and slept until it was time to go see the sunrise.
So happy to have our Canon G11 to capture these photos! ;)
As you can see, we layered on tons of clothes for the trek to the top of the volcano. It was so cold up there! Luckily there wasn't much wind, but it was odd, considering the temperature down below was in the 70s. I was so glad I had my sweatshirt, scarf, gloves, and Kyle's heavy Yamaha jacket...I needed them all!
Love the fiery oranges and yellows in the clouds as the sun starts to come up...
Peeking over the horizon...
I laugh at how bundled up we were (I was)...ha
You can really see some of the volcanic rock here
Finally time to go down the mountain!
We rode beach cruisers down the mountain (a 16 mile trek altogether). Kyle got to be the "leader," which means he rode in front and got a radio (around his neck). Fred drove in the van behind us (to protect us from traffic) and when lots of cars built up behind him, he'd radio to Kyle to have us move to the right. We'd move over, slow down a bit, and let the cars go by. Then we were free to ride in the middle of the lane again.
It was so cool getting to see some of Maui's "countryside" so to speak...lots of trees, pastures, horses, etc. Fun sight-seeing!
We also stopped periodically so we could take off some layers...because as we rode down, the temperature went up!
Here's a little place we stopped for some breakfast.
Kyle and his breakfast burrito :)
We made a friend...found out she's a local named Cleo
The other person on our tour; she was from Shanghai and her American name was "Keira." Very sweet girl!
Driving past more sugar cane fields on the way home
Once we got back to our resort we decided it was time to try the pineapple and the dragon fruit...yummy!
Can you believe this color?!?
Sugar cane in the raw
You just kinda have to gnaw on it...it's got a sort of bristle-y texture, but as you chew it, the sweet sugary juices come out. Delicious!
One of our best ideas was to buy fruit, crackers, and brie. We snacked on this and most of the time weren't even hungry for lunch! That way we saved some cash and just ate out for dinner.
One of my favorite Maui finds...Hershey's Kisses with Macadamia Nuts! How cute are these!
This beach was recommended to us by our friends (thanks Michelle!) and it turned out to be one of our favorite beaches of the trip! I think you'll see why...
I could not get enough of this gorgeous, crystal clear blue water.
The water was so warm, it only took a matter of seconds to get used to...then dive in!
I could've stayed here all day...and we pretty much did!
More pretty plumeria plants
After a day in the sun, we went back to our resort, showered, and went to Whalers Village, a cool shopping and dining area.
We ate at Leilani's (another recommendation) and it was fabulous!
We ate outside, where we could watch all the people walk by. You can't really tell since it's dark, but the water is just over those green bushes.
This yummy drink was called a Coconut Grove, and it had Macadamia Nut liqueur in it...I didn't know there was such a thing...but it was delicious! And the food here was really good. We'll definitely come back.
And how about some macadamia nut Haagen-Dazs to finish off the night? Only in Maui :)
Maui Trip: Day 3
Our third day started off with an activity I've been looking forward to for a long time...a zipline tour!
We loaded up in a van with about 8 others, and made the bumpy trek up the mountain (the helmets are for the bumpy ride up...that's what our guides told us!), rockin' out to Bob Marley
The journey consisted of 8 different lines, starting with the shorter, slower lines and ending with the longer, faster lines, with a little hiking in between.
My first line.
I told Kyle I wanted to go first, because if he went before me, and then I got scared, I would have no one to cheer me on! ;)
Once I did the first line, all doubt left my mind and the sheer fun of flying through the air and looking at the beautiful views of Maui kept a big smile on my face.
Here comes Kyle!
Trekkin' through the brush
It was an absolutely gorgeous day
Kyle showin' off ;)
My turn!
We stopped and ate lunch at a place overlooking this little valley...beautiful!
We had two guides, Cliff and Kavika, and they were hilarious. They seriously kept us laughing the entire time (which helped ease some nerves at first).
Here's a little live footage of my final zip line!
After our fun day zip lining, we headed back to our resort and hit the beach for a little bit.
That evening, we attended a luau at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.
We got there a little early to look around and get in line.
The resort is beautiful!
We heard that they had warm-weather penguins at this resort, and sure enough, here they are!
Here's their little houses
Lucky penguins!
While waiting in line, we thought we'd snap a few pictures...
In this pic, I played with the color settings on our camera...only blue hues show up...can you tell?
Kyle bought me this little flower...I wore it the rest of the trip :)
On our to-do list for next time...parasailing!
We're glad we got in line when we did...the line was huge! We were about 12th to get in.
Finally they let us in, and we found our seats. We started chatting with a nice couple from Boston in line; they were on their honeymoon, so we sat with them. The couple next to us at the table were also on their honeymoon, and they were from New York. People kept asking us if we were on our honeymoon too...."No, just vacation!" we'd say ;) Although I told Kyle we should've said yes, maybe we could've gotten free dessert or champagne ;) lol
Getting the pig out of the ground
The food was really good, although I have to say I was kinda disappointed in dessert....nothing too extraordinary.
The show was really good! I would definitely recommend this one!
A little glimpse of the show...
The "queen" of the luau
This fire-dancer guy was amazing!! Seriously talented!
Maui Trip: Day 4
On Saturday, we planned a snorkeling trip to Molokini.
We left around 7:30, and the weather was mild and beautiful.
Waiting to board our catamaran, the Lani Kai
Our view of Molokini from land
Setting sail!
One of our guides decided to fish off the back (as we were moving....not when we stopped of course)
He said he catches Ahi tuna, Ono, and Mahi Mahi
He didn't catch anything that day though
Inside the cabin
Approaching Molokini
Some footage of our excursion
You can see all the other boats bringing snorkelers and scuba divers to this popular spot
What's crazy is that the guy driving our boat (the captain?) grew up in Simi Valley! Crazy right?
And...get this...a mechanic that Kyle knows from the racing world was on our same boat with his wife...
all I can say is, it's a small world.
Unfortunately we didn't get any pics of us in our snorkel gear; we were having too much fun!
Next we went to a spot off the coast of Wailea, called "Turtle Town."
We saw four different turtles!
Before we got in the water, we saw a mama and a baby turtle swimming together; and then once we got in, we saw two different ones swimming. They are huge! So graceful too.
A pic of Clint Eastwood's house
Having a little fun...
They had a slide on the back of the catamaran...good times!
This lady was another one of our guides...she had the same camera we have, and she taught me a few things about using it! haha
Trying to get an action shot...
Finally!
Sunbathin'...
Our snorkeling trip was an absolute blast....we saw a ton of fish, and they swam right up to you. We saw a multitude of colors; black, blue, yellow, orange, the blue-and-yellow-Finding-Nemo-kind :)
Once we got to land, I wasn't feeling very well. It wasn't seasickness, but more of a feverish-kind of not feeling good. We went back to the resort, and I rested...and come to find out I came down with a 24 hour flu! :( This was the only little bummer about our trip.
So we rented a few movies and just hung out...and I slept...and slept...and slept.
Maui Trip: Day 5
So my 24 hour flu really did last 24 hours...at least...and even after about 12 hours sleep I didn't feel 100%...but I couldn't bear to be inside any longer so Kyle and I tried to think of something low-key we could do.
It was Sunday morning, so we thought we'd try to find a beach-side church service. Sure enough, Calvary Chapel Westside met right down the road from our resort!
It was awesome! It was similar to the church service in "Soul Surfer" (love that movie!)
As you can probably tell, I'm not feelin' quite like myself
The seats were beach chairs! Isn't that awesome?
Especially for me, feeling sick, I was able to rest my head against the back and totally relax.
The view
Wish we could go here every Sunday! :)
The worship team was really good
Since I still wasn't feeling great, after church we went back to the resort. Kyle picked me up some kids mac n cheese and fries from Duke's, and I slept some more. I felt bad for poor Kyle, but I seriously could barely keep my eyes open! Luckily, on his way back from Duke's, he met a guy giving surf lessons, so after lunch, he headed out and learned to surf. I'm bummed I missed that one (and missed capturing it in pics!) but we definitely plan to do it next time!
After an afternoon of resting, we attempted to go out and walk around downtown Lahaina again.
I felt okay, but was slow moving. This was the only pic we took that evening...in front of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. :)
I was praying I would feel better the next day (our last day)
Maui Trip: Last Day
I was finally feeling a little better Monday morning (our last day), so we decided to go out to breakfast.
A local we met on the plane told us we had to try Aloha Mixed Plate.
Funny name...delicious food!
The view from our table
Aloha!
We went back to Lahaina, and took a walk. We came to this incredible little park filled with banyan trees.
These trees are amazing...some of their limbs grow down to the ground and form new trunks.
The plaque in the park said that there are 16 trunks in addition to the original trunk.
Some of the branches make a nice seat
Crazy!
We took a few more pics near the waterfall at our resort before packing up our stuff....awww....don't wanna leave....
Driving to the airport...we made one more pit stop at a scenic overlook
See you later Maui! Until next time :)
