Lent Day 29: Hawaii Day 5/Home

I'm sitting on the plane, approximately three hours from Anchorage. Isn't technology amazing?

Today was our last last day in Hawaii. Luckily our flight wasn't until this afternoon,  so we had some time to lounge by the beach (completely ignoring the threat of a 3 foot tsunami wave) and the pool.

And as much as I like getting up in the morning and putting my swimsuit on right away, I'm glad I can get up tomorrow and not slather myself in spf 30.

Lent Day 28: Hawaii Day 4

Today is our last full day in Hawaii and we are going out with a bang. First up today was surf lessons. I'll be honest, I was nervous, but thankfully we had an awesome teacher and it was super fun. We even saw Steve Carrell.  Did you know he has a hot wife?

After surfing we headed up the coast a little bit for snorkeling. 

Not a bad place to wait for the snorkel boat

It was really windy but we saw whales and dolphins, and lots of fish! Thankfully none of them tried to touch me. Gross. I also serendipitously ran into my friend and former coworker,Kristen Haddon, on the boat! Turns out Maui really is a small place.

Fish from the glass bottom boat

Tonight is taco Tuesday and tomorrow I'm going to cry myself all the way back to reality.

Lent Day 27: Hawaii day 3

Today started off with another harrowing drive on the Hana Highway, we were headed around the island to our new lodging in Wailea.

If you are going to plummet to your death, this isn't a bad way to go.

It was off and on raining all day, so the top had to stay on the rental jeep. Probably a good idea since the birthday boy and I both got a sunburn yesterday. Oops.

We drove to the top of Haleakala crater (10000 feet!) where it was freezing, windy, and rainy, but still very cool, then back down to sea level. It was really interesting to see a different part of Maui- less tourists, more cows.

Tomorrow is surfing and snorkeling!

Lent Day 26: Hawaii Day 2

Today's weather forecast didn't look promising. Frequent showers, mostly cloudy. Thank goodness it was wrong.

Not a bad view to wake up to.

This morning we drove out of Hana to Halekala National Park and went to the seven sacred pools (which have a real Hawaiian name that escapes me) and then hiked to a very tall and apparently hazardous waterfall. Afterwards we went to Hana Bay for lunch and a swim. Last trip of the day was to a lava tube. (Lava tubes are formed when the outer layer of lava hardens as it is flowing, creating a cave.) Best part of the lava tube, besides the super cool geology- finding 13 dollars in the cave.

Tomorrow we're off to the other side of the island!

Lent Day 25: Hawaii Day 1

So far the trip to Hawaii has been awesome.

 

We landed in Maui about 1:30 to partly cloudy skies. Stopped at Safeway for snacks and beer, and started our drive to Hana.

The drive to Hana was gorgeous and harrowing. Shout out to the beau for  conquering all those one lane bridges. We saw the ocean, waterfalls, and lots of chickens.

I'm currently sitting on the back porch of Tutu's house, listening to the ocean (because it's too dark to see) and waiting for the thunderstorm to start back up. Life is good.

Lent Day 4: Vacation!

Three weeks from today my Gentleman Caller (GC) and I will be relaxing in seats 21E and 21F on our way to Maui! (Hopefully sipping our complementary mai tais.)

I'm sure we'll look this classy getting off the plane.

I could not be more excited. Going on vacation, particularly to tropical destinations, combines a lot of my favorite things: Relaxing, fruity cocktails, beaches, swimming, planning, you know, the usual. I think I might like vacation planning just as much as going on vacation. And lucky for me, GC agreed that I could/should be in charge of planning. So, of course, I went to the library and checked out a million books, in addition to digging through the bowels of the internet and bugging everyone I know who has been to Maui. This will be my first trip to any of the Hawaii islands, and GC's first trip to Maui, so I want to see/do all the fun stuff we can. Does anyone have any hidden treasures we should definitely see/do/eat?