In March Brian and I were able to go to Hawaii on an adult trip with his parents, sister and brother-in-law, and his brother and sister-in-law. We went to Maui for 7 nights and then Oahu for 1 night. It was SOOO much fun and it was nice to have some adult time (although I did miss my children a TON). The weather was wonderful and the island was gorgeous. I think I could definitely live there at least for a couple years. Here is a little bit about our trip.
We arrived in Maui and hit up the local Costco to stock up on some goods. We then headed to the condo in Kihei. We immediately headed to start booking our excursions. And this is when the fun began. The things we enjoyed:
Body boarding- This seemed to be the hit with everyone (well maybe not my mother-in-law after she took a good spill). Brian and Isaac couldn't seem to get enough of it. They would laugh and giggle like little kids playing in the water. It was super fun though. The only downside is the amount of sand that ends up in your swimsuit. I think I was still cleaning out sand this summer from my swimsuit.
Whale watching-it was the perfect time of year for this. We didn't even pay to go watch any but we saw plenty from the beach. One day we were out body boarding and got to see a mother and baby about 100 feet out from the beach playing. The baby was putting on a show for us and the kayaks that were right next to it. It was awesome. Those animals are amazing.
The Road to HANA- So I would say that we enjoyed about the first and last hour of this drive but not so much the 6 hours in between. We were told to take this trip to Hana because it was so beautiful and don't get me wrong it was gorgeous but the crazy winding roads were too much for me. And then it is talked up about Hana is such a wonderful place and I swear there were only like 2 buildings there. I am still wondering why it is that everyone likes Hana. One thing that was amazing about this trip was the 7 pools. This is a fresh waterfall that spills down into 7 different "pools" which eventually spill into the ocean when there is enough run off. There was only a couple of pools full when we were there because there wasn't much runoff but it was beautiful. The Road to Hana was a good experience but I don't think I will ever need to experience it again.
Luau- Who can go to Hawaii without experiencing a real Hawaii Luau? We went to one in Lahiana. It was a lot of fun and the food was so DELICIOUS!!! I definitely think that I could go to one of these everytime I go to Hawaii. The fire throwing and knives were amazing. It was really cool to watch. And those Hula dancers can shake their hips. I didn't know that it was possible to move like that.
The aquariam- we visited an aquariam on the island. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see the different sea life that we don't have around here.
Pearl Harbor- Our main reason for visiting Oahu was to go to Pearl Harbor. That is why we were only there for a night. And that was definitely enough for me in Honolulu. Pearl Harbor was so amazing to visit. It was very breathtaking to see the monument and read the names of all of those killed there. One of my favorite things to do here was to read the little stories about individual people that they had around the grounds. These stories really made me realize how many different people were affected by this invasion. Another thing I found interesting is that even though it was so long ago that the USS Arizona went down you could still see oil bubbling up from the ship. I was very glad that we took the time to visit Pearl Harbor. It was a very touching experience.
One other thing Brian and I got to do was go out to dinner with my cousin Katrina and her family while we were in Honolulu. They live on the northern side of Oahu and made the drive to Honolulu to come visit and have dinner with us. It was so much fun and their girls are so adorable. Thanks guys!
This is was a wonderful trip and I am hoping to go back soon. I think that I could make it a yearly vacation. Maybe next time we will take the kids because I think they would love it too.
