Maui is home. I've been lucky enough to go since I was a child, and it's really the one place that connects me to my more spiritual side. My godfather lives there, and when I was in high school, I spent an entire month staying with him at his cottage. He's been there for me my entire life, and now that he's 70 and is battling health problems, I worry about him so it feels more important for me to see him. He's my partner in crime :) I even thought about moving there after graduation, so Nate and I always joke about my decision to stay in my hometown and marry him (which was a very wise choice by the way). Anyway, so many of my fondest memories are tied into this island, so I know I'm extremely biased when I tell you that out of the two I've visited, Maui is and always will be my favorite. The entire island has scenic views of the ocean, but whenever we go, we set up shop in Kihei. This trip, my godfather let us stay in a condo, and I can still sit here as I type and hear the sound of the waves crashing outside our window. I slept like a baby the four nights we were there! In fact, since coming back home, I've had insomnia and I think one reason is because I miss that indescribable white noise.
Maui is much more laid-back than Oahu. This is good and bad, depending on your personality and what it is you're looking to get out of a vacation. If you want a more quiet place to relax and enjoy a romantic time with your partner, then Maui it is. There's a reason why so many couples get "Maui'd". I'll never get tired of visiting every couple years. If we could go more often, we would!
Now onto the pictures, which again are not doctored. Enjoy!
When you're in Maui you have to:
Go snorkeling. We went to Molokini this time, which was slightly traumatic for a non-swimmer such as myself. Yeah, I love the ocean and I can't swim. Go figure. My personal favorite place to snorkel is Honolua bay. It's calm, protected, and easy for everyone.
Visit the shops at Wailea, including taking a little self-guided tour of the Grand Wailea hotel.
Grab happy hour at The Seahouse overlooking Napili Bay. Cheap apps and drinks that don't taste cheap!
Visit these restaurants for great food - Cafe O' Lei, 5 Palms, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Go to Local Boys for shaved ice. Trust me on this. You'll see shaved ice stands everywhere, but Local Boys is the absolute best. I get mine with ice cream on the bottom.
Go the BACK way to Hana to see the famous black sand beach.
Wake up before the crack of dawn and travel up to Haleakala to watch the sunrise. I've done it twice. It blew me away. Just don't jump around too much. The elevation is so high that I nearly fainted once.
Iao Needle, or as we like to call it, the giant green phallic symbol :) Wear bug spray though.
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I'm sure many of you have already been to Maui so I might be preaching to the choir here. And I'm not sure how this happened, but google took one of my photos and turned it into this, which I am going to proceed to print soon.
Are you ladies ready for some style posts? That's coming next week! Thank you for humoring me while I've played wannabe travel guide/wannabe Hawaii expert. You guys are awesome :)
