Chad and I wanted to go to Hawaii. Who doesn't? So we decided to motivate us to pay our student loans off quickly, we'd save the trip as a reward for paying the loans off. Then in Jan 2012 my boss pulled me aside and asked me what I thought about an idea he had: in lieu of a Christmas bonus the following year, he'd send us to Maui for a PA derm conference. What?! What was I supposed to think? Of course I was excited and asked Chad what he thought about going to Hawaii before we paid off the loans. He looked a little disappointed in me. Haha! Til I finished by telling him about Dr Young's very generous offer! (Have I mentioned I have a very thoughtful and generous boss?) He quickly agreed that, yep, we'd just have to make an exception, and began planning for the following year. That brings us to Jan 2013
And we were found in Hawaii... for the first time!
The vegetation is crazy here! They have trees that grow like weeds, bamboo forests that knock and make eerie noises in the wind, Massive trees called Banyan trees that can form a huge forest and yet be just a single tree. Bizarre and so very cool.
There were massive waterfalls that were sadly just too big for my old school camera to capture. So here are some pix of the smaller ones. I loved the sounds in Hawaii! As I mentioned, the knocking bamboo trees (Haleakala- such a fun little jaunt), the waterfalls were also musical and of course the sound of the ocean crashing against rocky beach has to be mentioned.
My first introduction to Hawaii? The road to Hana. That's where we stayed for the first several days. ooooooh what were we thinking? Our flight got delayed out of San Fransisco (never fly out of San Fransisco... the fog delays everything!) so we got rerouted through San Diego and had to run pretty close to a mile across the airport to make our connecting flight. We were pretty sure our luggage wouldn't make it. But it did! We got in to Kahului around midnight and still had to get our car and make it to Hana. We were exhausted! And the road... holy switchbacks! Can we just say carsick and be done with the story? Ugh. We got to our place about 2 in the morning after traveling all day. A bed has never been a more welcome sight!
We spent the first several days of our trip running from beach to park and back again. We couldn't get enough of the scenery and the boogie boarding. Though I do have to say my sinuses were rebelling against the very high concentrate saline rinses they were getting so frequently!
Oh Hawaii I miss your food! The coconuts were humongous and the avocados... to die for! 10 cents for a banana?! The trick is to hit the little secluded roadside stands. I tried guavas for the first time and if you get a good one, they're so good! I also very bravely tried some snot fruit... aka, hmmm I don't actually remember the real name of it. It should be snot fruit as that is much more descriptive. I coulda done without. Shudder.
It was easy to understand how people live off the land down there. There are so many fruit trees producing so much abundance all over public land. And the weather is so mild and warm that shelter is more a luxury than a necessity. We met someone who's sole possession was a fish spear! Very tempting :)
We went to the Lava Tubes out in Hana. Eh. Something I never really need to do again. Too much touristy, not enough adventure.
Blow Holes = Coolness
This was such a beautiful hike! It went along the cliffside and beach and there was so much gorgeous scenery. We started at Waianapanapa Park and hiked South (I believe, though anyone who knows me knows how directionally dysfunctional I am). Gorgeous!
Saw some cool wildlife. Though this crab was actually dead, it posed well for the picture though! We went snorkeling a few times and tried to hit the locals spots rather than the tourist spots. This was well planned and we got to avoid lots of crowds and see lots of fish. I saw a massive sea turtle walking along the beach one day as well, but of course, didn't have my camera.
Some people were adventurous enough to go cliff jumping at the Pools of O'heo (the 7 Sacred Pools). Not me. Alas. I may have disappointed some people that day!
The famous Banyon tree. Once again, my camera failed to capture the essence. Boo.
After several days in Hana we went to Kahului for the conference. Dr Young put us up for 3d and 4 nights at the Grand Wailea! The grounds were spectacular with a private beach and amazing system of pools (here's where I really wished the kids had been with us!) This was where we got to play tourist. We ate at some fabulous local spots that I think were hands down better than any tourist trap (Aloha Mixed Plate... oh my goodness!), Went to a luau in Lahaina and a magic show called Warren and Annabelle's. This was hilarious! I did NOT expect the comedy act to accompany the magic. It was so fun! And look who got to be a volunteer from the audience! Totally out of my comfort zone. I was glad to sit back down and watch :)
It really was a very fun time but 10 days away from the kids was a little much. We were excited to come home and see them again. And oh my goodness, what a sweet reunion it was! Jaedyn in her 4 year old excitement could hardly contain herself. Lilia, at first walked calmly into the room and looked right at us for several long seconds before she reacted at all. She grinned from ear to ear and came running. Neither child wanted us to put them down. Sigh. It felt good to come home.
