Maui sweet Maui! Our trip to Maui finally came after months of waiting and planning. My Grandma wanted to do another family vacation to Hawaii but the soonest we could all take the time off was this November. The trip was booked in February and the wait to November seemed like the LONGEST wait ever! I was super nervous when this trip was booked because I didn't know if I was pregnant or not. If I had become pregnant in February or early March, the due date would have coincided with the trip and this trip was nonrefundable. Everything worked out the way it needed to for me to be able to go. My OB wasn't worried about me traveling at 31-32 weeks pregnant. Yay!!!
The only problem with this trip is that the one person that really wanted to go and had paid for this vacation ended up not coming. My grandma called me the night before we were to fly out and said she wouldn't be going because she felt like she had the flu and didn't want to fly sick nor get hospitalized in Hawaii. I totally understood where she was coming from but I also didn't want her not to come. It was the saddest thing ever!!! Everyone was disappointed that she didn't come.
Our trip began at 4am on Saturday November 3, 2012 when we had to get up and be to the airport for our 5:50am flight. I tried so hard to be packed, ready to go and in bed by 9pm. It didn't work that way but I did make it to bed by 10pm. Unfortunately, I set my alarm and then thought I used the snooze button but really turned my alarm off. We woke up to my mother in law at our door ready to take us to the airport. It was a scramble to get out the door. We made it to the airport around 4:45am and with plenty of time to spare to catch our flight. My brother, his wife and daughter had all been at the airport since 4am. My parents arrived at the same time as us. As we took off, baby Emma was moving all over the place. Steve and I wonder what kind of things she can feel in the womb with pressure changes. We flew to San Francisco with a hour and a half layover. San Francisco has a whole lot more food choices which gave all of us what we wanted. I got 2 delicious pastries and Steve had a pesto tomato salad. Our flight from San Francisco to Maui was uneventful. We were all so excited to just be in Maui. We split up at the car rental agency which turned out that their computer systems had gone down. It took over an hour to get our car rented. We headed to Kihei to meet my parents at Fred's Mexican Restaurant. I enjoyed the most bland nachos ever while we all discussed what to do. We checked into our condos around 3pm and headed to the grocery store to stock up on food for the week. I had a discount Makai card for Foodland which wasn't very discounted in the first place. Yes we saved money but when Steve and I later ventured to Safeway we learned that Foodland was a rip off and ghetto. Safeway was the only place to shop and was actually nice inside. We hit the beach for a little bit and enjoyed our view from the balcony. I don't think we made it past 7pm that night.
The next day started off gorgeous as usual in Kihei. We were up bright and early with our time difference and the birds chirping away so loudly. I swear they were having contests as to who can chirp the loudest. Steve and I did some more grocery shopping ( our venture to Safeway) where our American Express was denied. I finally called them to verify with them that yes it was us using the card and that yes we were in Hawaii. We hit up the ABC store next to Safeway and bought a bunch of T-shirts and the first of Emma's little dresses. I love ABC stores...they are full of anything and everything.
We made it to the beach after doing our errands and played in the surf. My neice Riley has yet to learn how to swim and would barely come in the water. But she was the ultimate sand baby. I don't think she cared one bit about being covered in sand. And man that little girl can tan! She was a brown nut the whole trip. In the afternoon we had the family come up to our condo for some Bloody Mary's on the lanai. We showed them the little dress we bought Emma.
On Monday we went to Big Beach in Makena where the surf is super big. Back in 2009, Steve and Brett were told that they need to be careful about boogie boarding due to the high rate of accidents at the beach. We arrived just in time to hear the lifeguards message of being careful in the surf and that the waves are more powerful than most people realize and that lots of paralysis and broken necks/backs have occurred on the beach. Good thing I don't and couldn't boogie board! I made it safely out into the ocean without being knocked down by the waves and happily floated up and over each wave. Riley built sand condos with a moat and tried to connect it to the ocean but the waves kept demolishing the pathway. Thank goodness for umbrellas because I don't think I would last in the sun much longer than 20 minutes. I swear I can feel my skin burning unless I am in the water.
My parents, Riley and I went shopping in the afternoon. My parents bought Riley a new swimsuit and Emma another cute dress. I could have bought a dress to match but the tops of those dresses don't fit me in a way I like. We enjoyed another sunset out on the grass area of our condo.
Tuesday November 6 was our 8 year anniversary which we celebrated by hanging out with Riley all day. My parents and Brett and Melanie left at 7:30 in the morning to head up to Haleakala for a bike ride down the crater. We started the morning off right with a nutritious breakfast of champs. We made a pan full of baked bacon that Steve and Riley both chowed down on. Then they had some pickles followed by some fig newtons and some candy. We headed to the beach for some sun and surf time. We were able to get Riley in the water a little bit more than the previous days but to get her away from the beach is difficult.
After some time at the beach, we cleaned up and did some shopping for a swim suit for Steve. We ate lunch at our favorite pizza place, Shaka's Pizza. They had a delicious White Spinach pizza that did not give me heart burn! Riley had a big slice of pepperoni pizza and shared fries with me. It was delicious. After a few more stops at some places for a suit we ended up at Honolua Surf Company. Steve ended up just buying some board shorts. The sales woman was so nice and we ended up chit chatting about how we got married here 8 years ago and how we were going to have Maui Thai for dinner with our family. She suggested trying another place up the road but couldn't remember the name of it. I had to stop by S & Q's shave ice for my favorite shave ice in the world. I don't know what it is about this place but it is the best ever! I always get it with a scoop of vanilla icecream on the bottom and haupia sauce on top with pineapple and sharks blood as my flavors. I can't help but love it. We watched the sunset and Steve gave me a necklace with a turtle and plumeria on it. I love it. When we got back to our room to get ready for dinner, he had a big bouquet of flowers in our room for me. And I only got him a card which he says is fine and that he doesn't need anything. My parents came with us for dinner at Thailand Cuisine. It was a delicious dinner although my red curry wasn't as good as My Thai in SLC. We had some champagne to celebrate the evening with. I haven't had alcohol in the longest time and the little bit that I had I could definitely feel. It definitely didn't make Emma sleepy....she was moving so much!
On Wednesday we headed to Lahaina to do a little shopping and to have lunch at Cheeseburger In Paradise. I love that place and the atmosphere is so fun. We walked the main street and found my grandma a beautiful necklace which we all chipped in on. I found myself a few more Christmas ornaments. I bought a cute tank top as seen in the last pictures.
I wanted to go snorkeling since it was one of the only things I could do while pregnant in Hawaii. We went to a place called Five Graves which was by an old cemetary. The second I put my face in the water I was in awe. There were so many fish everywhere. I saw little spotted puffers, and angelfish. There are so many sea urchins everywhere and the amount of coral is amazing. Steve didn't get in because his snorkel clip broke. When we all got out a green turtle swam up into the cove where we were. I think I snapped at least 50 photos of this little guy. I am just in heaven when I see these guys.
I explored the rocks below the grassy lawn area at our condo with Riley. We saw lots of snails and crabs. We took photos of my belly for our 32 week post. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset again. I don't think I will ever get enough of these sunsets. I wish we had more beautiful sunsets here in SLC and that I could actually watch them all the time.
Our last day in Hawaii, we packed all our stuff up from our condo and moved it to my parents condo which was rented for an extra night. We had so much stuff to move and to pack into our suitcases. We had 5 new mugs and a stuffed coconut tree to pack in our suitcases. It took some strategic packing and using my beach bag as my carry on to get all our stuff in our bags. Once we were done moving all our stuff, we headed to the beach with my parents. Our condo had 2 umbrellas in it and my parents had none. We took them with us but had to return them to the condo by 11. I could hang at the beach every day. We went to Secret Cove with my parents since we hadn't made it there once during our trip. I love that beach! It is so beautiful and this time around there were 3 turtles hanging out in the cove. I had my dad take some pictures of us and then he told us to kiss. Steve is anti PDA but finally kissed me in public. I love these photos!! We went to the end of the road past Makena where the wind never stops blowing. The color of the ocean is so beautiful and makes you want to get in but the lava formations and wind make it impossible. In the afternoon we went back to the beach but I wasn't planning on getting in so I didn't wear my suit. I couldn't handle watching everyone else in the water and me heating up in the sun. So I walked back to the condo and changed into my suit so I could join them in the water. So glad I did. We ate out that night at Fred's Mexican restaurant one last time and then picked up our stuff and headed to the airport. I couldn't leave the beautiful flowers Steve had given me for our anniversary so we wrapped them up with wet paper towels and a garbage bag and hauled them through security.
I wish I could live in Kihei and love it as much as I love it when I vacation. Our vacation came to an end too soon. I really want to get back there before Emma turns 3 so we can fly with her on our laps. Oh I love that place!
