Maui Wowie

Day one of a vacation is so full of promise and adventure.  We had finally arrived after so much anticipation and exhausting travel with all the days of our glorious vacation ahead of us to look forward to.  It felt great.  It felt like we were going to be there forever.  I had this moment where I wondered what the heck are we going to do for the next 8 days.  It's a beach vacation so we wouldn't be running around sight seeing all day like we did in Europe last year.  But before long, the days were full and going way too fast.

This vacation was all about taking it easy.  The Hawaii lifestyle suits me.

• We only planned out 3 activities for the week.
• We didn't stay out late.  Our nights actually weren't too different from being at home.  We ate dinner while watching a movie and then we went to bed.  We watched TV in bed before we fell asleep and that was cool because we don't have a TV in our bedroom at home.  The main difference is that our full time day job was being beach bums.  
• I  never felt tired and I loved that.  I was full of energy all day every day from the minute I woke up until I crashed at night after each sun drenched day.
• See those clothes in the closet?  I hardly wore any of them.  I spent 80% of my time in a bikini and wore flip flops every day.  I wore less then half of the clothes I brought.  Maui is so casual and the air so warm that "getting dressed" is something I cared about even less then I do at home.  I can't believe I didn't remember that from Oahu two years ago.
• I brought a plethora of hair products and hardly used any of it.  What the hell do I need with a curling iron in Maui when I'm spending every day at the beach?  I don't even know what I was thinking.  The diffuser however, was awesome.  I had never used one before so I bought one for the trip to test it out.  It was easy to use.  I loved how fast it dried my hair and gave me some nice waves.     
• I didn't wear a stitch of make up the entire time.  There were moments when I thought about how much better my pictures would look if I did.  Oh well.  Screw it.  I'm not a big make up person even at home but I'll usually at least throw on some blush and eye liner.  Maui is stunning, naturally beautiful and the air is positively balmy.  That kind of background makes you feel beautiful.  I let my hair go wild and I felt all glowy from the inside out.  It felt really good being my all natural self.  Putting on make up would have just felt wrong. Plus it's just too warm. 
• This vacation was not at all about culinary experiences.  It was more about getting to the beach.  We only went out to dinner at a restaurant once.  We ate Subway twice and Pizza three times.  After spending all day on the beach snacking and drinking all I wanted to do was shower and relax some more.  Light and simple dinners at home were ideal.

He's on the couch watching football.  I'm unpacking.

Our home away from home

Sunday morning we had a really early flight and got to Maui in the afternoon.  We got a rental for the week because the airport is 45 minutes from the hotel and we figured by the time we payed for round trip shuttle service and one day to rent a car we might as well just get it for the week.  The first thing I did was unpack.  When I arrive I unpack and when I come home I unpack immediately.  That's just how I am.  The first thing Mj did was turn on the TV.  It was football Sunday after all.   We stayed at  Ka'anapali Beach Club in Lahaina on the West side of Maui in a one bedroom timeshare condo with an ocean view and a gigantic bathroom with two sinks.  The hotel was gorgeous.  We had a grocery store and a strip mall with a Subway conveniently located across the street, a beach in our backyard and a perfect breakfast spot within walking distance.  We went and had Pizza and Mai Tai's at the restaurant downstairs.  It's really expensive but they have happy hour from 3-6pm.  I'm not too picky about Pizza but the crust was super hard so it wasn't that good.  It started raining as we were finishing up but in Maui the rain never lasts for long.  We walked to the grocery store in the strip mall across the street to buy snacks and water. 

The next two days were very similar.  Breakfast, grocery store, beach, relax at home.

Monday morning was kind of gloomy so we didn't mind going to an hour long orientation at 10am.  It was in this freezing room, where they ran out of muffins and tried to sell us expensive tours.  At least they had enough coffee.  After sitting through that entire thing we didn't buy a tour or win a door prize but we earned a breakfast buffet voucher.  We saw Slappy Cakes on the way in so we walked there for breakfast and fell in love with the place.  I love the name.  How can you not love a place where your art project becomes your breakfast?  We made all kinds of pancake shapes then stuffed our faces with them.  By the time we went to the beach the sun was out in full force.

Tuesday we used our breakfast buffet voucher which was a really good value because it would have cost us $16.00 each.  There was plenty of seating by the pool but no prime spots near the beach so Mj rented a two seater cabana for $40.00.  I objected like I always do anytime he tries to spend what I consider to be extra unnecessary money but as usual I ended up being really glad he's not as cheap as me.  We had shade and it was so comfortable.  It was like our own little private cocoon and a really nice way to enjoy the beach.  We stared at that view all day long.  It never got old.  The water felt cold when you put your feet in at first but once you got in it was like bathwater.  There are a lot of rocks on that beach.  You can see them through the water.  We realized later there are areas that don't so we stuck to those parts.  Both days were spent lazing about the beach reading, drinking and eating snacks.  You could hop from the pool to the beach and some days we did both but the beach had a better view so we spent most of our days there.

Snorkeling

Mj got his gear from Snorkel Bob's across the street because it was cheaper.  He saw a 4 foot turtle out there.  The water was really clear and he floated above it and watched it eating from the bottom of the ocean.  So cool!!  I wish I could have seen it but at the same time I'm glad I didn't because I'm scared of fish and any and all sea creatures.

The i Pad Mini was perfect.  I read a whole book and tons of magazines.

We never left the beach until after sunset.   They are so beautiful there.   People come out of the wood works to watch and take pictures.  We weren't that hungry for big dinners after all that incessant snacking so Monday we ate meat, cheese and grapes with more wine from the grocery store and on Tuesday we ate Subway.  

Wednesday would be our first planned outing.

Zip-lining in Maui