Tuesday Travels - Hawaii

Ok, do you know how hard it was not to talk about my upcoming trip to Hawaii?! It was so worth it, though, because my mom was truly surprised.

We spent a nice long week in Maui, exploring and staying in different parts of the island. I did quite a bit of research and puzzle pieced the lodging and activities together. Here's a little map I created with advice from fellow bloggers. The numbered stars are the places we stayed in order.

*click to enlarge

We arrived on the island around 5pm. After getting the car rental and driving from the airport (it's labeled "groceries" at the top) and driving to the northwest side, we just barely made it in time to try and watch the sun set on the beach. Try being the operative word, due to mother nature hiding it behind a wall of clouds.  Our hotel ended up being quite a bit further north than I expected. Their address said Lahaina, but they were actually just south of Kapalua. Although that added quite a bit of extra driving between activities, the beach that was just outside our door ended up being one of my favorites. 

Day 1 (also May 1): The first morning we woke up in Hawaii, was my mom's birthday. We took our time getting around and decided to go explore Lahaina. I'm not a big shopper, but I was on the lookout for a couple of gifts. I also ended up buying myself a pair of earthy wooden chopsticks that I was hoping to christen on our trip. When hunger struck, there was no sushi in sight, however we did find a tiny out of the way Thai restaurant that did not disappoint. I'm glad to hear that mom has decided she likes curry. We split spring rolls and a yellow curry dish. They also make their Thai tea from scratch so I ordered a glass to share. The owner brought us the traditional one, plus a lime (instead of milk) version on the house. My favorite part of the town was the banyan tree park. I felt so jealous of the kids climbing on it, but I was a good girl and obeyed the 'no climbing' signs.

We stopped at a random beach on the way back to the hotel. I received lots of fore warning about leaving your belongings on the beach while you get in the water, so I stayed with our stuff and sun bathed a bit. Mom enjoyed her time getting wet. 

 

When we got back to the hotel, I had this urge to go jump in the ocean real quick before we had to start getting ready for our big night. Mom was up for it so we took only the room key and headed to our sweet little bay. While we were wading, we saw turtles!! Not sure if there were multiple turtles or the same guy came popping his head up. He was only 2-3 yards away from us. So cool!! Oh, and then the funniest moment of the whole trip happened. It was time to head back to the room. I walked out of the water and onto the beach and turn around to see mom unable to make it. Yeah. That's what I said. She started to walk out and (as she describes it) her foot sank into the sand, causing her to go down on her knees. Just then, the wave rebounds of the shore and back into the ocean, knocking her back onto her butt. Then another wave came up from behind her and washed her forward, but not forward enough for her to be beached. Because here comes another rebound. We started laughing so hard. She was just getting tossed back and forth. I tried to help her stand up, but was no use. About 30 seconds after it wasn't funny anymore, a man offered to help. Oh yeah, did I mention there was an audience. So the man and I help her up and just as she steps onto the sand, everyone started applauding. Funny and a little embarrassing. Mom is such a good sport. 

Off to the luau, we went. Mom looked so pretty. May 1st is not only May Day, it's also Lei Day in Hawaii. They gave us really flower leis and a flower to put behind our ear. You put it behind your left ear if you are taken and the right ear if you are available. We got our first mai tais before we even reached the table. The staff was so friendly. Our waiter kept calling us his family. Well, our family consisted of 6 other people who we shared the table with. I love this kind of setting where you get to socialize with complete random strangers. It just so happens there was another mother daughter couple at the table AND it was the daughter birthday that day too! After the show, the waiter lit candles and we sang them both happy birthday.

Day 2, was a little less eventful. We went to the farmers market to stock up on veges and shared a coconut.

Mom got snorkel gear and tried that out while I had some down time with my beach towel. Then we loaded up the car and headed to our next adventure...stopping at a beach OF COURSE, along the way.

to be continued...