Maui Wowee! May 5-13, 2013

We went to Maui for our 10th anniversary this year. (Shout out to us!) We stayed in our relatives' timeshare that they were so fabulous to lend us. We have always dreamed of going to Hawaii so it was an awesome opportunity.

We flew to LA on the 5th and stayed with Cousin Stacy. We arrived in Maui on May 6th and started exploring. This was on a walkway in Wailea we went to often. We watched sea turtles from here. We actually saw a whale from our condo in Kihei that night with the binoculars.

The next day we drove the Road to Hana (I actually was the driver so Nelson could navigate. Are you proud? This road ain't for sissies.) There were so many waterfalls and something to see around every corner.

This flower was actually way smaller than my head. Optical illusion I guess.

We took simple hikes to get to all the waterfalls.

We stopped in a small village on the way to Hana. We got banana bread (delightful). A tour guide that was there with a group told us a man was killed by a shark here while trying to rescue a swimmer. (Who knows if that's true of course) One thing we loved was seeing all the small villages' churches that were built years before that they still use today.

We went swimming here first. There were rocks all along but then a deep pool where I was jumping into. Yes, I know I am gleamingly white. People were jumping from a ledge up top, including a 52 year-old Hawaiian woman.

This was a different pool. You had to swim out to the 3 waterfalls and climb down a ton of rocks to get to this place. It was my favorite spot ever. We swam behind the waterfalls and it just poured on us. It was awesome. Then we would just put our clothes back on and go on our way.

We hiked to this one with another couple we had just met. The man was a Brazilian with a PHD in biology that taught us about the plants and trees as we walked. He also wore a speedo which was really distracting. Nelson ended up swimming in this one as well. This was closed to the public but we went in anyway. No one was around and it was so awesome to have it to ourselves.

The next day we snorkeled all day. We then went to "the front" at Lahaina. It is a ton of shops along a walkway at the beach. We ate at the "Cheese burgers in Paradise." I had a burger and Nelson had fish and chips. This was our anniversary.

Oops. Out of order. This is the Road to Hana. We stopped and got some fresh coconut juice and coconut ice cream from some surfer guys that moved there. It was delightful and probably not sanitary.

May 9th we had a yummy breakfast at "Kihei Cafe" and went to the Maui Ocean Center. It was super hot that day so it was nice to be inside for a bit.

I loved this tunnel. We stayed there a bit.

That night we ate at the Hula Grill. This was hands down the most beautiful restaurant to eat at. It was right on the beach and the view was amazing. We ate there as the sun was setting. Nelson got to eat Ahi for dinner and he was in heaven. I had chicken of course.

I am a hula girl at the hula grill. We then went to Lahaina to a magic show. The magicians were also comedians and we laughed so hard we were crying.

On May 10th we went to the Haleakala Crater. We were above the clouds which was freaky and cool. We just kept driving up and up. The higher we drove the colder it got. It was jacket weather though, nothing to scare a Utahn away. Everyone describes this place as feeling they are at Mars.

 

I had to throw in some food pictures because I am a McFarland, therefore, I am a foodie. We went to the Gazebo restaurant for the two pictures on the left. These are hawaiian omelets and macadamia nut pancakes with white chocolate chips and coconut syrup. It was as amazing as it sounds. I will try to duplicate this somehow in Utah.

The top left picture is our food at the luau. The bottom left is my coconut vegan ice cream. Top right is coconut milk. Bottom right is one of many fruit stands we enjoyed.

 

On Friday night we went to a luau. They showed us how to crack a coconut, did crafts, took our pictures and did an open bar while we waited. We enjoyed (virgin, mind you) Mai tais and pina coladas. We sat at a table with a couple from Indiana and a couple from Colorado.

Removing the cooked pig from the pit. There were so many hawaiian shirts everywhere we went, I couldn't see straight.

For dinner they had a buffet, then the had a big hula show which included a fire dancer. Nelson and I discussed what a fire dancer does after he retires. Any ideas?

The next day was so rainy. We drove to watch people surf. Then we took the treacherous drive to Kahakuloa and drove all the way back to Kihei from there. This road hugged the steepest cliffs I had ever driven next to on one-lane roads that were not one-way. We came across this little beauty on the road and decided to drive through it. There were fallen rocks and boulders along this whole road (this picture is of the flat piece, it does not represent what we drove through). It put the road to Hana to shame.

This was the village we drove into. How people live here is beyond me. I can't believe they have to drive that road to get in and out of there.

Villagers make many loaves of banana bread because sure enough, tourists will come. Not many come, but come they do.

This was a raging waterfall we could see from the road we were driving.

Then we got to try to fly home which took forever. (that's another story) This is me sleeping in the Honolulu airport. We had flown there to try to better our chances of catching a flight. They blared music all night long. Why on earth is beyond me.

 

We were trying to hurry home because our little buddy Coleman was in the hospital. He was very dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea for several days with a high fever. He was taken care of by my parents and Nelson's parents. It was weird not being there for him. He was at Riverton Hospital where I used to work so it was nice knowing who was caring for him and exactly what they were going to do for him.

 

The nurses and doctors were calling me while I was on airport shuttles and in the terminals so it was hard to communicate. He left the next day. It took him a couple days to become himself again. Now he's eating like a champ and we have to give him Pediasure to fatten him up since he's way too skinny. Dr.Carleton asked if Coleman was normally that pale, to which my family replied, "Yes, yes he is." Ha ha. Being a redhead is such a curse.

Well we'd love to head on another vacay alone again but my family has all reported that they will kill us if we do. So we will stick to camping nearby for the next 10 years or so.