Vacation Agenda

Here's what we did and where we ate. Everything was great and I highly recommend all the restaurants.

Tuesday:
(Flew in)
Lunch at Alaloha Lounge
Dinner at the Banyan Tree

Wednesday:
Breakfast at Plantation Restaurant
Road to Hana (5 hours) Snacks for lunch
Dinner at Merriman's

Thursday:
Breakfast at McDonald's (try a spam breakfast sandwich!)
Beach
Dinner at Spago

Friday:
Breakfast at the Terrace
Rent a Cabana for the whole day
Lunch at the Pool Bar & Cafe
Swim on the beach for an hour
Dinner at Momma's Fish House

Saturday:
Lahina Shopping and Museums
Boogie Boarding (rented from Boss Frog)
Luau at Drums of the Pacific

Sunday:
Boogie Boarding
Lunch at Alaloha Lounge
Spa at the Ritz
Dinner at Kai Sushi

Monday:
Snorkeling at Cities under the Sea
Dinner at Leilani's on the Beach

Tuesday:
Lunch at the Aloha Mixed Plate
(Flew out)

Snorkeling

We opted for this activity over horseback riding or zip-lining. Maybe next time!

We had never been snorkeling before except trying on our own with not much to see. I wasn't feeling well the morning we were scheduled to go snorkeling and it was really windy and had been raining. I was thinking about how cold it would be in the water and would it be hard to snorkel with the big waves. It was tough to be excited.

Eventually the day got better and so we threw on our bathing suits and made our way down to the activity house next to the tennis courts. Our appointment was for 1:30pm. The nice lady at the desk said "This is your lucky day, the other group canceled so you get a private snorkel lesson today!"

The group responsible for these activities are Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment who are all nice and well trained.

We sat down and our instructor started showing us the gear. Pretty simple: snorkel and fins. Not only that we got our own under water digital cameras! 

She showed us a slideshow about how all things are connected and what fish we would see. I really thought to myself "yeah right!" that we'd get the chance to see so much. By the way, did you know that some fish's poop is what makes the sand we walk on along the beach? Apparently some fish can poop 1 ton of sand a year. Strange bit of information but interesting.

She said that they usually snorkel off the shore near the hotel but it was closed due to severe wind and large waves. So we ended up driving out to Lahina about 5 minutes away to a picnic area just off the highway. There were almost no waves and it was much warmer. Very different from where we were just 5 minutes ago. 

We strapped on our fins and got in the water (awkwardly). It took a minute to figure out how to use the fins and breathe from the snorkel through my mouth. 

As soon as we swam about 20 feet from the beach we were observing a city of beautiful coral and fish. It was incredible. Everywhere I looked there were fish. The coral came in so many different colors and saw urchins all over the place. 

After about 20 minutes I looked up and there was this enormous sea turtle! Staring right at me! I was so shocked, I started squealing. Instructor thought I was in trouble funny enough. She grabbed Kevin to tell him I spotted a sea turtle. We all just went nuts. There were about 3 or 4 total. 

We spent hours in the water taking pictures and swimming with the turtles. There was no one around. Just us and our new sea friend. It was so hard to end the fun. 

Highly recommended experience.

Enjoy the photos! We took about 300 but these are some of the better ones. 

Luau

I had this vision of a Luau and the cooked pig in the ground (Imu) being really fascinating and a light into the Polynesian culture. I don't want people to think they shouldn't go to a Luau, but expect it to be less authentic and more like a Disney show. Also, they like to pack in a lot of people, so pay extra to get good seats, otherwise you are way at the back and last to get to the buffet line.

We arrived at the Ritz and asked for suggestions on which one to go to. Based on what we wanted (Imu, VIP, and open bar) she suggested the Hyatt's Luau show. Average priced so we were ok with it. I hadn't seen that option before and I'm hoping that I didn't make a mistake and should have gone with my research instead of this hotel concierge's suggestion.

The quality was "eh" and it did get better.

They let us eat right away after the host made a few announcements and the Imu was dug up and the Mai Tais kept coming even if they were watered down. The food was very good. Our seats were right up front. However, it was $20 for our picture. The dancers were great and the knife dancer was awesome. I didn't like that they had so many people and it felt more like an office barbecue. The dessert was a highlight too. We bought a hand carved turtle from the vendors just outside. But it was all located in a convention center hallway. Boo.

The evening turned out interesting when people were asked to the stage to participate in a dance lesson. They finished and pointed out a couple to earn the "King and Queen of the Luau" because of their awesome dancing skills. It actually turned out to be a way for the guy to propose to his girlfriend. They happen to be sitting at our picnic table with 20 of their other family members. Lucky us. They were loud and from something that reminded me of the Jersey Shore. It was cute but if Kevin proposed to me at a Luau, I would have shot him right there. Lucky for him, he already proposed earlier this year and did a fantastic proposal that I will never forgot. So thank goodness no pressure on this trip!

Anyways, here are some photos and videos. Enjoy!

Road to Hana

Kevin insisted we drive "The Road to Hana" for an entire day. I had no idea what to expect but a long drive around a gorgeous island with the Mercedes top down sounded like a great experience that I needed to have with my love.

Note: Plan to take the WHOLE day for this experience. We started at 10am and that was still too late. Although the Eggs Benedict we had for breakfast were worth the stop.

This map shows you that we started in Kapalua at 10:00am. We stopped at the KMart near the airport to grab picnic snacks, water, sunscreen, etc. By the time we passed Paia it was 1:00pm. The roads are narrow and winding. If you get car sick easily, grab some dramamine!

Here are some photos we took and I posted to Instagram. I recommend stopping at the Garden of Eden Arboretum http://www.mauigardenofeden.com/. If you want to see waterfalls, you can see about 3 up close along the drive. But I hear that if you have time, you can find some paths and hike for about a mile to some really fantastic ones.

The Gorgeous Ritz

I highly recommend the Ritz Carlton Maui. It is beautiful and the rooms gorgeous. Upgrade to a suite. Totally worth it.
The beach is public but during this time of year it seemed like just a few dozen people were on the beach.

The weather was great everyday. Only 10 minutes from Lahaina where you can go shopping there and grab some Starbucks.

The Ritz has a few restaurants. The Banyan Tree was our first dinner upon arriving and it couldn't have been more perfect. Food, wine, staff were all fantastic. Great way to start our vacation.

There are some areas to explore along the water in front of the resort. The lava rocks are amazing. Kevin took the opportunity to take some photos of the rocks while I worked on my tan.

As we were swimming around we saw sea turtles on the far left from the picture above. We were about 10 feet from them at one point. There were 3 sea turtles total. We guessed they were having a snack off the algae from the rocks. 

True story: As we were watching, Kevin dropped all of a sudden. We were both standing side by side with water to our waist. His legs went up in front and he down. I tried to grab him then I saw a giant sea turtle come up from underneath him! He said it was so weird and so cool. He could feel the shell move below his legs. Kevin did get bruised a little but it was a pleasure as from the smile on his face and the experience he got to tell his kids. 

We didn't get pictures of the sea turtles but here was another little friend Kevin made upon arriving. 

Get me there!

I've flown 105,000 miles this year and I have about 10,000 still in the works before the end of the year. So this flight to Maui is just another trip on Delta. Or so one would think. 

Typically my business trips consist of what every frequent flier knows to be the most efficient and important rules of flying. Some rules are like avoid checking luggage, stay clear of short layovers in busy airports, and always think about comfort first. To accomplish this we believe one must master the ranger roll, maybe double check expertflyer.com, and check the weather constantly. Just to name a few tips.

We broke the rules. SMH.

We booked a flight through LAX and it had less than an hour layover. First mistake.

I packed 3 suite cases just for myself. One was just for shoes! Second mistake. 

I wore heels. Third mistake.

Forgot my Bose headphones. Now I'm just asking for it.

3:05am

The damn alarm goes off. Sigh. So the morning starts. Car service arrives at 4am. No worries, I'm used to these early flights and totally planned on sleeping in the car for the hour or so ride from San Jose to SFO.  Was already packed and clothes laid out the night before. Car was on time except I didn't get any sleep on the ride up. We found out that our flight changed gates in LAX and our layover time changed. So not only will we land and park at Terminal 5 and have to walk to Terminal 6, we have to do it in 36 minutes. And that's hoping there are no delays. Which, Murphy will certainly show me otherwise. Thank goodness I decided to take one of my carry-ons with me. 25 minutes and my checked luggage could possibly not make it with me. Crossing fingers because I really wanted to wear my pink heels tonight.

4:55am

I had time to buy a new pair of Skull Candy headphones, coffee, and a smut magazine (Smut is the name Kevin gives those magazines because that's exactly what's in them. Except if there is a story on Kim Kardashian or Scarlet Johansen, I mean ScarJo, he's all over it). 

5:50am

We board on time. Flight lifts off right at 6:30am. 

7:41am 

We land early. Hurray! Oh but we get to sit on the tarmac for 15 minutes because another plane is at our gate and we have to wait for an unbelievable amount of planes to pass by. And, of course, the jet bridge has no attendant when we arrive. There is literally a 5 foot gap between the boarding door and the edge of the jet bridge. Argh! I wondered at one point if I could ever make a jump like that. The concrete below was only about 10 feet. Eh.

8:05am 

Still standing there waiting for the jet bridge. Our connecting flight is scheduled to take off at 8:25am. Kevin and I just stare into space hoping for some miracle. 

I tell Kevin all the time that I believe in good karma angels. Do good and good things happen. Oh, how I hoped this was one of those times. Otherwise, we were going to be stuck in LA for 5 hours and catch the next flight to Maui which arrives at 10pm and mind you we'd probably miss out on our first class seats and our awesome dinner reservations at Banyan Tree. 

8:06am 

"Hello folks, we are just waiting for the jet bridge and we'll be able to deplane in a moment. We have some passengers connecting to Maui today. Not to worry, your plane is holding for you." The little FA man says those words and it is like music to my ears. I clap loudly and nudge Kevin with a wink that says "Yeah baby, good karma" and he winks back which tells me something more like "Delta wouldn't leave a Diamond status behind" or "they better not have left, I would have pitched a major fit. They lucked out" but either way we were so relieved. I realized we still had to hustle. Delta Gate agent finds us upon deplaning and tells us the best route and informs the other gate agent we are on our way. The fastest way to the gate is through a super long tunnel that connects Terminal 5 to 6. "Time to hustle" She tells us. I forgot one little problem. I. am. in. heels. Dammit. But wait... Is that a driver on a cart I see? "Hop on!" he says. As he speeds down the tunnel I'm thinking how much fun it all turned out to be. My adrenaline was pretty high at that point and it wasn't just the coffee I had earlier.

8:26am

Made it! Thank goodness. I quickly look around to see if there are any celebrities on board. Nope... well maybe that guy… hmm… nah... oh well. FA asks me what drink I want. With a wide smile I for a "Mai Tai."

Ah… Finally, on our way. 

Private Cabana

Decided on a Private Cabana. Something about a shaded area for a whole day. Complimentary bottle of champagne, pineapple fruit plate, constant snacks, flat screen tv, and plush robes.

I bought "Gone with the Wind" movie to watch and a chess game. Kev is looking forward to it as well. I suggest finding something you like to do together and do it for hours.... hey now ;)


UPDATE:
Cabana was worth it. Really had a good time relaxing. We watched the first half of the movie. He beat me in chess, yet again. I think we both took a 10 minute nap at one point.