HAWAII 2011

Jason and I enjoyed an early Christmas present to each other...a warm, relaxing 10 days in Maui, Hawaii. We went on November 7th and came home on the 16th. It was a dream vacation...and it was so nice to spend some one on one time with just me and my Hubby!

We stayed at the Maui Kaanapali Villas on Kaanapali Beach.

We enjoyed relaxing by the pool!

We were in walking distance from Black Rock...a popular snorkeling place...so that was one of the first things we did. We saw lots of colorful fish and giant sea turtles! Jason was all about snorkeling...and believe me...we went to EVERY snorkeling spot possible on the island of Maui! It was quite the adventure!

The sunsets were gorgeous...and we enjoyed a few romantic walks along the beach!

We walked down to Black Rock just at dusk and watched the divers jump off the rocks!

It was odd to be in such a warm place and see all the Christmas decorations!

We did rent a car...but I just had to ride this trolley one night down to Whalers Village.

My Mom and Dad told us to go to Leilani's and get the fish tacos and Hula pie...so that's just what we did...at least 5 times!! Sooo good!!

Nachos and Pina Coladas were also a must!!

Every night at Whalers Village they had some type of entertainment. These girls were cute Hula Dancers!

This is the car we rented and my chauffeur!

This place is in Kapalua and was a gorgeous beach...I didn't get the greatest pics...because they don't do it justice!

Big Beach

We are up on a rock that separates 2 beaches...one side (the picture with Jason) over looks Big Beach...

...and the other side (the half picture of me) is Little Beach. Don't look too closely at Little Beach...you may see something you don't want to see! he he :)

This place is very popular for surfing. We walked out to this over look and just sat there watching all the surfers...pretty impressive! We sat and talked with a girl from Moab, UT who just moved to Maui...she was watching her boyfriend surf!

This place was called "slaughter house"...not quite sure why...and not sure I want to know why...but you had to hike down all these stairs to get to it...and it was in the middle of nowhere!

I can't remember the name of this place...but it was pretty cool...and you had to walk through this river to get to it!

Jason, so badly, wanted to see some whales...and we looked...and watched...

...and watched...and looked...but unfortunately, we never saw any. We were there just a tad bit early for "whale season"!

But we did see dolphins...lots of them! We went on this Redline excursion raft that took us out to Molikini Crater, Turtle Town, and the 5 Fingers. Jason was in HEAVEN...with all the snorkeling...especially when he saw 5 Reef Sharks! One of them was 5 or 6 feet long. I'm just glad that I was a little sea sick...and stayed on the boat! :) Scary!

Lunch

This is when they saw the sharks. Jason said you could hear all the girls screaming in their snorkels!

So, we decided to drive to Hana. We're still undecided about what we think! We are glad we did it...but wouldn't do it again. The road was sooooo small and curvey...we both got a little car sick...not to mention it was a down-pour most of the way. But, we did stop alot along the way and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery!! Lots of waterfalls, and beautiful views!!

Jason had fun drinking and swinging from the vines...my very own Tarzan!

Once we got to Hana, we went to this Black Sand Beach...but we couldn't walk down onto it because this Monk Seal had decided to beach himself and take a little nap. Apparently, they are an endangered species and there are only 1300 of them left (I always wonder how they know how many are left), and so they were very protective of him! It was a very pretty place!Before leaving the airport...we had to eat at Sammy Hagar's restaurant. Jason was pretty excited.

We loved to sit and watch all the windsurfers and kiteboarders...they make it look so fun and easy! We were bummed to be leaving such a beautiful place...but excited to come home and see our kids...we missed them so much! Thanks again Mom and Dad, Mike and Sheryl, and Rick and Margo for keeping our kids safe and happy while we were off playing on the beach! :) We had a GREAT time and hope to go back soon!!