Maui Recap

We are officially back from Maui.  And, can I just say that that was the best. trip. EVER!  It was relaxing, exciting, amazing, rejuvenating, beautiful and just plain fun.  I did several things that Shad had to talk me into and I was so glad he did.  Things that I am normally nervous or even afraid to do.  And Shad was able to relax, forget about the "real world" and even just sit on the beach without feeling the need to actually be doing something.  It was exactly what we needed.

It was so great to be able to (tentatively) throw caution to the wind and do some crazy fun activities.  There were times that my hands shook, I almost hyperventilated, my legs shook and I just knew I might drown.  But, I put those feelings aside and it was so worth it.  With Shad's encouragement and help I was able to go zip lining in the trees, snorkeling in the ocean, body surfing in the waves (talk about sand in every crevice), I dove into a wave, I swam out in the water past my comfort zone and treaded water (I am a swimming wimp), we paddle boarded in the ocean (you stand on a big surf board and use a little paddle to get around, you have to have crazy balancing skills here) which lead to me accidentally surfing a wave (totally awesome!) and we hiked to several waterfalls one of which I stood under. 

In the same way that I did things that I find scary and a little insane, Shad threw caution to the wind in the opposite way.  He relaxed.  He sat in the sun on the beach with me without feeling restless.  He went shopping with me and watched me spend money without worrying about the money.  He took me out to some fancy meals.  And he even sat in the hotel while I took an afternoon nap.  He pretty much spent the entire week making sure I was happy and did everything I wanted to do.  Like I said, best vacation ever!

Maui is absolutely beautiful.  One day we drove around the entire island making many stops to see hidden waterfalls and crazy views of the ocean.  That day we left the hotel at 7:30 in the morning and didn't get back until 9:30 at night.  We were literally exploring for 14 hours.  We even stopped on the side of the road to look at the stars.  Very romantic. 

We did have a couple little hiccups at the beginning of the trip.  Our flight to Maui from Honolulu got cancelled and we got moved to a different airline that took us to the other airport on Maui.  That was no big deal until we arrived at the airport, but our luggage didn't.  We went to the hotel with the promise that the airline would deliver our luggage just as soon as they found it.  Our room at the hotel turned out to be right next to the elevator.  We spent the first night listening to the elevator go up and down next to us and then ding when it stopped.  By the time we got up in the morning with still no luggage and the threat of having to buy all new clothes, toiletries and suitcases in the not so cheap Maui stores, Shad was irritated enough to complain about our noisy room.  (We don't normally complain.)  Needless to say, by midday we had our luggage and the next day they moved us to a new room that actually had a view of the beach.  They were nice enough to upgrade our room just to make us happy.  Pretty nice.

The view from our balcony.

I'll leave you with a few pictures for today.  Tomorrow I will share more details about the trip.  For now I am going to go finish cooking dinner.  Back to reality...

Burger In Paradise