Maui - 5 Year Anniversary

When Nate and I got married almost 5 years ago we decided to not go on a week long honeymoon after the wedding.  We did promise ourselves that by our 5 year anniversary we would plan and go on a "honeymoon."  So, we booked a trip to Maui in 2013! 

My co-worker actually owns a Condo in Maui, so we were able to stay there for the 10 days.  But before I get to the trip I want to talk about leaving.  We had never left the kids for more than a long weekend let alone thousands of miles away.  I think I was having more anxiety than Nate, but I think as a Mom that is my job.  I created a binder with all important information and schedule for Nate's parents and my mom to follow.  I went to the dollar store and got 10 little presents for Kaitlyn and 10 little presents for Gavin to open each day while we were gone.  I numbered them 10 down to 1 so they would know how many more days until we came home.  We left my old iPhone so that we could Facetime the kids each day. 

The day we left I knew would be hard for me.  We decided to drive Kaitlyn to school and than head to the airport.  I cried like a baby when we dropped her off.  I was able to keep it together until we were leaving the school.  I didn't want Kaitlyn to see me crying and be sad.  I kept thinking... "Why am I so sad to be going to Maui for 10 days with no kids?"  Once we got to the airport the excitement set it and we were ready to start our trip.

It was snowing in MN when we left which delayed our flight to Phoenix.  Please note that we only had 45 minutes from when we landed in PHX to when our flight was to leave for Maui... I asked the gate attendant in MPLS about this as we were leaving 20 minutes late... He replied... "There are 30 of you... there is power in numbers."  Sweet!  We landed and pretty much walked to our connecting gate and got on the plane and we were off.

We landed in Maui at 5:30 pm which is 10:30 pm in MN.  I love Hawaii airports because they are all open to the fresh air... just thinking about this makes me sad.  Why?  Because it is April 9th and we are in a Winter Storm Warning until April 11th... we are expecting 5-8 inches of snow.  Why do we live here?

Since this was our "Honeymoon" we rented a Mustang Convertible.  It was fun to drive around with the top down.  The color was a little distracting, but we got used to it and the good news is we never forgot where we parked it.

We stayed in a great condo in Kihei.  We had a full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and washer and dryer... with a great view of the ocean.  In the mornings we would watch the whales from the Lanai (balcony).

Saturday was our first full day in Maui.  It had rained in the morning (which is unusual) but cleared up by the time we headed out to explore. 

We decided we would venture to Lahaina to do some shopping and site seeing.  We stopped here to watch the whales and admire the view.  When we got to Lahaina we ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

On Sunday we went Zip Lining.  There are several Zip Lining companies to choose from.  Nate did a lot of research and we picked Flyin Hawaiian Zipline.  It was amazing!!!!  The views were amazing, the 3 guides that went with our group were hilarious and really made you feel comfortable.  I was a little nervous as I am afraid of heights and this course has 8 zips ranging from 250 feet long to 3600 feet long and over 700 feet above the ground. 

Heading up to the first Zip Line!

"Ready! Zip!"

The view while zipping!

One Zip line they let us zip backwards!

The View!

2 of our guides photo bombing our picture!

Getting ready to ZIP!

We had an amazing time!

On Monday we scheduled a snorkeling adventure to Molokani Crater.  Nate did an amazing job researching all the companies we booked our adventures through.  We chose Maui Snorkel Charters.  It was a perfect day to head out on the ocean.  We had snorkeled on Oahu 7 years ago, but this was so much more fun!  We saw some awesome fish and turtles.  It is amazing how clear and blue the water is once you get away from the shore.  Simply amazing!

Molokani crater! 

One of the turtles we saw at Turtle Town! 

The weather and wind were perfect to let us actually snorkel the back side of the Molokani crater for a little bit before heading to Turtle Town.

Walking the beach out front of our condo.

Maui Sunset!

On Tuesday we headed up to the top of the Haleakala Crater.  It is about 10,000 feet above sea level, 30 -40 degrees cooler than at sea level and there are lots of hair pin curves to get to the top.

On our way up!  We still had a long way to go!  Starting to get colder!

Landscape at the top above the clouds.

Crater!

Windy and cold!

Amazing landscape!  It was like we were on a different planet!

We didn't spend too much time at the top since we went to Maui to get away from the cold and wind.  Our way down wasn't our best moments on the trip as I was nervous and Nate wasn't a fan of my comments on how to drive!  Otherwise it was a great day on the island of Maui!

Please see next post for more of our trip!