What felt like a minute in Maui...

I really feel like the luckiest girl to have a husband who always encourages me to join him on business trips and parents who are always willing to come watch the kids for us so I can go! So when Jack asked me a week before Christmas if I'd be up for joining him in Maui on business in January, there was absolutely no hesitation...of course I would! Being it takes 15 hours of travel and a five hour time difference to get there I told him we'd somehow need to turn this into more than a business trip, especially if we were going to fly my parents all the way out here to watch the kids. So indeed we did. It's never easy for me to leave the kids behind because although I know they are in good hands with my parents, I naturally think of all these terrible things that could happen to Jack and I, particularly related to the plane... but thankfully all went well, no lives were lost, my parents still have their sanity and I got to spend over a week in paradise with my hubby during what normally feels like the most depressing month of the year!

Being we arrived so late, this is what we woke up to our first morning and what we'd see each night as the sun went down...



Unfortunately this view wasn't enough to keep me stress free that first day. My phone had decided to die in the Seattle airport on our way over. Seriously, the worse timing ever. Jack was smart enough to see I wasn't going to be able to relax and enjoy the vacation without my phone so he insisted on getting me into town to pick up a new one that first morning. Thankfully T Mobile had a loaner phone they gave me until I figured out if I indeed needed a new phone or not. It's hard to believe that just three years ago I didn't even have a texting plan and now I can't live without texting. It truly felt like my lifeline to my kids, their activities, and the world had been disconnected. But once we got that taken care of I was in true vacation mode! Jack had no work engagements for those first few days and we were both looking forward to some snorkeling and sun! That first weekend we headed out to Honolua Bay first thing in the morning and caught the 'Honolua Mens Open' surf tournament which was really a fun scene. We had such a nice time that we returned first thing the next morning to see what was going on. Sure enough a bunch of locals were taking advantage of the huge swell that had swept across the west side of the island the past few days. It worked out great because there was no way I was getting in that water to snorkel with the waves like they were so instead we enjoyed our muffins while watching the surfers from above.




We have only been to Maui a couple other times and the most recent trip was probably eight years ago so it almost felt like we were visiting a new place. The only places I had clear memories of were Kaanapali, Wailea, snorkeling Molokini and biking down Haleakala. This trip though was about pure relaxation so aside from golf, we had nothing planned and no excursions booked! We spent the majority of our days visiting various beaches and snorkeling spots I had researched ahead of time. I had been a bit nervous about January weather as we had never been this time of year but it was picture perfect throughout the trip. The swell however, caused some not so friendly snorkeling conditions but that didn't stop Jack from still getting in to check things out even when I was a bit too scared. We did find a few places that were decent and we both agreed that during calmer surf conditions the reefs would probably be quite nice. We may not remember seeing a whole lot of fish on this trip but we will remember all the whale sightings we saw from the shoreline, and the super sized turtles we encountered. We even unknowingly captured the sound of whales singing on our video footage while taping a turtle we were snorkeling with.



What do you know, this is Hawaii's state fish, the reef triggerfish!



One of Jack's business appointments was with Maui Jim, so we spent an hour in their office in Lahina learning about the company and their culture and getting a tour of their quarters there. As big fans of their sunglasses, it was nice to learn how great of a company they indeed are.



After our visit to Maui Jim it was off to golf at the Kapalua Plantation Course. By far this is the nicest course I have played on. Granted I've only played on like six and the majority were public but still, being the PGA was here the week before I'm assuming many other people think it's pretty nice! We had a great time with one of Jack's colleagues Judy and her boyfriend Tom! Aside from Jack not being very happy with his game, it was a good time. When we arrived it was gorgeous but later in the day they warned us weather was on the way and sure enough in the distance you could see the low clouds. We took this opportunity to head into the clubhouse and enjoy some lunch before heading back out. Sure enough it cleared right up and just as we got to the last hole the clouds and mist returned. What a great place to spend the day!



During one of the cocktail receptions Jack and I attended, I was able to capture this photo of the nightly cliff diver jumping off Black Rock. I'm not quite sure what the fuss is over it but apparently he draws crowds from all up the Kaanapali beach. One of the other attendees even asked me to send her my photo. So there you have it...lol! Usually in the evenings we'd grab dinner in Kaanapali or Lahina. I never get tired of having someone else cook dinner for me. We didn't make it back to Mama's Fish House on this trip but we did make it to the Lahina Grill which had great food and some of the best service we've ever had in a restaurant. You really can't go to Lahina either without taking a photo of the Banyon tree grove. I didn't even get the main tree in my photo but thought all the vines hanging were so cool. I can guarantee Ty would have never obeyed this sign...haha!




I can't post without including a photo of our beloved beach chairs. Jack recommended we grab a couple beach chairs our first day in Maui to make our beach visits more comfy. We were lucky enough to find some at the grocery store near our hotel. They turned out to be the best investment ever...yes, investment because you bet I showed up at the airport in Maui with them and had Delta check them with the rest of our bags! Granted they ended up in Atlanta at one point even though we never did (nor did the rest of our bags) but a day later they finally reached our doorstep. Thank you Delta! Clearly "priority bags" indeed means priority bags because the chairs were the only things not labeled as priority and they were the only things that ended up going home a different route than us... lol!



Maui you were sure good to us! I was able to meet a new friend at the pool whose husband was attending the same conference. She happened to be from the Seattle area and is also LDS. We exchanged info, became FB friends and if it turns out Jack returns to the conference again next year, I'll perhaps join him to meet up with her. We said this could be the start of a new annual meet-up! As much as I still prefer Oahu as my favorite island, we will definitely make a point to return here again! We have our snorkel spots mapped out and are already missing the delicious banana pudding and pesto chicken sandwich from the 808 Deli in Kihei!!!



Couldn't have done it without these two... Love you both!