Ten Days in Paradise....

Wow, what can I say. I Love Maui..the food, the sunsets, the natives, the flowers, the waterfalls, etc. etc. etc. Trig and I just got back from our first long trip without the kiddos. Trig's mom offered right away to come and stay with them so we could go on a much needed vacation for 10 long days...Bless her heart!! We were able to see and do so much that I am forever grateful for the memories. We schedule 3 guided trips the first being a half day hike through the "rainforest." We were really lucky to get some amazing guides. Ray, with Hike Maui took us on an amazing hike through the jungle gathering papaya, passion fruit, bananas, and guava as we walked along the trails tasting as we went. We came to a beautiful waterfall which is pictured and I had to get in and swing from the rope...it was freezing cold but worth it. I have always daydreamed about swimming in a sparkling pool as water drizzled from the sky... We then went through a few more falls, jumped from cliffs and continued to taste nature. The next adventure was kayaking off Makena Landing down past Wailea.. We had an amazing guide, an extreme native of Hawaii, Kaleo was his name and I would highly recommend him. He took us out maybe 1/2 mile into the Ocean and we watched for Whales, no whales so we went snorkeling. I told him I wanted to see a sea turtle.. a few minutes later he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. I looked over my shoulder and a sea turtle was swimming not even two feet away. What an amazing moment. He brought to the surface a "shark pillow" brittle starfish, sea cucumber, and last but not least a little baby octopus. He put the octopus on my leg and it was releasing his "ink" freaked me out a bit hence the screaming. We snorkeled for about 1/2 hour then headed back to shore. I think the company was Maui Kayaks, if you go to Maui it's a must!! Then we did a 7 hour tour out to Molokini to snorkel and then the island of Lanai to snorkel and see dolphins which we did and beautiful tropical fish along the reef. A yummy bbq lunch and drinks and breakfast was served. This tour was through the Pacific Whale Foundation. All proceeds go back to research etc. We also did a Whale watch the PWF, had a whale swim right under our boat and saw many baby whales breach. They call it "Whale Soup" because of the high number of whales in the water. The captain put something down in the water so that we could hear their "song". The Whales song changes from year to year which is amazing to me, the language they sing... We had a lot of funny just body boarding on the beach and spend a day Upcountry at the Lavender Farms and Botanical Garden. It was so peaceful and such a relaxing trip. The food was amazing and I will devote and whole post to the food, including pictures that Trig makes fun of me for taking...what can I say. I AM A FOODIE!! I love food and trying new things.. We ate at Sansei 3 different occasions which is a Sushi place in Kihei that was rated best sushi on the island.. We even went on a Monday between 5-6 it is happy hour for the locals so all food is 50% off. So we got there at 4 p.m. and lined up with the locals to wait to be seated. The line was so long they have to turn people away. So we ate between the two of us $140 worth of sushi and dessert for $70.00...aye aye aye... I ended up going to one more time for their signature dessert, they knew me by name. We did again do the Road to Hana but this time it was a disappointment when we got to the Seven Sacred Pools (Which come to find out aren't even sacred) They had not had enough rainfall so the pools were stagnant bits of water so no swimming and the falls weren't "falling" Our friends had never been there so they enjoyed the beautiful drive itself. I came home inspired and rested and overjoyed to see my babies that I had missed so much. I told Liza about the baby Octopus (on the phone before we came home) she started crying because she thought the Octopus was going to eat me. Such a little sweet heart.. Well that's all for now, if anyone is going to Maui let me know. I have lots of tips on food etc... Mahalo!!