[tamaralynn]

Hello all! I missed ya'll!!

We arrived at 10pm in Maui at the Kahului airport. Tired, we found our bags and hailed the shuttle to Thrifty's for our rental. I had rented a Dodge Caliper (larger sedan) for the week about a month prior - and had received a reminder 3 days prior that the car was saved for me. Well we get there, and all they had were mini-vans and Ford Mustangs!! Geeze! The mustangs were too darned small to carry 4 adults and 6 suit cases... so we had to take the minivan. After freakig out on them, they gave it to us for the same price we were quoted for the car ($150/wk instead of $265/wk).

So we spent 1.5 hours driving the estimated 45 minutes to our hotel (Maui Kamaole). There wasn't much lighting, the moon was not out and we were LOOOST.

We finally found our suite. And realized we were starving. So off we went to a 24 hour market. Bought baked flour nachos (I was stoked they had them, as they don't have in Canada), salsa, cold cuts, crackers, cheese and a bottle of water. Something that would cost us at home maybe about $15. Well we spent almost $40!!! YOUCH!!! After having a supper on this, we went to bed.


I woke up the next morning (Sunday) to this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080010.jpg WOW!!!! What a view!!!

We pretty much wandered around Kihei for the day - bought some souviners - took pictures of local flowers http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080017.jpg

Monday was our 1 year anniversary - and we had snorkeling booked for the next day so we headed up to the Walmart to buy snorkel gear.
That night we headed over to Lahina to board the Maui Princess for our sunset dinner cruise with MIL and FIL

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The dinner was great, the drinks strong and the music peaceful. We loved it!! Well worth the $400 for 4 people.

Tuesday: Snorkeling time! I'd post a picture, unfortunately I only brought along my underwater disposables. We drove to Maalaea Harbour and boarded the Mahana Nia. The captain was a rambunctious man who reminded us of "Captain Ron" from the movie!! We sped out to Molokini Crater (took about an hour... would have been 45 minutes if the coast guard wasn't driving with us half the way - as soon as they left the captian pealed off! LOL). After a lecture on how to snorkel, it was time to go. We put on our stuff and jumped in. After fighting the "first time snorkeling panic" , we looked down for fish. I couldn't see any. As we looked up we had HUGE tropical fish right in front of us staring right into our masks! LOL DH who can't swim - swam famously. I who could swim couldn't dive down! WTH? I'm too boyant I guess. We saw moray eels, tropical fish of all different colors, tons and tons of sea urchens (which thankfully were too far down on the reef to touch). After an hour or so, we hopped back on board and drove toward "Turtle Town". We hopped in and after searching for a little bit found some awesome turtles larger than any of us!! WOW! They were so friendly - btw - you can't touch them, it's illegal - and the bacteria on our skin WILL kill them. (didn't get a good picture of them, but this was from the aquarium we went to http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080274.jpg )

We then hopped back on board, ate lunch (which they slaved away over the hot microwave for 8 minutes etc) - lots of salads, delish! Lots of beer (for me, Todd's designated driver... but beer in US is SO WEAK! wow, I'm used to Canadian brews). then back to the harbor. We headed back and then checked out the local market. And I made a new friend!!! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080036.jpg He fell asleep on my hand


Wednesday: Parasailing in Kanaapali - GORGEOUS! I'm terrified of heights, but this was so beautiful and peaceful!! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080183.jpg
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After parasailing, we headed back to Maalaea to the Maui Ocean centre. Too many great pics to post here
That night we watched the sunset from the beach (and every other night afterwards) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080113.jpg

Thursday we drove the road to Hana. On the way out of town, we realized that there were wild peacocks that roamed the town and island (I thought I could hear them) They have the right of way in town, if the police catch you driving around them if they are on the road, it's an automatic $5000 fine!!!
Here's a kitty sizing up the birds http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080116.jpg

The Road to Hana was a crazy ride!!! There were twists and turns that could make your head spin. there were 56 1 lane bridges that you had to watch for. There were plenty of beautiful waterfalls along the way http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080363.jpg
After our trip we headed into the Garden of Eden and loved it!! There were ducks and peacocks that would eat right out of our hands!! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080519.jpg
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lots of cool plants, and birds. And a retired movie star cockatoo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08080571.jpg

Friday was my BIL's wedding. What a beautiful ceremony. It ended up being at 10:30 am. Afterwards we went swimming where the Bride and I ended up getting stung by Man of War jellyfish. O U C H!!!!!! Vinegar and advil helped. I've never been stung by a bee, I think it's odd that I got stung by a jellyfish. That night we headed back to Lahina for the Old Lahina Luau - what a spectacle - if you EVER get the chance, GO!!!!

Saturday was a sad day. I knew we had to leave that day and it broke my heart. If we ever get our way, we'll move to Maui!! So I paid my tribute
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The artist was Uncle Tom from Pacific Rootz (awarded best artist in Maui... and LOTS AND LOTS OF awards). I had actually booked the tattoo the first day on the island lol.

At the end of the day we reflected back on the good time we had while waiting at the airport. We were feeling goofy http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08100319.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8_08100321.jpg Guess who had the pink luggage LOL.

I love Maui! We plan to take the kids next year!!!

[EZMONEY]

Thank you for sharing Tamaralynn! I am so glad you had such a good time...nice tatt!

[walking2lose]

What an AWESOME trip! Love the pics... especially sunset! So glad you got this opportunity!!!

[JazzyNurse]

Awwww you brought back such memories for me. My brother lived on Maui for 10 years (he now lives on Oahu) and I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Maui 5 times and stay for at least 6 weeks each visit. I understand about wanting to live there! Thank you for sharing!

[soure1sl]

Wow, I'm super jealous, what a dream vacation! You looked like you had a fabulous time!

[julie99s]

Thank you for sharing such wonderful pictures. It looks like you had a blast!

[Pixiesue]

Wow, what a dreamy vacation! Parasailing and a tattoo! dinner and sunsets! I wanna go!

[SunshineCA]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences! Congratulations to you on your wedding and to the newlyweds!

I haven't been to Hawaii yet but it's on the list. My DH is dragging his feet about going. He calls it a tourist trap because of the high prices and everything. I'm like, if you prepare for it, it won't be a problem.

Anyway, your pictures and experiences make me want to go even more.

[tamaralynn]

Thanks everyone! We saved up for almost a year. It is pricy - unless you know where to go.


TIPS FOR TRAVELLING TO HAWAII:

Stay FAR away from souviner shops! Check out their local craft fairs and markets - you'll find better deals. You'll even find AWESOME souviners at Walmart!

If you can get a membership for their local food shops - do so - many have temporary ones to help you save some money.

We made the mistake of booking all of our adventures ahead of time - DON'T! You get charged more. When you're on the island - check out your hotel's and shopping market magazines. You'll find some AWESOME discount coupons!!!

Bring your own camera! Have friends or even other tourists take pictures of you. Many tourist guides will charge YOU TO USE YOUR OWN CAMERA!!!

DO NOT RENT FROM THRIFTY'S!!! They say they will hold your reservation for you - they don't. Dollar Car rental seems to be the best (this is from others in our group).

Buy your own snorkel/mask/flippers. You'll have a better fit - and you know for a FACT that these items are clean - don't trust tourist guides to cleanse their own properly. And you get to bring them home (make sure you have enough space left over in your suit cases!)

Shop at WALMART!!!! Seriously - you'll save BIG BUCKS!!! They also have K-Mart.

Go with another couple! Most condos have two full beds/baths and full kitchen. They average to about $1600 - $2000/wk. If you can split the bill - it'll be easier on your wallet.

Don't wear jewelry, sunglasses and loose bathing suits in the ocean - trust me. DH lost his wedding band (he wouldn't have if he had listened to me in the first place and left it at the hotel room... all well), and we BOTH lost our sunglasses. One of the girls of our party lost her bikini top.

WEAR WATER SHOES IN THE OCEAN! Seriously! Two members of the wedding party ended up getting pretty injured and had to shell out hundreds of dollars at the hospital! You never know what you can step on - and you do NOT want to end up becoming aquainted with sharp reef and sea urchins!!!

To follow up the last point - MAKE SURE YOUR INSURANCE COVERS DR'S BILLS!!! The two people injured was assured that their bills would be waived... it wasn't. Luckily they had extra money on their credit cards - and friends to help out. Trust me - you don't want this to happen! They will not turn you away if you are injured, but you do not want to have to deal with the stress of it.

Always carry bandaids, hand sanitizer, SPF lip balm and sunscreen with you - EVERYWHERE. You'll NEED IT! Always wear a hat.

RE APPLY SUNBLOCK (minimum SPF 35) every two hours, or each time you get out of the water. I wore SPF 50 - and I TANNED!!!!

Don't stick to one area - EXPLORE!

Ask Locals about good deals/places to go. There are many nice spots where you don't have to pay to see the great island sights - they'll know about it and save you hundreds of dollars!!! The Locals are super friendly!!

When driving - DON'T rush. Honking at cars ahead of you when you are trying to get somewhere fast is totally taboo! Always leave early to get to your destination.

Keep a budget and only carry so much cash with you. It's SOOO easy to get trapped into buying something cool (then realizing later that you could have gotten it MUCH Cheaper somewhere else). For example. We saw some awesome t-shirts at a souviner shop for $35. Later that day we saw the same t-shirt at the craft fair for $5!!!!

If you cannot find what you want elsewhere - BARTER!!! We found this out too late!

Even if you are in Hawaii for only a week - just bring three day's worth of LIGHT clothing and plenty of underwear. You'll most likely buy some more appropriate clothes when you are there to stay comfy.


Oh yeah and one more point - I learned this the hard way. If you have a camera - always keep a spare charged battery/extra memory card (or film) with you. Trust me - you'll need it!!!!!


Flight tips: If you trip is longer than 3 hours (ours was 8 hours of travel) - bring a book, snacks, and if on an overnight flight - a neck pillow. You'll thank yourself for it!! The movies and snacks are pricy on the flights. I would also buy a bottle of water to bring with you after the security gates. DOn't buy before - even if it isn't opened and was cheaper - they'll make you throw it out . The tiny little cups of drinks you get on flight barely touch your thirst.