Maui!

The last getaway vacation that I went on was to Rome in 2007. So it was time to get a nice destination vacation lined up and head off somewhere tropical! I had never been to Hawaii and so Loving Husband decided to take me there, along with our son and my mom. We all had a wonderful time. We were in Maui for 4 full days and nights, and left on a jet plane from paradise early on our fifth day. While our adventures were short they were amazing, the scenery was breathtaking and the weather was perfect! I loved it! In fact I'd be ok if I was still there ;-)

We left bright and early on Wednesday morning and headed out. Our flight went well and Ace did very well for a two year old on a five hour flight. He had a few fits, mostly because he was tired... and took a 90 minute snooze. We kept him busy by playing with stickers, cars, part of a movie, and coloring books. He did great and was ready to go as soon as we landed in Hawaii. We had to wait about 45 minutes to obtain our rental car - so Ace and I chilled outside while my mom and Loving Husband were waiting in line to get the car.

Our resort was beautiful, many different pools, and gorgeous views. We got set up and walked around the grounds. Ace decided to stop and play in the kid pool - who needs swimwear? Not Ace. :) He had a good time in the sand and loved playing there - and protested when we took him out to go get something to eat. Our first dinner was at Kobe. A Japanese Steak House that Becky and I have frequented in Palm Springs many many times... so of course I had to have it in Hawaii - and it was delicious. Ace near the end fell asleep on me. He was exhausted. It was 7pm Hawaii time, but we had been awake since 5:30am PST (three hour time difference.)


It should have come as no surprise to the husband and I that at 5:30am Hawaiian time our son awoke bright and early. We kept him laying down until 6am but after that it was a no go (after all that was nearly 9am to him...) so we got up and called and corrected our room service delivery time to 6:30am. While we ate we got to see some very pretty birds coming to get their morning breakfast from us. Ace enjoyed seeing them and all their differences compared to birds back home. We invited Grandma over, who was also awake early and she enjoyed breakfast with us and brought a few presents for Ace.

We then got ready and headed to the beach. We all had a blast. The water was warm, but not super warm - it was possible to get cold after a while, but not if you kept moving. Ace was skeptical of the waves and the water rushing in and out from under his feet. However, he loved the sand and playing with all his sand toys. He and Grandma enjoyed the sand and fun and mom and dad played in the ocean.

After the fun at the beach we headed back to our hotel rooms and got dressed and ready to go get some lunch. We enjoyed lunch at a place next to the hotel - our waitress was great and that was wonderful since Ace fell asleep right after his food arrived. He napped through all of lunch and then some. 90 minutes in fact. I also ate the best cheesecake EVER at this establishment and was sad when we went back a few days later and they were out. (tear!) After we finished dining we left Loving Husband and our sleeping boy there to finish his nap and my mom and I went and did a little shopping.

That evening LH and I left Ace with Grandma and him and I headed out with Troy and Jackie who also happened to be in Maui on their own vacation. It was a nice time to go our with friends. We had a good time at dinner and then out to drinks (well for them) afterward. We headed back afterwards to find a sleeping boy. It was a nice evening.

Our second morning started at a more reasonable Hawaiian hour of 7:30am and we headed out for breakfast. Ace enjoyed grooving to the music that was playing and ate a decent breakfast. It was tasty. After we finished breakfast we headed back to the hotel to get ready and go to the beach for the second day. Fun was had again. After that we had a more relaxed and low key day. We let Ace fall asleep and enjoy a nap and LH went to get some lunch. Then it was time to get ready for the luau.


We had a great time at the luau. I snuck off to get some good shots of the sunset. The food was tasty... and it was a blast to watch Ace dance around and play. He had a great time watching the show and clapping. We headed back to our hotel to unwind and head to bed not too long after.


The next morning we headed out to do a little tourist fun and take a trip on a boat that goes around the reef and allows us to look through windows and watch the fish. It was very exciting and Ace enjoyed being below inside the boat looking at the fish and then also out on the top watching the water. I loved seeing all the coral. It was beautiful.


We headed back to our resort, had lunch, Ace took a nap and mom and dad went to a pool while Grandma stayed with the sleeping boy, and after Ace woke up we all headed out to Big Beach - where the waves are bigger. Loving Husband had a good time tossing around in them and Ace had a good time rolling in the sand (literally!) It was a good time and beautiful. We headed back to the hotel and LH and I got quickly cleaned up and headed out for our anniversary dinner (look for a separate post on this soon!)

The view and food was delicious and the company was fabulous. It was a nice evening. We headed back to find our boy still awake but quietly playing with stickers with Grandma. They were cute sitting together. We said thank you and good night to Grandma and we started to pack. As we had to leave the hotel at 5:30am the next day.

The next morning LH and I awoke around 4:30 and started to get ready to go. LH went and checked, loaded the car, and at the last second I got the boy up. We had tried a bit earlier - but that little guy sat up and then plopped right back down. He wasn't interested in waking up so early this day. Who can blame him. Since we awoke before even the crack of dawn, I was able to enjoy the sunrise. It was very pretty.

We said good bye to Hawaii and headed home. It was a wonderful, albeit short trip. I'm so glad my mom was able to come, enjoy the vacation and also help us with Ace. We all had a great trip!