Home Sweet Home

Sadly our vacation has come to an end.  I must admit I shed a tear as we walked away from the beach for the last time.  We checked out of the hotel on Monday and had a 5:05 p.m. HST flight out.  If you do the math, you will realize we flew all night EST, and arrived back in Columbus on Tuesday morning a little after eleven.  Our wonderful brother in law Dennis gave us a ride home.  We ate some Taco Bell and slept for 4 hours straight before making ourselves get up so we could adjust to the time change.  We’re still dog tired today, but ready to face reality again tomorrow (shaking as I say that, trying to convince myself it’s true!). 

It has been a wonderful vacation, and we’re so lucky to have had a safe, happy trip.  We would do the trip again in a heartbeat, and are already talking about “the next time we go to Maui”.  Go if you can – you won’t regret it!!  We’ve posted a few final pictures...

Much Love to All,

Vicky and Karen

Karen in the lobby when we first arrived at the hotel.

Karen viewing the sunset from our balcony

Vicky at the Feast of Lele Luau

Sunset at Feast of Lele Luau

Vicky and Karen at the Luau

Sunset from Balcony

Carefree Karen at the beach

 Entertainment at the Hula Grill and Barefoot Bar on our last night in Maui

We took the Barefoot Bar literally, and it felt good!

Some video from the Feast at Lele

One last look from our room...

Flying home over the Pacific

Saturday at Maui Ocean Center

We started Saturday by walking down to the Westin for breakfast.  Then we drove South (not North!) to the Maui Ocean Center.  It was a very nice aquarium with some exhibits outside and some inside.  It sits right on a harbor, so the setting was gorgeous.  Just got through watching a special on Tsunamis on National Geographic and it turns out Hawaii experiences the most Tsunamis of any place in the world.  Would have been good to see that AFTER we were home!

Uh, yeah, it's been a little windy.

Vicky at the Maui Ocean Center

A Few Other Random Pics...

Kayaker going by our hotel room

On the USS Bowfin at Pearl Harbor - found the coffee pot!!!

Black Rock Cliff Dive / Torch Lighting Ceremony

Karen at the pool (and my feet)

The Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is a road that leads to a town called Hana on the north side of Maui.  The trip is beautiful and passes many waterfalls.  Here’s the catch – the road has 120 hairpin turns, most of which are on the edge of a mountain overlooking the ocean.  Some brave souls take their rental cars on this journey, and some (even braver souls) trust a professional bus driver who knows the turns well so takes them a bit faster than YOU might!  I’ve heard the latter ride described as “terrifying” by a fellow traveler.  By the time you travel up to Hana, spend a few hours, and head back, it’s an 11 hour trip.  Given that Karen won’t drive on the freeway, and I am terrified of heights, we did NOT take the road to Hana.  But I believe we hit the first part of the road – unintentionally.  It started innocently.  We just wanted to see some surfers so the Concierge gave us the name of a couple of beaches “a little north” that the locals go to.  So we jumped in the Jeep Cherokee and off we went!  We went less than 10 miles I would say, when, the roads got steeper, the roads got curvier, and the next thing you know I’m going around a curve on the side of a mountain – holy crap!!!  We went from “Where is the beach?” to saying the Lord’s prayer...at least I did.  The moment I saw a place to turn around, we did.  It was still scary to turn around, but if we went off the edge we’d hit land instead of the ocean, which I thought would be better.  Back down the hill we went.  Turns out the “beaches” aren’t clearly marked and we had driven right by.  And no, there were no surfers.   Realizing we’re the resort type rather than the adventurous type, we purchased a bucket and shovel and went back to the beach and built sand castles.  Yes, we really did.  And it was a blast!

Honolua Bay

The only sign for Honolua Bay (NOT on the road)

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner by the Ocean

Today we ate breakfast at a sister hotel of the Sheraton, The Westin and I think it was even better than the Sheraton. 

The selection was a little better but what was best was our table, which was Oceanside.  After that we “went to work” with our typical 9 to 5 day…get a cabana, watch the cabana boy set it up, lay under the cabana, go to the ocean, lay under the cabana, eat lunch by the beach, go to the pool, lay under the cabana.  Oh the daily grind!!!  When the quitting whistle blew, it was time to head out to dinner, also by the beach. 

We read great things about a less traditional luau called The Feast at LeLe so we pre-booked it prior to arriving here in Maui.  We arrived at sunset last night to our private table in the front row, right on the beach!  They serve in five courses, with each course having entertainment and food from various cultures – Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, etc.  The backdrop was incredible of course, with the sun setting over the ocean.  Everything else was great too, from the food to the service to the entertainment.  The final part of the show was a fire dancer, which was amazing.  We were so close we could feel the heat from his torches – yikes, be careful buddy!  Pamm, we took a picture of one of our waiters especially for  you!  Enjoy the pictures!!!

Coconut Bras!

Fire Dancer...kind of looks like his head is on fire, but don't worry, it wasn't!

Hot waiter!

Karen getting drunk off of the open bar

Looks like a post card, right!?!

More Hawaiian dances





What Day is It? Ah, who cares!

Wednesday was a VERY windy day.  It started out a little overcast with just a drop of rain and trade winds a STEADY 30 mph with gusts 50 to 55 mph. 



Clouds over the mountain by the hotel



We started the day out at the pool today.  Karen got to swim around the lazy river, which she really enjoys.  Then we went out to the beach and saw an area that was roped off.  Turns out an extremely rare Hawaiian Monk Seal had decided to beach herself right on our beach. 



Rosie (R017) Hawaiian Monk Seal



The hotel staff put out cones to keep everyone away, and then an aquatic response volunteer showed up to rope the area off and ensure no one disturbed the animal.  He also answered everyone’s questions about the seal.   Turns out she was just tired and decided to rest on the beach for a while.  I’m sure she read great things about the Sheraton on Trip Advisor as well!  Her name, according to the volunteer, is R017.  That seemed a bit cold so we decided to call her Rosie.  She lay there all day, and by the next morning she was gone.  The volunteer said this is usually very rare, but it had happened 3 times in the last 2 weeks-pretty amazing.

Next we went to a little seaside town up the road about 10 minutes called LaHaina.  We ate Oceanside at Bubba Gumps.  The seats were amazing.  The water was literally sloshing up a little below where our feet were and the breeze was amazing. 

At Bubba Gumps

The food was really, really good as well.  I got shrimp stuffed with crab with a garlic butter sauce, and jasmine rice.  Enough to make you wanna slap your mamma – sorry Mom!  The LaHaina harbor had a little bit of damage and lost 3 boats during the Tsunami. 

Capsized boat at LaHaina Harbor

Last but not least we came back to the hotel and went down to the beach to watch the nightly cliff dive ceremony.  A Hawaiian gentleman swims out to the rock, and lights torches along the rock, then he dives into the water below at sunset.  Pretty cool.  Then we just hung out on the beach until the sun disappeared over the horizon.

A crazy kid diving off of Black Rock (not the nightly Cliff Dive)

Pearl Harbor

Yesterday we hopped on a commuter plane and flew to Oahu so we could visit Pearl Harbor.  We flew out of a little tiny airport just a few minutes north of our hotel.  It was such a tiny airport that they had an honor system parking fee!  The trip to Honolulu went off without a hitch.  We took a taxi to Pearl Harbor and arrived about 9:30 or so.  We walked right up to the ticket desk and got tickets to visit the USS Arizona at noon!  This was a HUGE relief to us because we had read that often time you must wait in line for hours to get tickets, and when they run out of tickets, you’re out of luck…you don’t get to go see the memorial.  So we were so pleased to arrive fairly late in the morning and get tickets a) without a wait and b) to a show early enough that our flight home wasn’t in question.  Pearl Harbor is a National Park, with a few other things to see besides the USS Arizona.  We went on a tour of the USS Bowfin, a submarine that was launched exactly one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and dubbed the “Pearl Harbor Avenger.”  It was interesting.  Very tight quarters – I don’t think I could last a day on a sub, let alone a couple of years.  We then toured the Bowfin Museum and had lunch prior to our Noon appointment with the USS Arizona.  At noon they led us into a theater and showed us a 15 minute film the park service had put together on the attack on Pearl Harbor.  They included good background as to why the Japanese attacked, how the planes were able to go undetected, and the aftermath.  We then hopped on a boat and were driven over to the USS Arizona Memorial.  The memorial straddles the center of the remains of the USS Arizona so we were able to look out either side and see portions of the submerged vessel. 

On one side we saw the oil still escaping from the Arizona as we’ve heard about so many times. 

The most striking thing for me was to look up and see the US Flag flying right above the memorial at half staff – it was beautiful and shows that even after 70 years we haven’t forgotten what happened that day. 

Here are a couple of other pictures we took:

We left Pearl Harbor around 2:00 or so and headed back to the airport a little bit earlier than scheduled.  We checked in with Island Air and he said we could hop on the next flight (2:30 instead of 4:30!) if we hurried “Chop Chop”.  So, in Amazing Race fashion we hustled over to the not too pleased gate attendant who nodded and let us through.  How nice to not have to waste 2 hours waiting for a plane in an airport!  The flight home was uneventful (30 minutes) until we landed, on one wheel, then the other three, as one passenger put it.  You know it wasn’t a good landing when you look up and see the flight attendant rolling her eyes and shaking her head, with a little bit of gratitude mixed in!    I think the traveling must have taken it out of us because we went to dinner, and then bed at 7:30 HST, which is why we’re awake at midnight Hawaii time!

View from Kapalua Airport on Maui

It actually worked out nicely that we were too pooped to leave the hotel.  We sat on our balcony and saw a very active whale mama and her cub (and an escort too, I think)!  We even saw one of the whales jump out of the water partially – how cool is that, right from our balcony (with binoculars of course)!!!

Tomorrow we plan to be beach bums again.  We may head north a few miles to a beach that won best beach in America back in 2006.  It’s said to be good for surfing.  There is a high wind advisory for tomorrow, with trade winds expected to be 20 – 30 miles an hour with gusts of 55, so the waves should be really big tomorrow!

One Bag of Groceries = $100

After our whale watching excursion we decided to go to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things.  We didn’t get much – a little lunch meat, some bread, PB and Jelly, sun block, etc.  And the total was $100 before our Safeway card discount (yes, we signed up for their shopper card to save money!) of $13.  Prices are outrageous, which we expected.  Brand name mustard was $7.99, a quart of milk was $2.50, licorice was $6.50!  But it beats paying $75+ for one “just OK” meal at one of the hotel restaurants.  I scored my first Starbucks next door to the Safeway!!!

Whale Watching

Whale Watching

Monday we were able to go out on a really nice catamaran with about 50 other people and do some whale watching for a couple of hours.  We saw several whales, although none leaped out of the water like you see on TV.  Mostly they were breaching the surface for air.  We saw their tales several times as they went to dive, and their fins which actually have a turquoise coloration in the water. 

Vicky waiting on the Teralani 2

There is a little white circle around the whales tail in this picture

Another one!

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday morning we started the day by going to the very nice breakfast buffet that was included with our package.  The dining area is open air – its inside but there are big giant wooden windows shutters that they open to make it open air.  As a result, the occasional bird hops into the restaurant.  They hop across the floor looking for tidbits someone might have dropped.  The birds actually match the carpet pretty well, so we think they’ve adapted themselves over time to blend in :O).  And the birds aren’t too shy to take a little something from your plate if you happen to walk away and leave it alone.  Ah, the price for paradise.



Karen at Breakfast, bird underfoot



We then went for a walk along the beach for the first time – in a word, incredible.  The sand is perfect – there really aren’t any rocks or shells to speak of.  We reserved a cabana, and headed back up to our room to get some things and head right back down to the beach.  The cabana is like a wooden platform that includes two lounge chairs that recline (with cushions) and a center area to put drinks, sun glasses, etc.  It also has a cover that can be fully collapsed or fully extended to provide shade and privacy.  I’m telling you, this is the way to do the beach!  We used plenty of SPF 50 and were able to stay on the beach from literally 9 to 5!!!  We did some snorkeling in the morning while the water was fairly calm.  We went along the edge of black rock and saw some amazing fish.  Big and small, different colors, some with what appeared to be horns (gulp), etc.  We got out a ways and it started looking like Jacques Cousteau’s ocean – deep and wide – so I wanted to head back in closer to the beach.  We think later this week we’ll rent some safety belts, and maybe some bigger fins, and head out to the end of black rock where there is a coral reef, and the snorkeling is even better!



Toes in the sand for the first time



The beach is called Black Rock because there is a big black outcropping of lava rock.  Each night they have a formal cliff diving ceremony to celebrate Hawaiian culture.  During the day however, people – young bold men, climb the rock and either dive or jump off themselves!  Crazy!  We also had people who were paddle boarding.  You can rent them by the hour and it’s basically like a surf board, but they give you a paddle and you stand up and just row.  A few people were boogie boarding and kayaking as well, but no surfers.  The waves aren’t big enough where we are.  I think that happens on the north edge of the island.  So between our swimming and snorkeling, and watching everyone else, we were very entertained for the day, and very active.  We are sore today!



Blackrock at Night (where the kids were diving from)



Next we hit the pool for just a little while.  There is a main pool and then it meanders around the common area so it’s quite a workout to make it all the way around.  There are some parts that are shallow enough to walk in and then at times you’re forced to swim.  There is the occasional waterfall, and a little water slide composed of tile and flowing water.  I think it’s meant for kids but you know Karen went down it! 

By the time we got to our room we were too exhausted to do much of anything else, so we ended up going to one of the hotel restaurants, which by definition, must be mediocre and very overpriced.  We knew that going in, but had no choice because I was too exhausted to even drive somewhere.  After dinner we took a short walk along the boardwalk by the beach and headed back to our room.  Both asleep by 9:00 HST.



Sunset as we were walking along the boardwalk



Today we head out for our whale watching cruise at 10:00.  Then we’ll probably get in the car for the first time since we got here and do a little bit of exploring, at least to find a grocery store so we can make PBJ’s if we’re too tired to go out for dinner.  That’s all for now – we’re looking forward to another great day in Maui today!  Hope everyone has a good day today in Columbus.

P.S.  Karen had on a Buckeye shirt yesterday and yes, we got our first disparaging remark about Tressel.  But it was a bitter Hawkeye fan.  Actually, it was all in jest and quite fun.  Usually when we travel and wear Buckeye gear, it elicits some kind of response, which is kind of fun.  You either run into someone else who is from Ohio and get an “OH!”, or a hater who is jealous of our success.

P.S.S.  Just remembered I forget to tell you about the white pelican like birds that would walk along beside us as we walked to and from the beach – too funny.  I’ll tell you another time.

Aloha babies!

Day 1 - Touchdown!

Good morning!  It’s 4:47 a.m. in Maui, and I’ve been up since 3:00 HST.  I’ve been struggling to get an internet connection so I’m trying to turn my Droid into a Wireless Hotspot.  I’m writing this entry in Microsoft Word, so if you’re seeing it on my blog, then I was successful.  So yesterday was a long day.  We were up for a full 24 hours plus, but the end result is we’re in Maui, and it’s beautiful!  Worth every minute of travel!  The trip itself was an event.  As most of you know, we decided to fly first class since it’s such a long flight (8 ½ hours from Dallas).  The flight from CMH to DFW was SO not first class.  It was a regional jet and we were squeezed in like sardines in a tin can, as they say.  But then for the flight from DFW to Maui we were in a Boeing 767 I think, and it was nice.  We walked on and it was like the angels were singing.  Very nice big seats with a freshly wrapped pillow and down comforter in each seat!  I must say it felt nice to be “that guy” for once, if you will.  You know, not the one wishing she was sitting in first class, but the one who WAS sitting in first class!  And all of the poor people in coach had to walk past our  seats with envy.  I must say I did feel bad for them.  The only reason we decided to fly first class was because we really wanted to go to Hawaii, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to sit 8 ½ hours in a typical airline seat.  With my Tbone issues it’s just too difficult.  So anyway, back to First Class!  When we were seated, before departure, the flight attendants (FA’s) walked around offering champagne or orange juice.  Poor Karen couldn’t have either, and neither could I.  But how nice, right!?!  Then after we departed and the plane leveled out, the fun began.  First, the FA’s came around with little fancy Schmancy warm wash clothes that she dispensed to each of with silver tongs so we could wash our hands.  Then they served us a little bowl of warm nuts with dried fruits.  Next they served a really nice salad with an orchid on the side of the plate.  The main course we chose was chicken encrusted in Macademia nuts, with potatoes, carrots, and sautéed spinach.  For dessert I had a hot fudge Sundae (no fresh baked cookies…I will be writing a letter!) and Karen had some fruit and cheese.

The alcohol was free (and flowing) for those who drank.  The seats are amazing for an airplane.  They’re not your lazy boy recliner, but they beat the HELL out of a regular airline seat.  They recline almost to a flat position, but not quite.  There were some preset positions you could use, but there were also manual settings that did everything from move you forward to backward, tilted you backwards or forwards, pushed your lower legs out or in, lowered or raised the footplate at the bottom of the seat, etc.  As I said, because of this we were able to sleep on the plane, which really helped.  We arrived in Maui and the airport is even beautiful!  The baggage claim area is open air, which was kind of surreal.  The only bad, dare I say devastating (tongue in cheek) thing that happened was I left my Tervis Tumbler in the airport, and I’m Tumblerless now…very sad.  We picked up our rental car, which turned out to be a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  We upgraded because of everything going on with the Tsunami and everything else, just in case we have to go four wheeling or something.  But there is very little evidence that they even had high water here.  We did see a couple of places with some standing water, but wouldn’t have even noticed if we weren’t looking for it. 

Our hotel is amazing!  We have an oceanfront room with a lanai that we can literally watch whales from! 


Last night the bellhop was pointing them out to us.  When the sun comes up this morning we’ll pull out the binoculars for a better look.  The staff here at the Sheraton has been really great so far.  It’s a huge resort (23 acres) so it’s easy to feel lost, especially when you’ve been awake for 22 hours.  Jeff, our bellhop from earlier, just showed up out of nowhere when we were wandering around the lobby at a loss for where to get something to eat, how to get there, etc.  He even showed up with water for us because he knew earlier we were looking for some bottled water.  They have golf carts (big ones) and so he just had us hop in and drove us down the road just a little bit (maybe a 2 minute ride) to a local shopping area called Whalers Village.  Do you remember Fantasy Island?  Karen compared Jeff to someone on Fantasy Island who would just show up with whatever you needed. 

  I did buy a new camera for the trip.  It’s a long story leading up to the purchase, but basically it’s a display model, and after I took about 3 pictures, it doesn’t work anymore.  Nice!  So there is a Costco on the island so we’re going to go there and pick up another one today. 

On the agenda today other than that is just to relax.  We’re going to hit the pool and the beach, for as long as we can, and then the pool and the beach and the pool and the beach.  Don’t worry; we’ll use plenty of sun block.  The UV index is 10 here today (extreme)!  Well, that’s it for now.  I just want to say we’re very grateful and blessed that we’re able to take such a nice vacation (probably the once in a lifetime trip for us).  And isn’t this world amazing that you can just hop on a plane or two and a day or so later be on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean?  Mahalo (thanks) for checking out my blog.

Come Hell or High Water, The Vacation Begins!

It's been a long time since July when we first booked our trip to Maui, but our departure day has finally arrived, albeit with some stress leading up to today.  About a week ago or so we began hearing about a volcano erupting on the big island of Hawaii, but no big deal, right.  Not even the island we're staying on.  But then yesterday my dear sister Pammie sent me a text at 6 a.m. saying "Holy crap!  8.9 in Japan, and tsunami warnings for Hawaii!?!"  Honestly when I first saw the text I thought she was kidding, and was a little bit pissed.  "Not so funny", I thought.  When I asked if she was joking, she assured me she was not.  I rushed to the TV to see the breaking news insignia on CNN.  I stood in disbelief and then awoke Karen who said "We're not going to Hawaii, are we?"  I said it doesn't look like it and her response was "S$%!"

Well here we are 24 hours later and we're going on our vacation after all.  Fortunately Maui withstood the tsunami well, so we're on our way!  Just got the confirmation email from AA saying the flight is on time, so I'm going to hop in the shower.  Aloha baby!

13 Days and Counting

We've created this blog so our friends and family can see pictures we take when we're on our dream trip in Hawaii!