Here's what we did in Maui!

Saturday: We arrived and got settled. Loved our condo and breathed a sigh of relief! The condo was newly renovated and nearly everything was brand new including a stove that was just like ours at home! We planned to do a lot of our cooking so that was exciting!

Sunday: We went to the hotel breakfast orientation to learn about the island and what there is to do. We learned a few things but already had a good idea from research online and books so we didn't book much from their presentation. (the goal of them having a breakfast) We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and Walt watched the Steelers game. It was lowkey as we had an early wake-up time on Monday!

Monday: We woke up at 2am and drove 2 hours to Haleakala Crater to watch the sunrise. We got there in plenty of time and the hour before sunrise was the best part. Then the sun popped out over the crater. We enjoyed it and were glad that we drove ourselves. We relaxed on the beach later that afternoon after a nap. We had dinner at Bubba Gumps at sunset that night. A sweet old lady named Joanna bought our dinner because it was Walt's 40th birthday trip! We were speechless!

Tuesday: It's really hard to sleep in with the 5 hour time difference but it was wonderful to take full advantage of daylight...sunrise around 6am. (11am CST!) We relaxed on the beach during the day and then went to a luau that night. We sat next to a family where the dad looked like Sting much to Walt's delight!

Wednesday: We did the "Road to Hana" with a self-guided CD, thanks to Chad and Amy! It took us 3 hours driving the curvy, scenic road and about 90 minutes going back. There is a part that you can drive going toward the south side but with the earthquake last fall, the road has been closed so you have to come back the way you came! We're glad we did it but when we go back to Maui, we will probably skip it! Although the prettiest places were along this road, it is a long journey! We did buy some wonderful banana bread and had a picnic lunch watching the waves crash against lava rocks. When we got back, we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant. The hotel gave us $100 in food credit so that was great for a couple meals and refreshments! Wednesday night was the most amazing sunset and Walt contemplated his final hours as a 30-something year old.

Thursday: Happy 40th Birthday, Walt! We went on a snorkeling trip to Molokini and Turtle Arches. Molokini is a tiny island that is the tip of a crater on land that never surfaced. We snorkeled for about an hour but there weren't a lot of fish as the waters were choppy and then we went over to the Turtle Arches area. The area we snorkeled in for another hour did not have much fish and neither of us saw turtles! :( A couple on our trip saw one baby turtle. We came back and relaxed on the beach and then went out for Walt's birthday dinner.

Friday: We rested and relaxed on the beach and then went on a sunset cruise out of Lahaina. It was great! We had fun talking to others and sailing around the beautiful scenery for two hours.

Saturday: We relaxed in the condo and then checked out at check-in time (12noon), took final pictures of our beautiful beach and resort and then drove around. We went to Borders and off to the airport for our 5pm flight. We flew overnight and got home at 5am the next day! (We can't believe this was two weeks ago tomorrow! Wow!)