Maui July 5 - 13, 2018

Maui July 5 - 13, 2018

Thursday:
This year we chose our vacation around my conference. Neither Matt nor I had been to Maui and we had wanted to get back to Hawaii for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Why not bring the kids? All I had to do was mention Hawaii to them and they were convinced.

Kapalua, Maui is on the Northwestern side of Maui, often more wet than other areas. Our trip was longer than many Hanson family trips...usually we do 7 days...this year we opted for 9. 👍

Our flight out of O'hare left at 12:30. For once we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn! We reminded Matt he is with his family and not on a work business trip....downshift please! Our flight had a layover in Las Angeles. Noelle spotted and got photos with Post Malone. I had no clue who he was. Our flights were a bit painful as far as time goes. I only watched one movie...maybe I should have watched more to make it more bare able. We did have a scare at LAX....almost lost Greta's luggage...Matt thankfully returned to our first plane and they had been holding it. Didn't want to have to buy her all new clothes and shoes! Her and I won for packing the most pairs of shoes...5 each.

Once to Maui we rented our white Jeep and headed up the coastline to a grocery store and on to our resort. My conference was at the Ritz Carleton. We debated a VBRO but figured we might at well do the resort since my conference was here. We know we won't otherwise stay at this high end of a resort.

Once to our place we unpacked and hit he sack...James and Noelle in living room, Greta on the roll away and Matt and I in the king bed.

Friday:
My morning run was on the Kapalua Costal trail consisting of a boardwalk along the coast, paths through black rock, and stretches of sandy beaches.

Once back to the resort we ate breakfast in and took our first tour outside the resort. I brought the family down the same pathway of my morning run. Matt nearly bit his tongue off in nervousness as he watched James and Greta go deeper into the ocean tides. Noelle and I distracted dad handing him the camera to take photos of us jumping and doing cartwheels on the beach. Next we hit the resort pool. Matt ordered his first Mi-tai and Noelle her fruit smoothie, James hit the hot tub and Greta met in her first friend in the pool. I sat at poolside and worked out registering logistics for our excursions. Once we had enough rays we showered up and headed to Lahaina to Hula restaurant on the water. Our views of the ocean and our meals were amazing. I was proud of James and Noelle...they snacked on spiced chickpeas! My drink was my highlight...ginger & lime flavored water. We FaceTimed grandma Erma and grandpa Felix and enjoyed the ocean breeze.

After lunch we visited the Banyan Tree, a sprawling tree planted in 1873. It is the largest Banyan Tree in all the the US. It has several trunks and one would think looking at it that it is more than one tree. It spans an entire city clock, is 60 feet tall and has 12 major trunks. The weather shifted to rain on the way back to our resort. We found an easy way to avoid getting wet with the top down....drive faster and try not to hit any red stoplights. Funny story about our drive back...our drive back I am enjoying the views, taking photos...I turn around to say something to the kids in the backseat and they started laughing their heads off...I wonder why..."Jill - jill....you only have one lens in your sunglasses!" Sure enough...looking back at our photos...only one lens! I didn't even notice....fortunately I found the lost lens and popped it back in...sunglasses fixed!

The rest of our evening was chill....Dinner in, dad and Noelle watching Anne With An E, Greta her cartons, and James his utube videos. Greta and I did make a quick visit to the live music in the resort lobby for some dancing and the gift shop for her postcards. The evening came to a close as my eyelids spontaneously closed about 8:30pm sorting my photos of the day.

Saturday:
This morning Matt joined me on the same run before we headed out on the road to Hana. We packed up our Jeep with food, suits, tour books, and lots of sunscreen. The road to Hana is a 64.4 picturesque highway on Hana Highway with nearly 600 hairpin turns along the northern coastline of Maui. We stopped at mile 27 for coconut ice cream. We all put on our matching white ponchos and walked 10 feet in pouring rain to the world renown best dairy free equivalent ice cream! I was in heaven....Matt just rolls his eyes.

The trip to Hana The trip has many waterfalls to stop at...or if you are like us...you aim for the largest one. Before we got there we stopped at a state park with a black sand beach and cave. The waves crashing into the cave had Matt a little freaked out. Next on to the waterfall. The one we chose was called Waimoku Falls. The hike the the base was 2 miles uphill through bamboo rainforests and muddy terrain. Once there we wanted to swim at the base but it started raining. We didn't want to chance it so we turned around. I won the award of most muddy...I wore flip flops that flopped mud up with every step. Once back we kept ongoing past Hana on the road rounding the lower side of Hakeakala National Park. Matt was in heaven off roading on the single lane dirt road in our Jeep rental with the top down. We stopped at a local ma and pa food stand for fuel consisting of candy and made our way back to our resort. Tonight's dinner consisted of grab and go items from the resorts' cafe. We all hit the sack early.

Sunday:

This morning's run I decided to go north on the kapaula trail. It was a single track trail run with greenery bushing both sides of my body and over my head. I kinda felt like I was running through-the Hawaiian version of a Wisconsin cornfield. Once back to our hotel the kids were just awakening. They decided to try the resorts breakfast buffet while I went to my conference. We then headed to Lilihana for spa and pedicure treatments. James and I got massages while Dad, Greta, and got pedicures. The lady asked Dad if he wanted black nail polish since his toe nails looked so ugly and black and blue from the Duluth marathon. He passed on that luxury. The girls got blue raspberry shaved ice and we headed to foot locker to replace James tennis shoes with holes in them. He bought another pair of...you guessed it...black Nike's. I can't blame him...if you find a pair that works for you you stick with it. Next we hit up he grocery store for lunch. Up to now I had been craving a fresh coconut....I found one...but had no way of eating it without also buying a sledgehammer. So what do I do...and the store clerk if he'd cut it open for me. Lucky me...enjoyed fresh coconut meat and water with my salad. Dad finally got his sushi, Noelle and Greta salad's and James fried chicken and fried potato wedges. Our intent was to get food for a picnic on the beach. We didn't make it that far...had lunch outside the grocery store so we could optimize time and make it to The tide pools. There are several tide pools on the northwestern side of Maui...a bit off the beaten path. We all saw the protective side of Matt today...as much as we all wanted to swim in them...he convienced us not to. The tide easily picks up and he didn't want to see us all pulled out to sea. We watched several couples wade in them from afar. I guess I didn't realize how dare devilish I am. As we drove back our resort we stopped and took some photos of the picturesque coastal landscape. Once back to our resort we showered up and went to Hula Grill for dinner. Very cute atmosphere...it is described as a barefoot bar. The highlight of my meal was the appetizer of Taro chips and seafood salad made with avocado. We hit Haagen Daz on the way back to our resort and crashed soon thereafter.

Monday:

This morning my run was paralleling the Kapalua coastline trail...however in the neighborhood. I had to run in the dark to be back in time for our snorkel and sail excursion. I passed a rooster farm...you couldn't sleep in that neighborhood! Once back we headed to Kaanapali beach to meet up with the Trilogy sail & snorkel crew. A photographer came along with us and captured good shots...it was a good thing since Matt never checked the angle of his go pro. He had it mounted to his forehead...unfortunately we only got views of the top of the water. We boarded from the shoreline. Our crew was very entertaining. They served us fresh pineapple juice, coffee, tea, fresh papaya, and cinnamon rolls. We motored across the ocean to Honolua and Makuleia Bays for amazing snorkeling. I was a little apprehensive wondering how I'd do with the choppy waves. My sea wrist bands did the trick...for the most part. Greta was a hoot when she got out there snorkeling....she kept repeating...."daddy, daddy, fishes!!!" She out snorkeled all of us....I wondered if she could make it work...no issues.... I think I had the biggest challenge trying to stay warm. Even in the probable 80 degree temperature when I started shivering I couldn't stop. We got to swim with several turtles. Our underwater photographer captured amazing shots for us. After 2 hrs of snorkeling the crew bought out or lunch consisting of BBQ chicken, caesar salad, rice, rolls, and ice cream. We then set sail for our home base. The wind was just right to bring us in without the motor. We all soaked up rays on the nets on the front of the catamaran. Maybe a bit too much sun for some of us! We made our way back to the hotel and chilled for a couple hours until the kids needed activity again. We drove to Lihani for the movie Incredibles 2. It was a bit much for Greta...she and dad chilled in the park across the street with the Banyan Tree. We stopped at Cool Cat...a 50's dinner style restaurant. Our meals were a hit. We drove home trying to beat the sun from setting. Greta, Noelle, and I went down to the beach to get some sunset photos. We crashed soon after that.

Tuesday:

Today stared with a my usual run. Afterwards I headed off to my morning conference. Matt and kids headed off to the pool. Noelle read her book in the hammock, James hung at the hot tub, and dad supervised Greta swimming with her instant friends. As the weather was warming up Noelle opted to go to the room while dad and James went to the weight room. I was on Greta duty now that my morning conference was over. Lunch time was approaching so we hit the Cafe onsite for grab and go meals. We ate right outside the cafe and decided our plan for the day. James and Greta stayed home while Noelle, dad, and I hit he grocery store. Once back to our resort Noelle stayed back and dad, James, and I drove to Honolua Bay. The beach is all small rock. The entry in was a beautiful fern and coconut tree lush rainforest with chickens rooming. We didn't stay long since footing was too difficult to enter the water. Instead we went back and grabbed our boogie boards & camera and went to our local beach, D.T. Fleming beach. We jumped waves for a good hour. Next we hit our pool. I warmed up in the hot tub while Greta swam in the pool. Dad read his book (Ashfield), that James wants him to read, and James did his phone thing. Noelle was ready to do something again and suggested we go to Maui Brewing Company. What a great recommendation!! My highlight was the appetizer of zucchini and carrots spirulized with a pesto on top. Even Greta and Noelle liked it! Matt enjoyed his microbrew samplers. I drove us home this night! Once back to our place James and Noelle laughed there heads off with a "which famous person is your look alike" game. We all agree Matt looks most like Pyton Manning. We hit the sack soon thereafter.

Wednesday:
Today we had intended to do the Sunrise over Maui's volcano. The 3am departure, no run for Jill, and rainy forecast changed the itinerary. Instead after my normal coastline trail run while kids ate their pop tarts and chocolate muffins we hoped in our Jeep and set for Twin Falls. It is on the 2 mile marker of the road to Hana. Noelle wanted to swim under a waterfall and I had to make it happen. Thank goodness the water was just right, it wasn't raining, wasn't too crowded, and we had everything we needed to make it work...including the waterproof phone case and water shoes for Greta. We had to cross several streams and do some jungle hiking to our waterfalls. The first was maybe 30 feet high and higher rapids. We all got in to our necks...the teenagers went under and attempted swimming right to the base. I didn't have the strength...the current is like an underwater treadmill. Nothing I've felt before. The other waterfall was taller...maybe 100 feet with a cove behind it. I wanted to go under but my body temperature was already dropping in this mountain feed water. After this adventure we headed to the cowboy town of Makawao. We found a great grab and go general store downtown for make your own sandwiches and wraps and found a little park to sit and eat our lunch while feeding the chickens. We topped that off with gelato & ice cream before we headed to Maui's volcano . We drove up to the summit at 10,000 feet. Once on top we took some photos. I was excited to start our hike down into the crater on sliding sands trail....not happening. Even with my candy power ups the teenagers and dad wouldn't go. Greta was my only hiking buddy. I handed off my phone to get some photos of us from the summit and Greta and I hiked 1/4 mile in. We found ourselves more short of breath up here....less oxygen at this altitude. We hoped back in our Jeep, took the top down and drove down through the clouds. Greta was super fascinated with the concept of being able to touch the clouds..."what do they feel like?" She'd ask. Our drive back to our resort Greta took turns playing the guess what I'm drawing on your back with James and Noelle. Once back to our resort we ate in. The teenagers and dad watched America's got talent, while Greta and I sat in a comfy chair enjoying the sounds of waves crashing in while writing out her postcards.

Thursday:

This morning I did my normal coastline run and ate my beet kale banana smoothie before attending my morning conference. Afterwards we all chilled in the hot tub and pool until we grabbed lunch in our room. We chilled on our rooms patio reading our books until we were ready to venture out. We went to Lilihana for our Cliff diving adventure. Noelle and I swam out to Black rock and climbed up the 20 foot cliff. Once to the front of the line...there was no turning back. She jumped first. When it was my turn I couldn't even see where I was jumping...I just knew I had to do it. I jumped with one arm out and it landed hard onto the water causing a bruise. It was the only proof of my jump...that and Noelle's word. We swam the 200 yards back to shore running into several turtles and snorkelers along the way. Meanwhile dad, Greta, and James wave jumped. Once we accomplished our task we made our way back to the resort to shower up. That was a must given Greta somehow managed to get 10 pounds of sand in every crease of her body. We chilled some more in the resort before heading to our favorite restaurant...Maui Brewing company. Dad enjoyed his brew sampler again. Tonight we went back to the hotel to pack up and hit the sack.

Friday:
This morning was an early run...4am on the dark streets paralleling the coastal trail. The roosters weren't even up yet. We packed up and headed for the airport. We checked our bags and flew to Honolulu. With just our carry ons we caught an Uber ride to Waikakii. Our driver was entertaining...older feller whose family immigrated here from China. Once to Waikakii we did some solvineer shopping. Thank goodness for ABC stores. Noelle and I found shirts and Greta a stuffed turtle...imagine that! We gaucked at Tesla's and made our way to Duke's on the beach for lunch. Even in the shade we all had enough of sun and people. We called for another Uber back to the airport. Our driver this time was much younger...with a camera in his car. He said he had to use it twice. Once as proof in the court after a married couple was fighting and another time for the car detailer...proof that his car was pucked in when his car was out of commission for a week. This young guy was from California. Once to the airport we all chilled at our gate until boarding. We all took our sleep aids and the flight home didn't seem bad at all! Now back in Chicago it is raining and 87 degrees.

Fun trip!!! I do have to say I cannot wait for a home cooked plate of veggies...matt can't wait for oatmeal.

Now if you asked Matt he'd probably say no to Hawaii again. Too long of flight and too expensive. I on the other hand would do it in a heartbeat.

Let the brainstorming begin...where will we be Spring Break???






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