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Maui Jan 17 - 25th 2020

Friday:

This year we chose not to bring grandma. With her health we didn't want to risk needing to go to a medical facility while in Hawaii. Greta and I left on the bus to Chicago Friday night. We wanted to beat the snowstorm. The usual three hour ride took nearly 4. Once to our hotel we ate the free chocolate chip cookie and crashed.

Saturday:

In the morning I chose to run on the treadmill. I didn't want to slip and fall on the ice outside changing our vacation plan. Our United flight departed at 10:30 AM. Unfortunately we didn't have any video screens on our plane. Fortunately James came to our rescue and let us know the iPad password right before we departed so we could let Greta watch videos on the iPad. Our flight over seemed like an eternity. Once there the wait continued as our rental car company took an hour and a half to get us our car.. We won't be using advantage anymore for car rental that's for sure! Once to our resort Greta and I were famished. We made our way to the snack shop and I found the most amazing macadamia nut goji Berry coconut gluten-free cookie! She enjoyed her slice of pizza. Our resort was amazing. We were able to upgrade to an ocean view room because of Matt's Hilton honors status. Our resort was called Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. That is were my conference took place. After dinner we crashed.

Sunday:

I didn't sleep too well last night. The time difference is about four hours. This morning I really wanted to run in daylight but couldn't wait that long as I was starving. Greta was up so she went with me to the resorts workout gym. Another treadmill run which isn't my favorite. We next hit the resorts breakfast. We were in heaven with the variety of tropical fruits, deli meats, pastries, cereals, made to order omelettes, pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage and gluten-free grains! After four trips up for more our bellies were full and ready to explore the resorts pool. The resort had at least eight pools on multiple levels. There even was a underwater elevator that had been donated by a man whose handicap son wanted to swim.. It was the only underwater elevator of this kind in the world. They turned it into a fun event for families to go from one lower level pool to the next level up. Greta and I spent the majority of the time on the lava slide. Looking back at it no wonder she felt a little sick after going on it over and over. It was a fast moving slide! there was also a lazy river a waterfall and multiple other slides. Believe it or not I was able to stay in the water without getting too cold! After lunch we went to Walmart to buy our weeks worth of groceries. Food here is certainly expensive! Walmart at least has the cheapest prices. Unfortunately our resort didn't have a microwave for me. That limited my food selection. No sweet potatoes all week. I decided to eat bread, gluten-free instead. Oh and lots of dark chocolate and avocados!! My body craved fruit all week probably to balance things out!! After checking in for my conference we were ready to explore off the resort property so we hopped in our car and decided to make it to the volcano for sunset. As we were ascending, the clouds came over and it started misting. The sun was still shining and we saw a beautiful rainbow end to end. As our elevation increased Greta began feeling not so hot. Between the lava slide at the resort and the altitude she wasn't in the best spirits. We compromised and only went halfway up got out for a potty stop and some photos and made our way back down the volcano. Sometimes you're better off to know when to quit. Once back to the resort we crashed.

Monday:

This morning I was able to run outside. The resort had a beautiful boardwalk paralleling the ocean. The smell of Hawaii, the breeze, the sound of the waves, the warmth gave me goosebumps and tears in my eyes. I love Hawaii!. And this morning's run was even in the dark. Once back to our resort we did breakfast in bagels with cream cheese for Greta and a smoothie for myself. We spent the first part of the day chilling at the conference and hotels pools. My conference was pretty well attended. I was able to hit a lecture all about infection. Greta chilled in the room watching animal planet while our maid cleaned the room. We did lunch in today and did a SUP. They insisted that we rent two boards. Greta was only interested in being on mine. Go figure. I think she wanted a little more excitement than A peaceful and meditative standing paddleboard session. We then hopped in the car and headed to IOA needle. It is a very lush tropical nature park in central Maui with high rock formations covered in lush greenery and a central valley containing taro. We also went to a lighthouse that was out on a point on western Maui were there supposedly is the best whale watching. I'm not sure I saw any, Greta claims she did. We made it back to our resort in time for sunset photos on the beach. A trip isn't complete without dressing up for them and doing a few yoga poses. We were able to watch a luau with Torch lighting. Greta pretended she was on the stage learning the hula with the rest of the group. soon there after we crashed.

Tuesday:

After a morning run on the boardwalk, in the daylight, we went to the resorts breakfast for Greta to have her $4 meal. Thank you Matt for the discount!. We went back to the room and packed up our essentials for a long day adventure. Today was our day to drive to Hana. The route on this northern side of Maui started with hairpin turns. Greta got some amazing photos from the window. We ended at the Blacksand beach where we explored the cave, dipped our feet in the water, and ended with a picnic lunch next to the feral cats. We continued our road trip to the seven sacred pools. Each one has a waterfall in between. Unfortunately the tide was too high and we weren't able to swim in them. We were able to get some amazing photos though. I would've loved to have done more hiking but hiking is not Greta's favorite, go figure. Our next stretch of road was off the beaten path, very narrow. We rolled the windows down, blared 80s music, and tears began to roll. The beauty was astonishing. Only once did we come to a stop to allow a herd of cows to cross the road. I take that back we did stop at a rocky beach to take some Panoramic's. after completing our loop we stopped at a drugstore to buy some snacks to tide us over until we got back to our resort. My hamstring was pretty sore this day. Six hours of driving, on and off the brake pedal / gas pedal was enough to aggravate it. This evening we went down to the pool and did an evening swim. Greta ended her evening singing to me while we gazed at the stars. It was very peaceful..

Wednesday:

This morning I did another boardwalk run today in the daylight. We again ate at the resorts breakfast. Today we decided to rent the resort bicycles and ride to the nearby market. Greta rented a little BMX bike. We bought turtle earrings and also sat and had coffee for me smoothie for Greta while chatting with a nice lady her daughter and grandson.. The little boy wanted to hold Greta's hand. The grandma shared how her whole family lives in Maui in different condos in the same neighborhood. How nice that would be! After lunch in our hotel room we decided to throw on our suits and drive to to Twin Falls. We walked the trails leading to our waterfall.. We braved it and swim to the ledge at the base of the falls. The tallest rainfall was not open due to bad conditions. Afterwards we drove to the nearby town and had the most amazing ice cream ever! I had coconut Macadamia nut in a waffle. Greta had passion fruit in a waffle. The waffle made the treat!! We made our way back to our resort and went down to the beach for another sunset viewing on the beach. We had a mini dinner from our favorite resort snack shop and hit the sack.

Thursday:

This morning I had a real eye opener on my run. I fell. Tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. A nice couple asked if I was okay. Thank goodness I only scraped up my hand and bruised my hip. I wasn't going to let it stop me so I did sprint on the beach...my energy reimerged and I was ready for more. Greta and I refueled are our breakfast and I attended my final lecture. Afterwards Greta and I swam at our hotel pool until it was time for lunch and departure. We had to meet our catamaran at 1pm. We opted for a 3 hour tour to Molokini crater. It has been rated one of the top snorkeling sites in the world. We sat next to a nice couple from Idaho, 30 min from Jackson Hole, WY. He is an opthamoligist and she is a stay at home mom of 4 kids, former nurse. There were here on Maui for a conference. We chatted on various subjects...ADHD, sleeping aids, the Hawaiian islands, his hobbies of dirt biking, hers of running. Greta thinks I talked too much. Our venture out to the crater Greta spotted whales. We got amazing close up photos. Once to our snorkeling spot we enjoyed our 45 min dip. The waters were tolerable. The captain saw me shaking and knew I needed a wetsuit. He loaded me one for free and said, "you must be a triathlete, you don't have an ounce of fat on you. I once did a triathlon." That wetsuit was a God send. I warmed up at least a little bit. The trip back to Maui we spotted more whales, Greta chowed down her hotdog and chips, and I shivered every ounce of fat off me. Once back to shore we made our way back to our resort and did our final sunset photos on the beach and cute sayings wrote in the sand. We made our way back to our room and crashed.

Friday:

I hated to see this as my final run this morning. I tried to feel every ounce of awesomeness. Afterwards Greta and I swam our final two hours at the hotel pool. we really lucked out for weather this week. It was 80 and sunny every day. I think our vitamin D levels were boosted 20 points each. We headed to Walmart to purchase our Soulineers. then we did some yoga at a park before heading to the airport. Our trip back Wasn't too bad since we had an extra seat next to us that wasn't taken. We tried to sleep some. We arrived to ohare at 4:45AM feeling like zombies. Our van Galder bus brought us back to our snow covered car at the park n ride just in time to get home for the madness of life to begin again.

It was a wonderful trip. I would definitely do Maui again!!

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