Maui

As a graduation gift/one last get together before everyone goes their separate ways, we went on one of my favorite family vacations of all time: we took a week long trip to Wailea, Maui. We were so sad that Erica and her family could not join us and we missed them dearly, but are grateful to Erica for the sacrifices that she is making to be a mother.

On Friday the 19th of June, Isaac and I took our over-sized duffles and jumped in the car heading for the airport. Martha gave us a ride and shared with us for an hour just why Hawaii was so great and how much fun we are going to have. It was the perfect way to get pumped up for the trip. We flew into the Seattle airport, met dad, drove and drove, rode the ferry, ate yummy Ivar's fish and chips and finally made it home. Isaac apparently is allergic to cats and couldn't breathe in the office (or the cat's Lair), so we kicked Jordan out of his room and slept there. We slept great all night until about 5 in the morning when I woke up with the thought that I had 15 seconds to make it to the bathroom or there would be throw up all over Jordan's room. I was so incredibly sick and ended up throwing up and feeling nauseous the rest of the day--it was the worst. And what better way to spend the day when you are feeling nauseous than to ride on a boat on the open seas--which is exactly what we did. I only threw up once on the boat which was nice and it was actually a beautiful day and a fun time, I just wish that I could have enjoyed it without all the nausea. We sailed all over around the San Juans and saw a lot of beautiful islands, seals, and Bald Eagles. I went to bed early that night and was feeling a lot better around Dinner time on Sunday. I am glad that it didn't last very long and that no one else got sick.

Hawaii was amazing and everything that it is cracked up to be. We had a wonderful flight on Monday complete with pineapple juice, Hawaiian music, and a lot of blue ocean out the window. It was super windy as we flew into the small Maui airport, but the wind felt good as it equalized the hot, humid air that blasted you in the face as you stepped off the plane. We got our small rental van, packed ourselves in and immediately went to Costco where we loaded up on pineapple, macadamia nuts, and all sorts of good fruit and food to keep our bellies full for the week. As we started driving towards our condo, we couldn't help but laugh at the fields of dead trees and cows out the window. This is Maui, we thought? Were is all of the green jungle? However as soon as we got to the beach we were in heaven. The beach was perfect with soft white sands that squishes between your toes, perfect sunsets, palm trees, and snorkeling, and the best part is that it wasn't crowded AT ALL! We felt like we basically had the whole place to ourselves. Our condo that we were staying in was absolutely wonderful and just perfect for relaxing and having family meals, and taking multiple showers a day to rinse all of the sand off.

The next week went by in a blur. We walked down to the beach every day and enjoyed swimming and laying in the sun on our beach. When we got sick of the salt water we would swim in the pool right by the beach and maybe even use it to get some sand out of our suits (shhh...don't tell). Some of the best snorkeling on the island was right on our beach and we saw sooo many cool fish in the coral including trumpet fish, humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (or something like that), mooray eels, needle fish, angel fish, puffer fish, and more. One day we got to go swim with the turtles which was so awesome. We talked about going Scuba diving as most of us are certified, but we decided that you can see just an much by holding your breath and diving down as you can renting all of the scuba gear, so we stuck with snorkeling--which was so worth every minute.

We also spent a lot of time boogie boarding (or being spongies as the natives would say). We rented some boards which we had for the whole week, and since the waves weren't very big at the beach outside our place, we drove down to what is known as BIG BIG. Not only is the beach big, but the waves were HUGE. We all just stood there holding onto our boards staring at the waves saying "no way we are going out there---we will die!" Well, we eventually did go out there into the waves and while none of us died luckily, each of us did have several hard wipe outs where the waves just thrashed us into the sand, tumbling head over heels, until we finally washed up on the beach, sand in every crevice, only to be sucked out to sea again and thrashed by the next wave. Even still, we had the time of our lives and gave mom a good laugh or two as she snapped photos of our adventures. I remember stopping to look at Isaac after one of the big waves and laughing so hard as I noticed that he had sand in his hair, ears, eyebrows, and even in his eyelashes. By the time we left the beach, we were so full of salt water and sand, that we were sure that it would never come out--and it never really did until a few weeks after we arrived back home in Utah. The up side is that sand is such a wonderful exfoliater.

Jordan and Nathan have always wanted to try surfing, so we all spent one morning taking lessons in Lahaina from a native. He made the experience a true Hawaiian surfing experience. Mike is lanky and leathery, has bleached-blonde dreads, moves slowly, and talks like a surfer. We practice technique on the beach before the took to the water although much of the time was spent listening to mike talk about how surfing is sacred, the importance of feeling and respect the waves, and about how catching a wave relates to life, about how you have to look forward and just let everything behind you go--focus on where you are going. I couldn't help but relate him to the sea turtle in finding Nemo. They got it spot on. When it came time to actually catch the wave I couldn't really remember what to do, all I could think of was Mikes voice telling me to "respect the wave"--haha. Luckily, he was there surfing next to us giving us pointers and helping us to improve. All of us got up the first time, and were surfing in some of the bigger waves by the end of the day---although I have really got to work out my arms, I could never paddle fast enough to catch the wave by myself. I usually needed a little push. All of that paddling is EXHAUSTING. It was super fun though, and I am glad that we were able to try it. We found out that traditionally, the king and queen of Hawaii were the only ones who were allowed to surf, and coincidentally enough, the king and queen lived right in Lahaina and may have surfed on the exact beach that we learned. Just a fun little tid-bit for you.

During the week we also enjoyed beautiful sunsets, ate loads of shrimp at Bubba Gumps (yes, the place in forest gump), walked through the old stores in Lahaina, read, ate a lot of shaved ice and popsicles, went to church in the small ward on the Island where we were passed the sacrament by Polynesian boys in flip flops and "skirts", and played on the beach.

One night we went to a Luau where we heard wonderful music, enjoyed dancing from all of the Polynesian islands, and were able to sample traditional food from each of the islands. It was a beautiful night and we really enjoyed the show. Most of the meal was sea-food, which is not Isaac's favorite, but he was a good sport and tried everything, and even like a lot of it.

We also spent one day packed into the car driving the long and windy road to Hana: A small town on the opposite side of the Island. The road is paved (sort of), and winds through one of the wettest places in the United States---so naturally it is beautifully green and jungle like.

Along the way we were able to stop and hike to several waterfalls, stop at several road-side stands and eat the best pineapple, coconut and banana bread, and try not to throw up in the back of the car. One of the best stops along the way was a 3 mile hike to some beautiful waterfalls. The hike began by taking us a long way through a bamboo forest. We all couldn't help but whistle Indiana Jones and Tarzan and feel like we wanted to build our own little Swiss family Robinson hut in there. We then had to climb up some steep rocks using old ropes and ladders crafted out of bamboo. We saw some beautiful waterfalls along the way, but we wanted to keep going. We put on our swimsuits, hid our clothes in the bushes, and then swam through the river a ways to make it to our final destination: a beautiful waterfall cascading into a deep pool. Naturally we dove right in and had a nice refreshing swim, and it wasn't long before we were climbing up the rocks into the waterfall and jumping off into the pool of water. Doesn't that just sound like a movie--well it felt like that. It was amazing.
We finally made it back to the car, starving and sweating, but loving our little adventure. We then were able to stop several more times along the road and see a beautiful rocky cliff face with waves crashing against the rocks and a huge blow-hole which shot up water every minute or so. We laughed so hard when we looked out into the waves and saw a few sea turtles riding the waves, enjoying themselves. Oh what a life. We continued on until we reached a this beautiful black sand beach, complete with underwater sea caves, lava tubes, and the best sunset we had seen all week. We walked out really far onto the black lava rocks and sat and watched the waves crash against the rocks and the palm trees silhouette against the colored sky. Jordan found an old washed up beach chair, which he promptly set up as a sort of throne to relax in on top of this giant lava rock. Later, the boys found a coconut tree which they spent a good amount of time, trying to climb, throw rocks at, and shake to and acquire a fresh coconut. In the end they were successful and we broke one open by banging it on a rock, were we all enjoyed a bit of coconut milk and some fresh gooey coconut. Not bad, not bad at all. We found a small grocery store and had some peanut butter sandwiches on the way home as we drove back along the winding roads in the dark. What a trip-- we were all so glad to get out of the car by the time we made it home.

It was such a wonderful week spent with everyone. I loved just being able to hang out with my brothers and tease them again, and loved that Isaac got to know my family a little better. It was hard to come back home after such an amazing trip and we still miss the smell of the flowers, the beach, the sunshine, and the time away from work. However, we love the memories that we created and are so grateful that we had the opportunity to go. Hopefully we can go back again some day and make new memories.