Billy and I finally did it! We took a trip together without the kids and got to have some one on one, reconnection time. It was heavenly and relaxing and rejuvenating and flat out time.
We drove the kids to Utah where my parents lovingly agreed to take them on for us- thanks Mom & Dad! After 2 days in Utah making sure Leila felt at home in Grandpa and Grandma's house, we flew out of there and landed in Oahu.
We stayed on the north shore, at Turtle Bay resort, and I visited my old stomping grounds. We ran by the beach each morning, did some workouts in the gym, swam in the ocean, relaxed on the sand and in the hot tub, and even took an evening yoga class. We visited my good friend Julie and her family in Kailua, I got to meet her 2 kids and find out she has another on the way! We cruised up and down the north shore, ate shave ice, and enjoyed being together.
Then we left Oahu and flew over to Maui where both Billy and I had never been. We stayed in Napili on the west side of Maui. It was beautiful. Our room looked out over the ocean and this beautiful cove. We could see both Lanai and Molokai islands from our room as well. In fact, the sun set right in between the two islands from our view! We had a full kitchen in our room so we didn't have to eat out every meal, though we did venture out and eat some amazing food. Miso Phat sushi was one of my top meals! Man did they make an amazing sushi roll. We also went and found Kimos restaurant, right over the water, and ate a hula pie. Wow. My cousin Lisa suggested that one and it did not let us down. There was even a local band playing while we devoured our dessert.
Billy and I went on some good hikes in the area, relaxed at the beach, swam in the cove, and even tried out some stand up paddle boards. A sea turtle swam right in between us while we were on our stand up's, so cool! We also saw a HUGE sea turtle near the beach at the next cove over when we went out walking and exploring the area around us.
Our last day on Maui we drove across the island to drive the road to Hana. We started the road at 1pm and our flight was at 9:30 that night. That drive is crazy! It's so beautiful, but it is a crazy drive. I think if we didn't have to worry about time at all, we would have done a bit more exploring. At "the end" of the road we paid $20 to park to do some hiking only to find out that the hike was closed a mile up due to the recent storms and flooding that had happened right before we came. Ah bummer. Well, we did get to stretch our legs, see a beautiful waterfall from a far and walk through the bamboo forest. That was all good.
All in all it was an amazing trip. The days felt so long since we had no one but ourselves to take care of and nothing planned. I would love to go back with the kids and have them experience Hawaii. We may get a good chance to do that pretty soon if we plan to house sit for my friend Julie's parents next time they leave the island. I hope so!
ALOHA
