And for the finale...

Well the vacation had to come to an end, but we went out with a bang.

Since the latest time for a check out was 11, we planned the day to try and keep us entertained until our flight left at 11:40 pm.  Here is how our day unfolded.

Arizona Adam wanted to get in one more snorkelling adventure, so we got up ate our typical breakfast on the laini, to try and eat as much of the food as we could out of our fridge.  Out to the beach to swim with the fishes.  Back to the room after about an hour swim to pack up and load the car.

We then browsed the Hawaiian craft show that was right at our hotel board walk.  We didn't purchase anything, but a few of the jewelry pieces and of course the bags made of bamboo always caught my eye :). 

Then we headed for lunch, since there wasn't much I could eat at the hotel restaurants so we strolled down to Dukes for a great lunch and a little bit of a show from the ocean.

The whale was jumping out of the water.  I missed the spectacular jump when the whale was fully out of the water with fins spread. We couldn't believe how close it was to shore and will remember that in our minds.

After lunch which was fabulous, we headed back to the hotel to sit by the pool until our couples massage. We didn't have towels anymore so we couldn't go in the pool to cool off so we tried to find shade.

Then we headed for our massages which were great! They loosened my neck and back and Adam got real relief in his tight hip muscles.

After our treatment we showered and took our time in the spa getting ready for the luau that was just down the way from our hotel. We walked there and was about 30 minutes early so to the lounge for happy hour we went.

Then to the luau we went.  The food was great, the show was great, and the people we shared the table with were interesting.  Here are a few photos.

And the grand finale of the fire show

Then back to our car still at the hotel and a 45 min drive to the airport, lola was a little worried about time, but we had plenty ( as AA suggested).

Onto the plane where we slept off and on the whole way. Eventually we switched seats and AA got some neat photos as we came into Vancouver.

A quick lay over of 2 hours went quickly as it took some time to get off the plane and then had to go through customs and then another security check.  We got to the gate with a few minutes to go to tht washroom and fill our water bottle then onto the next plane back to reality.  

Leaving Vancouver.

On the plane ready for some more sleep.

Almost back in Winnipeg.

Getting ready to face the cold.

It was a great trip and can't wait for us to plan our next adventure. We got home to get groceries, do all our laundry, and put away all the suitcases.

Good night, Lola

Having a hard time getting to sleep. This time change is hard.

Fish, fish, whales and slides

We are starting to grow gills I think, based on the amount of time we are spending in the water snorkelling. Today, we started at the hotel in the morning before lunch. The water was much calmer than yesterday so it meant that the water was even clearer. 

There must have been a large pod of whales nearby because you could hear them when you had your head in the water. It was pretty cool, I'll have to checkout the go pro videos later on the laptop to see if you can can hear them. 

Lunch was pretty basic today, Lola enjoyed the rest of her spam and rice cakes while Arizona Adam enjoyed a cup of soup (purchased from the market at the hotel) and some crackers. We also finished off the pickles we had and almost all the carrots. There are some still left for tomorrow that we will need to eat before we checkout at 11am. 

After lunch, we made our way to Honolua Bay for some more snorkelling. The bay is quite secluded and you had to walk down a short path and cross a stream to get there. We got to the bay and there were two catamarans with many snorklers. One boat left within 5 mins of us arriving. We got in the water and started to explore. 

Our first observation was a large school of fish in the bay. AA didn't enjoy it that much - too many fish that were too close. 

Then, we made our way to the north side of the bay where there was a huge reef. I don't know how deep the bay was, maybe 50 ft and the reef went all the way to within 5 ft of the surface. It was a massive wall when we first got to it. There were many fish in the reef but it didn't seem like as many as we have by our hotel. Perhaps they were just hiding in the many coves within the reef. 

After our snorkelling adventure, we took a short drive to the north shore of Maui. We stopped at one lookout and were joined by a couple from Seattle. They had spotted two whales very close to shore (a mom and her baby). The mom was resting but the baby was active, splashing around and there was even a small breach.

We waited for probably 30 minutes, watching to see if the mom would do something. Thinking that nothing was going to happen, we decided we were going to go and that's when the show started. The mom decided to show the baby how to breach, 3 times!

Here are some of the better photos that we got:

After our whale watching stop, we went back to the hotel and went to the water slide. We were just in time too, we got there with 8 minutes to spare before the water slide closed for the day.  The pool was nice and warm, feeling nice on our sunburned backs from the all the snorkelling we have been doing these past few days. 

Dinner was back in Lahaina, at a restaurant called Cool Cats. After dinner, we took a stroll through the new outlet mall that Lola previously wrote about. 

Now, we just finished packing our bags as our trip is quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow we plan to do one more snorkelling adventure here at the beach in front of the hotel. Then, load the car and check out of our room, get lunch, go to the spa, a luau down the street and then head to the airport for our 11:40pm flight. 

We have definitely enjoyed our time here in Maui, soaking up the sun and sand. However, all good times must end. That just means we need to start planning our next vacation ;)

Fishy, fishy

Well today was another day just soaking up the sun:)

We got up, me at 7, earlier than I would typically like on vacation but just couldn't sleep anymore.  We ate breakfast on the lanai and then headed to the beach to do some snorkelling.  A short walk through the grounds of the Westin and straight to the reef right off the beach.  We were a little skeptical about the "great" snorkelling everyone has been talking about, but we thought we would try it out.  After a light drizzle as we were trying to soak up a little sun before going in the ocean, we put on our gear and into the water.  I guess the water temperature must be pretty good, as I don't seem to have the issue of getting in the water as I do back home. 

 Ready to go in...

And a couple of quick kicks with the fins and you see colourful fish and reef.  Fish of all kinds, shape and size.  Oh and of course colour.  I think my favorite would be the angel fish, hopefully AA got some go pro photos, which I haven't had a chance to upload, so mine will have to do for now.

I kept running into this grey fish with bad tan lines close to the surface, but wasn't too scared of him.

We stopped for lunch in our room.  The Hawaiian favorite, spam and fried rice:) and a little Ukrainian pickle on the side.

After lunch, out to the beach we went again to spend all afternoon in the sun.  Here  are a few shots from after lunch...

I told arizona Adam and I was done, so I swam back to shore, while he stayed out a little longer, to my surprise I ran into a large turtle.  We all know me and turtles.... Here is my shot of the turtle...

That's right, my side as I swim scared because it was right in the under tow of the wave where the sand blurred my vision and I didn't know where the turtle went to...

We had a great day in the sun and soon will head out for supper to dukes, just north of our hotel.

Then not sure what our evening will bring.

Lola

Chillin' and singing

Today we did do much... Just enjoyed being on vacation.

- ate breakfast on our lanai

- made lunch on the bbq's at the Westin

- swam in the pool

- relaxed our muscles in the hot tub

Then we headed to Lahaina for a show called 'Ulalena.  It was created by a person from cirque du soleil.  The music, dancing, costumes and singing was very good.  There was even some amazing acrobatics. 

After the show we headed down the front street.  It seemed more revitalized since the last time we had strolled the street.  It helped that an old mall that used to be empty now has outlet stores in the entire area.  We didn't have a chance to really enjoy the outlet shopping, but we still have a few evenings to go check out the deals;)

We ate supper at bubba gump and then headed back to the hotel to enjoy some tv watching.

Time for bed, and we will see what tomorrow brings....sun and beach and maybe some more snorkelling.

Here are a few photos from the day;

Lola

Turtle Town

Today started a little later than Lola hoped. We got out of bed and had breakfast by the pool at 8:30. After, we packed for the day of activities - hiking in Iao Valley and then snorkelling at "Turtle Town". 

We arrived at Iao Valley at 10. After rummaging through our wallets to scrounge $5 together, we were admitted to park. (Don't worry, we had more cash but not with us...). The short 1 mile hike on paved trails takes you past a stream/creek and up to view the Iao Needle, a 1000 ft rock formation jutting from the valley floor. 

It was a pretty impressive sight seeing a large, almost cylindrical rock. 

After our hike, we made our way to Kihei for lunch. Before arriving, we stopped at a wildlife sanctuary near the ocean. We saw some pretty neat birds and some fish. 

Next, lunch. Our first option was Kihei Caffe but they only took cash which we had very little of. So we went to the next restaurant Rita's Fish House. We both enjoyed our burgers.  We then made our way to Maluaka Beach for some snorkelling at what is also known as "Turtle Town". 

And we were not disappointed. Just check out this video:  http://youtu.be/z9DE8YMLBRI

After our encounter, we struggled to get out of the small cove's tidal current and get back to our part of the beach. Ok, struggled is a strong term, we made it but took us quite a while to get out of the cove - there was no danger.

After drying off, we needed to cool off again so went back into the water for a quick dip. Then we packed up and made our way back to the hotel where we showered off the dried salt and then made our way to the beach to watch the sunset.

For dinner, we decided to go to Whaler's Village, apparently 1 mile from our hotel. It certainly felt longer than 1 mile as we decided to walk. After looking at the three restaurant's menus and hearing that one had an hour and 15 min wait, we decided in Maui Fish and Pasta. Between the two of us, we ate what was in the name - Lola enjoying the catch of the day and Arizona Adam having pasta. It was delicious. 

We caught the shuttle back to our hotel so we didn't have to make the 1 mile (+) trip back on foot. 

Tomorrow should be relaxing and spent at the hotel for the most part, which is good - we are tired. 

Goodnight!

Maui wowi

Today, the weatherman did not disappoint, not that you really can disappoint in Maui. 

Arizona Adam was successful in gaining entry to the parking garage to retrieve the Fusion. He was a little tense, hoping that the concierge was correct with one of the two after hours entry codes that he gave the night before.  But his memory was intact and we loaded the car at 6:10 this morning (8:10 back in the GWN - great white north, aka Winterpeg). 

After a short 30 min drive and fueling up the car, we dropped it off at the Oakland airport and caught the shuttle to the terminal. There was one small glitch when printing bag tags when, of course, the tag for AA's bag printed, the machine went "out of order" - most likely due to the machine running out of bag tags to print on. Not to worry, the gate agent was able to print the remaining tag and we were on our way through security. 

After a short line at security, we made our way to a Chilis restaurant to grab breakfast. Just after we ordered, we could hear the call for preboarding for our flight. Lola started to panic but "the travel in' man" was as cool as ever saying they had lots of time. And they did - we finished our breakfast, not using the "to go" containers that were requested from the waitress and got on the plane. We weren't even the last ones to board this time, therefore NOT LATE. 

The Bay Bridge from above

The final glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge 

Our trusty B767 that got us to Maui 

We departed 10 minutes early and arrived in Kahalui Maui about 30 minutes early. A great way to start the next leg of our vacation. We got BOTH bags from the carousel, made our way to Avis to get our rental can and then we were on our way for some lunch. 

We are quite confortable driving around Maui, and rightfully should be - it's our third time here and we have a 2014 midnight blue Pasatt (Wolfsburg edition, whatever that means).  We were pretty pumped about that!

After lunch, we bought some gluten free waffles for Lola to have for breakfast and made our way to the hotel, but not before checking out the impromptu car show in the grocery store parking lot:

[No caption necessary, plus even if we did caption it I'm sure we would get the years wrong and someone would point it out ;]

We got all checked in, met with our "personal concierge" who gave us our welcome package, gift certificates for us to spend at the resort and booked us for a 90 min "vacation services" meeting - aka a sales pitch to try and buy into a timeshare. No need to worry, we are only going so we can get two free tickets to a show in Lahaina on Tuesday. 

After all the formalities were done, it was time to hit the beach!  We went and sat on the beach in front of our hotel/resort/complex and took in the sun. And whales - there was a huge pod, or several pods, of hump back whales right in front of us. No big breaches as they were in water that was pretty shallow, but still saw some fins and many water bursts from the whales blow holes. 

Those are kayakers but twice that distance (or maybe three times) were the whales

A link to a video of the whales: http://youtu.be/yMagiIgYUOU

We went to Lahaina for dinner to a restaurant called Lulus. The food was awesome, Lola having fish and Arizona A had chicken curry. Afterwards we went and got a few more groceries and are now sitting on the balcony enjoying the evening as Lola watches the Academy Awards from the balcony of course. 

Tomorrow shouldn't be too busy - a hike and then the beach. Probably some snorkelling too. I can't wait to use the go pro in the water, and turn it on this time...