Our Trip to Maui, Hawaii... Part 1!

November 21, 2014 ~ Many of you know that I set a goal of seeing "14 states that we have never been to in 2014" and this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii would be state number 14! I didn't think we would ever get the chance to go because it was such a long distance from home however after giving some serious thought and looking at the calendar we decided that this year would be the best time. So I booked our tickets, told Martha she was going and started planning! (True story that I didn't really give Martha a chance to say no.... once tickets were bought it was a done deal and she couldn't say no!)

I used a lady by the name of Maui Kay (http://mauikay.com/) thanks to the referral from my good friend, Shelly DeVore. It was nice talking to someone that was familiar with a place that I was not. She helped me with several things including renting a condo, getting our rental car and fun activities during our stay. I recommend using her if you are ever planning a trip to Maui!

So it was a bit of a challenge trying to book the airfare as I wanted to find the fastest route to get us there with the least amount of time in an airport. (After all I didn't want to sit in a germ infested place with people sneezing, coughing and hocking up a lung while I was trying to get to our happy place.... warm weather and fresh pineapple!) I used American Airlines and booked 3 different flights to get us there.... Columbia, MO to Dallas, TX then Dallas, TX to Honolulu, HI and finally Honolulu, HI to Maui, HI using Hawaiian Airlines! This made me tired just trying to figure out times as we all know flights can be delayed and after all when I booked all of this it was late Spring in Missouri and we had no clue what the weather would be like in late November! Have no fear.... I've got this! 

While waiting in Dallas we decided to have a little photo shoot! 

This is our happy faces because we are heading to Hawaii -

I didn't take one 7.75 hours into the flight because frankly we were over it! 

FINALLY... We made it to Honolulu! 

One more flight... 37 minutes.... I think we got this!

Loved the entertainment as we waited for our luggage!

If video doesn't pop up you can click on the link below to see it
http://youtu.be/u_-xc9BGooc

 After a little misunderstanding on what rental company we were using (originally we were booked through Dollar but then we got a better rate through Avis and switched a couple weeks before coming out) and standing in a huge line forever we were finally on the right track. We just wanted to get to our condo and rest which was another 45 minutes away! (It was all good but you know what I am talking about when you have been up since 4:00 AM, flown all day and deal with rental car stuff.... I held it together but I was beginning to get cranky!)

It was kind of crazy to see wild chicken's just hanging out at the rental car places!
Ain't never really experienced this before... Ha!

November 22, 2014

We finally went to bed around 1:30 AM Missouri time (9:30 PM Hawaii time) and I thought it was a good idea to take the Haleakala Tour which meant we had to be up and ready for the shuttle at 2:15 AM. I'm not going to lie.... I was tired, cranky and it was going to be cold. We just left cold weather to come to warm weather to go to possibly 30 degree weather with 30 mph winds for the next couple hours. I tried to postpone this tour but I would loose all money if we cancelled. So I sucked it up (Brandon and Martha were good and it was mainly me being cranky) and I am so glad we went! Our tour guide was awesome and this was one of the most coolest things I have seen. Yes the trip was long but the view was amazing and the sunrise was spectacular! (Oh and it was cold but not near as cold as they say it was and no wind really which is unusual for this place... so they say!)

As you can see it was cold but we were bundled up good! We had a front row view (thanks to our tour guide for getting us up there early before the rest of the crowd go there) and pictures really don't do this place justice. You need to go see this if you are ever in Maui!
For those of you wondering here's the company we used:
http://temptationtours.com/

We even got a certificate saying that we made it!

It was beautiful and so peaceful!

This is what was in front of us when the sun finally came up.
Otherwise it was pitch black and you couldn't see this.

We made it to the top!

 Haleakala Silverswords

Up close view of Haleakala Silverswords
http://www.nps.gov/hale/naturescience/silversword.htm

After our sunrise tour we were treated to breakfast. 

This had to be one of the biggest Poinsettia tree/bushes I have ever seen! 

After breakfast we headed back to the condo. 

We were tired and wanted just a little down time before enjoying this beautiful place so a nap was next on the list of things to do! (I was told this is what would help get you on Hawaii time) After all with a view like this you couldn't sleep too much!

It was dinner time and we were hungry so we jumped in our Jeepster and headed down the road!
 After dinner we had to try the Hula Pie....OMG! Yum!
This place was located on a beach near our place so we had a beautiful view at sunset and live music!

 If the video doesn't pop up you can click on the link below:
 http://youtu.be/7ga2GOeu1YA

Ooh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Ooh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
And I'll always remember you like a child, girl
- Cat Stevens (Wild World)