Our Trip to Maui, Hawaii..... Part 2!

November 23, 2014 ~ You know it's hard to sleep in when you wake up to the waves crashing on the beach and have a view like this on your balcony! Maui, Hawaii is absolutely beautiful! Since we knew the week would go by quickly we wanted to take advantage of every moment to enjoy this trip. Mom would wake up in the morning and sit out on the patio over looking the ocean and we wouldn't be far behind her!

Truly amazing how a place can change in just a handful of minutes! 

It was time to get going so we could see a few things so we jumped in our Jeep and hit the roads! 

We got a chance to see one of the Monk Seals resting on the beach! 

This is a female Monk Seal who is around 15 years old. I had a chance to talk to one of the many people that protect her and make sure that no one bothers her while she is resting.They also told me that she is one of about 20 on Maui and has came to this spot for several years.

It was interesting to see so many people that were surfing all hours of the day.
I couldn't believe how many dogs we saw surfing .... pretty cool!

Our first stop of the day was down to Front Street!
You couldn't walk past the Forrest Gump bench and not take a picture!
(Brandon's feet were much bigger than Forrest's feet... )

I found this handsome young man....

 I mean... this little face says "Where have you been all my life?"

Oh then there was this little feller!
He was just asking where the ocean is.....

We stopped by the Banyan Tree which was a really cool place. This is one of the largest banyan trees in the United States and was imported from India and planted in front of the Lahaina Courthouse and Lahaina Harbor in 1873. This tree spans the size of one city block and is more than 60 feet tall. This event is their Art in the Park which takes place every second and fourth weekend of the month. They have local artists and live music. What is unique about this tree is that it has 12 major trunks but it's all coming from one tree and interconnected. Really neat place to visit!

If you click on the video or link below you can catch a glimpse of the live music they had to offer:
http://youtu.be/pEBUgkWg4U4

Mother, mother ocean, after all my years I've found
Occupational hazard be my occupations just not around
Feel like I've drowned but all were frowned
Feel like I've drowned
"Mother Ocean" - Jimmy Buffett

I loved the colors of this little bird that wouldn't sit still!

After seeing some of the different shops, banyan tree and watching some ladies searching for sea glass it was time for a little lunch! Momma was loving the Pina Colada's!

Then there was this ol' boy...
We had a lot in common.... lost in Hawaii!

Front Street was pretty cool to visit but we've gotta keep moving!

So we spotted a Harley Davidson shop so we had to stop and grab pop's a t-shirt!

We drove to a town called Pala, HI!

We wanted to go see some surfers... it's a blast to watch these girls/guys!

On our way out of Pala we found this cool wall built with surf boards!

So we decided to stop by a beach area to watch some of the surfers in action!
(Wild chickens are everywhere out there!)

It was a little rough where we were sitting!

These guys were crazy!

I realize I forgot to show you our little Jeepster that we have for the week!

We had heard a lot of good things about Mama's Fish House so we made reservations for tonight's dinner. (Now y'all know I don't eat seafood but we were safe as they had a steak option)

So as we waited for our table I went out on the beach to look for sea glass and shells. You know I had the hardest time finding any sea glass (because it's so popular for the jewelry makers and artists) and I didn't find a whole lot of shells that weren't broken or really small.

Finally it was time to go inside!
Doesn't this little snowman look cozy and peaceful!?!?

This place was crazy but I know why... it was really good!
http://mamasfishhouse.com/

Dessert was my favorite and this is the Polynesian Black Pearl! Yum!
After dinner we headed back to the condo to relax!

November 24, 2014

 It's another beautiful morning in Maui and our adventure today is taking the road to Hana via the Hana Highway! We've heard a lot about this road/trip and we were ready to tackle it!
Approximately 52 miles with 617 curves and 56 bridges.... Let's do this!

We couldn't help but notice the Monk Seal was back at her spot. In an effort to get a better picture of her we stopped. I think she might be camera shy!

"The Road to Hana"

I would highly recommend downloading the app "Road To Hana Gypsy Guide" on your smart phone or device ($5.99) or you can purchase a CD ($19.99) that will be your guide along the way. What I liked about this app on my phone is that the guide told you what was coming up, where to safely pull over and if you needed to walk/hike to see something along the trail. When you turned around to come back the commentary was totally different and it was really kind of cool to see so many things that you wouldn't normally see on this trip. Really great idea for something like this!

Here's a short list of somethings you will see on your trip:
http://roadtohana.com/sights.php

The first stop on the tour was to park and hike back on private land to a waterfall they recommend we visit. What they didn't tell you is that it was a mile back there and you guessed it... a mile back!

We finally made it back to the waterfall! In order to get to the waterfall you had to enter the water. We skipped this part as we didn't want to be soaked for the rest of the trip but we are glad we walked back here to see it!

This is what you had to walk/climb over to get to the water that would take you to the waterfall.

I am loving the different flowers/plants here!

So as we got around a few curves we saw these beautiful birds on a fence... so we had to stop!
There was a guy there who was the owner of these birds... for $20 he would do a little photo shoot...

That guy was a hoot and his birds were so much fun!

This is Jimmy.... He loved Brandon's sunglasses!

Jimmy is the bird on Brandon's head and Elvis is the bird laying down....
I couldn't keep up with the other names as their handler had us cracking up!

I love this picture of us!

 Such cool birds!

As we rounded another few corners we stumbled upon the Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees...
Pictures don't even do these trees justice! They are beautiful!

Another wild chicken with his feathers in a ruffle!

On of the recommended stops was the Garden of Eden

Just as we got there it started to rain
(which would continue through out the rest of this trip)

It was pouring down pretty good so we didn't walk to the waterfall but we did check out the ducks!

The closer we got to Hana the stronger the waves were.

Crazy to think the ocean can be so wild and yet amazing at the same time! 

It was raining outside so we didn't get any photos of us but we enjoyed watching the waves crash against the shore. I took a video and you can watch it by clicking on the video or the link below:

http://youtu.be/GAHt8hnP9n0

I remember something about this church being the only thing that survived during a hurricane. I am trying to find more information on it but can't find the exact info but when I do I will update this.

It's amazing to see the various colors of blues and greens in the ocean

Well... we are halfway to Hana!

Along the way there was some beautiful waterfalls.
Unfortunately there wasn't safe spots to pull over to take photos of many of them.

This way to the black sand beach!

Wai'anapanapa is where Maui's most famous black sand beach is located.
(They say it's an excellent place to take a swim if the ocean is calm....)

 Time to go take a closer look!

 It was raining when we got here and I took one for the team and headed down for a closer look at the black sand beach! I can tell you that it was an erie feeling being down there. It didn't seem so friendly and the waves were crashing hard against the beach. (I was also told not to take any black sand home with you as you don't want any bad mojo..... as many people will return rocks, sand, etc. so I was sure to not leave with any on me!)
I took a video of this place and you can watch it by clicking on the video or the link below:
 http://youtu.be/fQF_JBDbfCc

One of the really cool things I got to see is this guy/gal resting. It's not very often do you get to see a wild animal up close and personal. Thank goodness for a long lens and a good camera as I didn't want to make this cutie upset or enter in it's space. (Some of the other people got a little too close and I had to remind them that this is their space and to give him/her room) Obviously it had been injured previously as it had one eye but didn't look recent.

I made it! Woo Hoo!

Our next thing was to find the red sand beach...
Sadly we were unable to get to it as it was on a private area owned by a hotel.
It was time to head back which meant we had to go back the way we came!

Random things we saw on our way back to town...

Yep... Smile your Beautiful!

The views were amazing and the roads were narrow!

If you were expecting a fire department to come help well....
not going to happen on this part of the road!

We've made it back....

and yes I bought the t-shirt!

So we pulled over to watch the surfers again.....

These guys/gals are crazy but a lot of fun to watch!

Oh my gosh... I am totally laughing all over again!
So we were driving down the road and come to a stop light. This scooter pulls up next to us and mom starts laughing and says "Look it's a minion!" Guess you had to be there but it was hilarious!

When you see the light on at Krispy Kreme you stop!
Oh my goodness there is nothing like a hot fresh off the press donut from here!

Well it was an adventurous day but after a 45 minute drive back to our condo we are ready to call it an evening! So much fun and I have certainly enjoyed our trip this far! 

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)

Hawthorn Bank Advisory Board Member

November 20, 2014 ~ Today was the first meeting of my newest position! I have been accepted to the advisory board of Hawthorn Bank here in Columbia, MO. I haven't taken many board positions as I wanted to make sure anything I committed to would be a good fit for me but this is something that I have wanted to do for several years and when the opportunity knocked I just couldn't pass it up! I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew I would do whatever I could to be a good role model for a bank that I know and love.

Hawthorn Bank is a small community bank in the sense that they make you feel welcome, part of the team and their staff knows you by name. To them you aren't just a number you are a part of their family and for me that is important. When given this opportunity to serve on the advisory board I couldn't help but wonder "Why Me?" and "What in the world could I offer to the bank?" I am excited for this new opportunity and hope I can bring as much to the table as the knowledge I will walk away with.

I am one of eleven advisory board members and the youngest of this group. I am looking forward to learning so much from the other seasoned members while expanding my knowledge on the banking world. As we all know banking, as we know it, has changed a lot since I first started going to the bank with my grandparents as a little girl. We also know it will change a lot over the next 35+ years as we move into the future and I hope I can be a part of offering suggestions that will be beneficial to the bank and the customers we serve.

Something that I am really excited about is Hawthorn Bank recently started was the Young Business Leaders Advisory Council consisting of 10 members from across the local small-business community. I can't wait to see what this awesome group of people do over the coming months and years! Congratulations to everyone on this rock star team!