I have been home from my fabulous 2 week vacation to Hawaii for 3 weeks now!
& I am finally doing a blog on it.
I am way behind
This summer I am not taking ANY CLASSES :}!
Crazy. I know.
However, I am going to a diabetes camp to volunteer as Medical Staff in July.
But since I have no classes I am very much mentally and physically on Summer Break!
So, that is my excuse for being so late with this post. Haha.
Anyway, starting with my trip to Hawaii...
We arrived in Maui, HI on Saturday May 11th
I got sick on the plane as usual but it was managable
Also, Casey said I should have sat on the aisle side
because I got up to go to the bathroom "every 10 minutes"
But it was a fun flight watching the Hobbit and listening to music.
We also got a complimentary meal which was surprising!
Roosters run around everywhere in Maui
As you can see by my neck muscles, I am terrified of roosters.
The first day we got there we only had a little time to play in the water
But the water was SO warm! Like a bath tub!
The next few days it was a little rainy so we just did some exploring!
The beach by the condo was beautiful!
The second day I was in Hawaii was Mother's Day.
I was extremely sad that I had to miss it.
So I drew a picture in the sand for my favorite lady at home!
Casey bought a cowboy hat in Hawaii. Haha.
He liked it a lot!
We both got Henna tattoos of Hawaii too!
That made us pretty official!
Most of the days consisted of sitting on the beach, tanning, running, snorkeling, and hiking
THAN MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP!
Casey & I rented a orange Jeep the second week!
& we did the Road To Hana.
It was BEAUTIFUL!
It was full of hiking, lava caves, beautiful views, off roading, and eating fresh banana bread!
Bananas grow everywhere !
The waterfalls were amazing
The lizards were my favorite as you can see on this blog: way too many pictures of them!
Casey took a picture of me taking a picture
This was me basically the entire road to Hana.
The Road to Hana is along the coast all the way around the island of Maui
Casey makes his own parking spots.
Hiking the bamboo forest was amazing.
The bamboo darkened the entire walk way.
You couldn't see 6 feet into the forest because the bamboo was so dense.
Probably the most terrifying part of trip was exploring a Lava Cave
Lava Caves are holes made in underground by hot lava carving the earth.
It was pitch black and we only had flash lights!
The 450 foot waterfall at the end of the bamboo forest was AWESOME
It was super tall and you could walk right up to it, but it was not advised.
I wore the wrong shoes for hiking over 15 miles. Modern day trench foot.
The flowers here were beautiful. Sorry for the amount of pictures!
One of the days we were in Hawaii Casey family was going to take us on a huge event
We were going to take a boat ride to one of the neighboring islands to go snorkeling !
I was extremely excited because I loved snorkeling on Maui
And the snorkeling on Lānaʻi was suppose to be amazing.
However, a swell had come in that day so the water was extremely choppy
So... I was head of the edge of the boat the whole time.
It ended up being the worst day
AND when we got to the snorkeling site it was too dangerous to get in the water
So we did not even get to snorkel.
Fail.
So, we got our money back and we went to the Aquarium!
The easiest way to snorkel ;]
The aquarium is the largest tropical aquarium in the United States
It also has the only tiger shark in captivity.
This aquarium is awesome because they only keep the fish for up to a year
then return them to the ocean
The baby turtles were so cute.
Casey's favorite.
The shark tunnel was cool too!
The rest of the trip was pretty awesome.
Hanging out at the beach most of the days.
We built a massive sand castle.
However, I do not have a completed picture.
We also went to the largest banyan in the world.
The sunsets were beautiful!
NOW TO THE SNORKELING!
We had a blast snorkeling !
We saw all the fish in the aquarium {minus the sharks}
Even sea turtles!
The squid we saw
I guess I should add that I do not like "real snorkeling"
I technically free dive.
Freediving is a form of underwater diving
that relies on a diver's ability to hold his or her breath until
resurfacing rather than on the use of a breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.
The snorkel gear makes me claustrophobic
The food was super tasty as well
We went to Bubba Gumps.
Which is a shrimp restaurant made after Forrest Gump
And of course the local Krispe Kreme!
Lots & Lots of Burgers!
And I cannot go without talking about a few things
that were not captured through a lens
During the trip {like I said before} there was a swell that hit the island
It was a 5 day swell
A swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series of surface gravity waves that is not generated by the local wind
This meant that the water was not safe for snorkeling
BUT it was AWESOME for surfing and body boarding.
The waves were MASSIVE
They could kill you if you are not careful
I made it out with only a rug burn down my hip from "eating it" into the sand.
It was so much fun though!
Overall, an amazing trip of a life time.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
