Last days in Maui

This is a doozy guys!

We spent most of or our Maui time enjoying the resort life and relaxing but we did manage to get a few hikes in. The first was a pretty easy hike dubbed the "blow-hole" hike. It was along this really rocky coastline and was a perfectly gorgeous day.  

 

 

The goal was this natural hole in the rock that gushed like a geyser whenever waves crashed below it. It was really neat.

After the blow hole hike we took a super windy road to the airport. It was one lane most of the way so anytime we encountered another car there was a lot of backing up and squeezing by which was pretty insane. It was a cool experience but not one I wanted to repeat. My favorite parts were this cute little church that was completely lopsided and a crafty giftshop where we found a lot of our gifts to bring home. 

We were on our way to the airport to pick up Derrick's mom who was joining us for the second half of our trip. 

Smores!

 The boys decided to take surfing lessons on our last day at the resort and it was really cool to watch. They are both pretty good!

We left our resort and had a day to kill before our flight to Kauai so Derrick found us a great hike. It was probably one of the hardest hikes we did...it gained a lot of elevation in a very short amount of time but it was a fantastic workout and the views were worth it.

Reaching the top!

 

 

If you squint you can see the waterfall in the background!

 The next day we boarded a plane for week two in Kauai!

Aloha 29, Aloha 30!

Derrick turned 30 while we were in Maui which was actually amazing because he doesn't like a big to-do on his birthday but it was his THIRTIETH! That's a big deal!!  Derrick pretty much plans our itinerary but I told him to leave April 5 up to me. He knew what time we had to leave that morning and the day of I told him what to wear but that's all he got. 

Since he was driving I navigated him to a park-and-ride lot off the highway and we sat there for 15 minutes waiting for our ride. The secret was out when the Rappel Maui  van pulled up. We had a full day of adventuring down waterfalls and it was awesome! 

Our guides knew it was his birthday and knew it was a surprise so they were so excited when he found out and when they got to give an run-down of what to expect throughout the day. Our guides were awesome...we've lucked out with some really amazing and fun guides and they can make all the difference. 

The day started with an hour ride up the very windy road to Hana and ended up in this amazing garden. The area we rappeled in is completely reserved for this rappeling group so we didn't run into other adventures or hikers....that was awesome. 

We geared up and hit the trail once we made it to the gardens. This place was seriously amazing and beautiful. Apparently Dr. Seuss got a lot of inspiration from Hawaii and you can see it everywhere.

Peacocks! Just strolling past base-camp!

The first rappel was just a practice down a 30 ft cliff. I think Derrick and I had it easier than the rest of the group because we have climbing experience...it definitely isn't second nature to lean back off the cliff but Derrick and I trusted the rope and harness and went right down. Since we went last on the practice rappel we got to go first on the waterfall rappel which was SO awesome because it meant we got 30 minutes in the pool at the bottom of the falls.

Here's a look down the second rappel. It was a 60 foot waterfall and it definitely felt extreme. The water was rushing super hard but it was amazing because you could see rainbows all the way down. I definitely tried to go slowly and take it all in.

Derrick making 30 look easy.

The pool felt SO good! The weather was perfect and it was so nice to relax for 30 minutes in the water.

The last rappel was a 30 foot drop down another water fall and Derrick got some shots of me going down. This was probably the prettiest waterfall but I don't think I got any pics....whoops.

We had a picnic lunch back at basecamp and then got 45 minutes to explore the gardens and check out the views. They were stunning!

This tree is the coolest! It's a rainbow eucalyptus and you can see all of the amazing color coming through. This one seemed extra bright.

Overall it was a successful birthday surprise and one of our favorite days in Hawaii. These trips are always a little bit of a splurge but I think they are so worth it. We got to see parts of Maui we wouldn't have seen otherwise and how many times are you going to rappel down a waterfall? It was amazing and I highly recommend the company and the trip!

Magical Maui

We spent the first week in Hawaii on Maui and it was beautiful! It's a gorgeous island with beautiful beaches and the weather could not have been better. We spent most of the first week at a resort right on the beach and it was amazing. We did a lot of laying and reading by the pool and in the hammocks. 

The resort had all sorts of activities throughout the day including lei making one day. 

Derrick turned 30 while we were gone. I have a separate post coming about his birthday surprise but we had a nice dinner at a restaurant near the beach and he got treated to a free piece of hula pie.

The hammocks were my favorite part...it's the epitome of Hawaii vacation in my mind.

There was a great little beach town not far from our resort called Lahaina. It had adorable shops and good food and we spent an evening there walking around and getting dinner. There was an amazing Banyan tree in front of the old courthouse in Lahaina.

Lahaina is the town where we got mom a ukulele for her birthday!

And you know Derrick and I don't go to a new city without playing an escape room! I don't think we broke the official record for this room but we got out the fastest our game leader had ever seen and without any hints. It was a really well done room with a great surprise at the end. We came back at the end of the week to complete their second room.

Derrick's birthday was one of our most fun days. I'll come back with a full post about our adventure!