Maui is really PARADISE!

Our vacation was simply perfect. We were in paradise getting to spend 8 glorious days on Maui, only 60 steps from the beach. The first thing we did, sink our toes in the sand! Brooklyn was a little hesitant of the beach and the ocean at first, but as the days wore on, she became more familiar, but didn't like it when mommy pretended to be swept away by a wave crashing on the shore. Our first morning in paradise, Brooklyn, Kevin and I took a walk on the beach before the sun came up. It was such an incredible experience. So peaceful and serene. We spent quite a bit of time relaxing by playing in the pool or boogie boarding at the beach. I'll admit, I was a chicken, a huge chicken, the first day we tried boogie boarding. I was quite aways from shore and told my mom who was swimming with me that I pretended my boogie board was a door off the Titanic. I know, chicken!! But, I finally warmed up to it and was the person who used the boogie board the most, next to my sister. And, boy, were my muscles sore too.

We got to visit Lahania, the shopping district of Maui. My grandma warned us that during the day it was darn hot there because there were no tradewinds like were we were staying, but did we listen, no. We went there in the middle of the day, and not the end, and boy were we warm! One of the most interesting things about Hawaiian shops is almost every store carries alcohol. The grocery store pretty much has a full liquor store on one side, and the all famous ABC Store has quite a liquor selection too! There's definitely something to be said of the ABC Store, where you can buy a pint of milk and a Hawaiian dress in the same purchase. The ABC Store was our go to store for chocolate covered macadamia nuts - the best candy I have ever tasted. My parents had the right idea bringing home a "briefcase" of them. But, knowing my dad, the chocoholic, they're gone now!!

We got to attend a luau at the Maui Prince Hotel in Makena. The host, Warren Molina, left us all with a chuckle. He made no attempt to conceal he wanted to rip off the tea leaves of the hula dancers as personal conquests and half the women in the audience too! And, all with the smile of a used car salesman. Brooklyn was very wide-eyed when the fire dancer came out and started to eat the fire! She wasn't sure what to think! My sister fell in love with one of the male hula dancers. She wanted to take him home!! My dad caught 47 minutes of the luau on his camcorder, but cut it off when the male dancers came up to do a dance that indeed made my sister turn all shades of red.

On Thursday morning, my mom, dad, sister, Kevin and I headed to our zip lining adventure. We got on all our gear, and headed for our 1/2 mile hike up onto Haleakala Ranch. The guides taught us the history of the ranch and each zip line course was named after a Hawaiian bird. There were 5 zip lines, and each one became longer, faster and higher up than the last. The key was to stay straight and land feet first. However, we seemed to struggle a bit with this as we landed backwards quite a few times, to the point where the guides were making little jokes that they knew we were all related. The last zip though it didn't matter how you were positioned, just as long as you didn't hit the pole on the other side. This zip was 750 feet across and 100 feet up in the air. You had to run off the cliff and once you got going, the ride was like 20 seconds to other side at a speed of 40 m.p.h. One of the guides had to grab you by the feet and pull you onto this movable ladder for you to walk off of. We all had such interesting experiences with the landing. Kevin was the first to go on the last zip and he said the guide freaked him into thinking something was wrong. I was second, the guide had trouble guiding me to the ladder. My sister came next, and the guide pulled her shoe and sock off when he tried to stop her. My mom's landing was the most classic. The guide grabbed for her, and she lifted him about 6-7 feet in the air. So, she took him for a ride! My dad being really tall, got on the ladder very easily. It was such a rush and so much fun that we all agreed we should do it again. While we were on the adventure, Brooklyn and my grandma stayed at the condo, went to lunch at the Sand Witch, walked along the beach and took a nap.

The only downside to our vacation in paradise was our plane ride home. And, I will just leave with this post Kevin put up because it sums it up and is pretty funny too!!

Maui is such a beautiful place that we would love to get back to again! ALOHA~~~