Aloha

Aloha!

We’re back from our really big super exotic family vacation to Hawaii! It was quite a trip. We have never really done anything like this before, so we were all very excited. We took a lot of pictures and tried to keep track of most of the stuff we did, so here is the big recap:

Saturday, April 19th
We headed out the door here in SD around 12. Kim was awesome and gave us a ride to the airport, where we hopped a flight to LAX, hung around for a couple hours, and then zipped off to Kahului, Maui. The kids were really into the plane ride, especially Andy, who was amazed by the view and how everything goes white when you enter a cloud.

We landed after sunset, got the car (a mini-suv), and then drove for another hour to Kaanapali to our final destination, the Sheraton. By the time we got to our room, we were all dead tired and quickly fell fast asleep.

Sunday, April 20th
Considering the 3 hour (earlier) time change, we were all up before 6am rarin’ to go. We cleaned-up put on some fresh clothes (to match our fresh attitudes) and started to do some early exploring around the hotel. We wore the Leis that the hotel gave us the night before.

Katie and Andy on the Hotel Balcony, sporting the Leis at sunrise

Katie especially loved the leis – I know, ‘what a shock’. She also was excited about wearing flowers behind her ear.

Katie has become the photographer for all mom and dad pics

The hotel was amazing and we were instantly pleased with our decision to stay. Adorned with palms and tikis, set against the pacific – it was almost narcotic how quickly I found myself able to relax. (A little history on how we chose this place…) Sometime in February, I came home one day and said, “Man I need a vacation, lets go to Hawaii…” Jen started planning the next day. We got out my laptop and used Google maps to fine ‘the perfect place’. I told her that I wanted a resort, with an amazing pool, set against the beach. We quickly zeroed-in on the Sheraton. A couple moths later… viola!





We went to an early breakfast at the local hotel buffet. We were really impressed by the food. They have everything, and it’s all wonderful. Especially the macadamia and coconut pancakes (which were an instant hit with daddy and Andy). Jen went off to do some food shopping, while the kids and I hit the pool. When we got back, we started experimenting with some home cooked Mai Tai concoctions – we were diligent about continuing to experiment until we got the mixture just right ;)

After a little liquid courage, we headed down to the poolside where they were teaching the hula. The “Hukilau” as they call it in Hawaii, is famous and Katie and mommy went up on stage to learn from a very masculine Hawaiian…



Katie spent the first 10 minutes on stage looking confused and scared. You could tell she was thinking, “Hey, where are the grass skirts and the pretty girls?” Nonetheless, she was a trooper (with her mommy) in learning the moves and the words. Andy and I cheered them on.

That night we walked along the beach, watched a beautiful sunset and experienced the cliff diving tradition at ‘Black Rock’. Every night at the Sheraton, they perform a cliff diving ceremony and give a little talk about how the Hawaiians call this place sacred as a transition space to the ‘ancestral spirit land.’




Monday, April 21st

We decided to do some adventuring this day, and packed the car with some supplies with the intention of driving to the semi-secret Nakalele blow-hole about 30 minutes to the north, in a place near Poelua Bay. We knew we were in for a good day as we were greeted by the great little rainbow upon exiting the hotel. I later learned that we were staying in a building called “Hale O Ke Anuenue” which means: “House of the Rainbow”



Things were going well for our outing, the drive was beautiful, we had some good music – it was an adventure! When we got there we were greeted by a bizarre trail of tiny rock structures. Apparently these balanced rocks are ‘wishes’, a Hawaiian tradition of placing lava rocks at sunset. The other thing we were greeted with was REALLY STRONG WIND! I cannot overemphasize enough how strong it was… imagine worrying that your kids would blow away…

So we started on a short walk that would take us to the blow hole, thinking the wind was strong, but not preventative. Well the wind got stronger, and the kids got super miserable. We started losing hats, and quickly after that, we startled losing spirit. We had to turn back after a few hundred yards and never got to see the blow hole! LOL.



In the afternoon we hit the pool, more swimming.

Later that night we went to a big Luau at our hotel. One of the best events of the trip by far. Fire dancing, great food, hula… the kids had a blast. Jen had arranged for front row seats so we really had a great vie of the show. I gotta stop a sec and thank Jen for all her work on this trip. She probably called Hawaii every day for the past 2 months, working every angle to ensure we had the best of everything, for the best price  Mahalo baby!





Tuesday, April 22nd
We kicked the day off with a trip down the beach to the Westin. We wanted to check out the competition and see if we were missing anything. They had a pretty nice layout, I think we’ll try it if we can ever afford to do this again.




We then headed back to the hotel to do some more swimming. I haven’t talked much about it so far, but the kids were maniacs at the pool. Over the course of the vacation, I think we spent on average, about 6 hours a day at the pool. The pool was one of those fancy river-connected thingies with waterfalls and a slide in the middle. I think Katie and Andy rode the slide about 1,000 times each – and I think that is a conservative estimate. Andy is now able to swim and jump-in all by himself, so the 2 of them just go at it. They wig-out in that pool for hours on end and then totally crash out at night. It works pretty good, except that I do have to be in the water the whole time too. Andy is still learning his limits… he is psycho. He has me nervous that he is going to break his neck or drown during almost every flailing jump. I’m not complaining about having to watch him… it was great. We both love swimming with the kids, teaching them new stuff, watching them get better and have fun. Mommy was also an awesome aqua-woman.








That night we had dinner at the Sheraton. Mommy and daddy ordered up lobbies while the kids tried their first ever Shirley Temples! Yummy yummy!




Wednesday, April 23rd
On Wednesday, we headed to Lahina, a wonderful little town just south of our resort. We arranged for a submarine ride out to the local reef to see the sea-life. (Well, it’s kinda half boat, half sub… see pic.) I was a little worried that this was going to be a dud, since we have passes to the Scripps Aquarium where we get to see some pretty amazing stuff.

However, we were pleasantly surprised with this event. The sub/boat was really cool, as you climb down inside and get to look out these portholes onto the reef below. The boat divers then brought up all kinds of cool stuff, including an octopus! The kids, who are too small to snorkel, really got a kick out of it. I must admit, it was a lot of fun. Jen unfortunately got a little queasy, but the ride was only an hour and we were back to shore before things got too green for Jennifer.




After we got home, Jen needed some rest – so I took the kids to a local burger joint that has amazing burgers. Then we did some more swimming…

Later that night, Katie and I had a special ‘date night’ where we dressed a little fancy, and went to the hotel pool area to order some fancy drinks. We each got chocolate-banana smoothies and listened to some live music. Katie seemed thrilled to be able to act like such an adult. I had a great time myself spending the 1:1 quality time.



Thursday, April 24th
The next day we decided to head down to Wailea (about an hours drive to the south) to check out the scene down there. We visited the Grand Wailea Hotel which was really amazing, and equally expensive. It kinda felt like Vegas in Hawaii…



We then spend the morning playing on the beach there. They had a floating trampoline in the ocean which Katie and I had fun exploring. Later that day, we had a babysitter watch the kids while Jen and I went on a date.

Friday, April 28th
We were woken up at about 5am to a fire alarm on Friday. It was instant panic. Jen and I were grabbing clothes and kids and trying to wake-up. Almost as quickly as the alarm started, a voice came over the PA informing us that it was a false alarm. Apparently a prank from a guest with a poor sense of humor. I was able to go back to sleep, but Jen was too stirred-up. So she headed down to the lobby and managed to get some free vouchers for the inconvenience.

We spent all day in the pool, until we were wiped.

Later that evening, we pulled up some lawn chairs to an outdoor theatre set-up on the resort grounds. The Sheraton apparently does this once a week, they have this big screen and a projector near the pool. We were feet from the sand as we watched Bee Movie under the Hawaiian stars. It was great. Thanks again mommy for setting us up with food, blankets, and even popcorn!

Saturday, April 29th
Our last day… we scarfed down some more pancakes, and then spent the morning in the pool. The kids also spent some time feeding the hotel’s coy fish – and mommy finally broke down and ordered her one and only ‘from the bar’ froofie drink – a mudslide. You should have seen her face, it was clear she really enjoyed it.

Sadly we finally had to leave that afternoon and we drove to the airport to catch our red-eye flight back to the US. Before we left we stopped at ‘Paradise Pizza’ for an interesting but delicious pizza experience. By the time we got to the airport, we had over 2 hours to go before our flight… and we needed it. The security was just plan silly. We stood in the longest security line I have ever seen. We made it to our gate with just a few minutes to spare before boarding.

The flight home was uneventful and long. The kids slept but mommy didn’t. I did. When we finally got to San Diego the next morning it was 7am. Thanks Kelly for the pick-up! The airlines weren’t able to deliver 3 of our bags because we hopped on an earlier connection, but they brought them over later. We spend Sunday sleeping, and recovering from the jet-lag and travel.

It was an awesome trip, we can’t wait to go back.