Hawaiin Getaway Part 1

Aloha! The epic vacation has been just that, epic thus far! It all started Saturday morning when I got a phone call from a number I didn't realize and it was a recording tell me that my flight for that day had been cancelled. I was a bit confused and immediately called Manda who was in Heber City and getting ready to come to Provo to meet me before Colleen took us to the airport. She had heard nothing. I then encouraged her to come ASAP and called the airline. Our flight had indeed been cancelled from Salt Lake to LA due to the landing gear not working. The customer service agent immediately began looking into flights and options for us. She looked up Manda's information and she had not been rebooked like I had for the next morning. The flight was now full and she was too far down on the list. So Colleen and I packed my bags in a rush and raced to the airport. Colleen called Manda with her phone and asked her to go straight to the airport instead of coming to Provo first. I meanwhile was still on hold. The options were not looking too good. She was able to book Manda and I both on another flight the next day on a different airline so we could travel together. She was also looking for other options for us to get there that day. The problem was that they all left Salt Lake too late and we would not make our connecting flight. She was finally able to put us on a stand-by list for a 1pm flight. if we were able to get on we would make our connection if we were not able to get on then we would have to take the sunday flights. Manda and I got to the airport pretty close to the same time, checked our luggage and began to pray we would make this flight. We went to airport security, and Manda got right through, I was unable to pass through because my boarding pass had the wrong date on it... it was for the flight on sunday not on saturday. I had to turn around and go back downstairs to get the correct boarding pass. I was able to do so after waiting in a growing line for the Delta gates. I got through security and Manda and I checked in at the gate. We asked how the flight looked and if we would get on. He was not too confident and said there were others in line ahead of us..... so we waited, and waited. then he called us up and said he could get one of us on but not both. did we want to split up? We said no we had to go together to catch our connecting flight in LA. so he said he would see what he could do. They began boarding the plane and we were so worried. Finally, they called our names and handed us boarding passes and we got on! This is the Miracle flight that got us to LA in time for our connection.
So we arrived in Hawaii on time and on the schedule we had planned on. We got a taxi to take us to our Hostel and got checked in without further incident. As we settled into our room, I went to step on the bed to reach higher and almost fell as the bed sank to the floor. The mattress was sooooooo soft! The room was sooo hot and stuffy with no outside windows. We made do and settled in before walking to the grocery store to get some groceries.

Sunday morning we woke up early to get showered and ready for church. We had to wear shoes in the showers but enjoyed having 4 bathroom options for us to get ready in. We were pretty sure it was about 3 miles to church and the walk would take us about an hour. We left a little late than planned (church started at 8am). The walk was a long one! We both had dressier sandals on that were not made for walking- ouch. Can you say blisters? We were sweating and so hot and thirsty by the time we got there 15 minutes late. We walked in and sat in the back. Immediately after Sacrament Meeting, we were apporoached by a woman asking if we were visiting and our names and all that. We explained we were on vacation, had arrived last night, and had walked to church this morning. She immediately promised to give us a ride back to our hostel and expressed some concern at where we were staying. She was the sunday school teacher and had us introduce ourselves and say the opening and closing prayers. Several of the other members welcomed us and explained they had seen us walking down the street and wondered if we were members and where we were headed. They had wanted to stop but didn't. The lesson was great and then it was time for Relief Society. We again introduced ourselves as visitors and got a few more comments from ladies that had not been in sunday school about seeing us walking here and then feeling bad when they saw us walk in late that they had not stopped to offer us rides. We were promised that we would not be walking back and would have a ride.

Monique and her mother Monika gave us a ride back to the Banana Bungalow and invited us over Wednesday night to play a game called PIT. We exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye.

The Hostel ended up being really fun. We got used to the heat and slept well every night due to exhaustion of playing so hard every day. The free tours were amazing and we were able to see some things and do some things we never would have done on our own. We met people from England, France, Germany, and New Zealand. Two girls were also traveling together and they had been gone from home 11 months. They had gone to Austraila to work for 6 months and then had been traveling ever since. After Maui they were headed to Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco and then home one year after they left. We exchanged facebook info to keep in touch. We did a tour to Makena State Park and enjoyed this sunset at Big Beach. We also went to Iao Valley and saw the Iao Needle, drove the road to Hana which included a hike through a bamboo forest and rain forest to a waterfall that had 5 falls cascading down the cliffs due to the heavy rains. This was the main waterfall and the biggest of them all.We also were able to visit the famous Red Sands Beach! This is Manda and I at that beach. It is pretty speical to the Hawaiins and if you ask a local for directions they will not give you directions to this beach. The Banana Bungalow has been taking tours there for 10 years and the locals tend to stay away every Tuesday night so we had the place to ourselves.

On Wednesday we picked up our rental car from Maui Cruisers and thought we had entered a junkyard. Our rental car well.... has character! It runs and gets us where we need to go though. The locals would wave to us and let us into traffic. We were not your typical tourists in a fancy convertable!
We did some shopping and then went to a beach nearby. It was so windy, we couldn't stand to stay on the beach with all the sand blowing in our faces so we read our books in a sand volleyball pit that was sheltered from the wind by a bunch of trees.

Wednesday night we took Monique up on her offer and went to her sister's house for dinner and to play PIT. We met some great people and I was shocked to see one of my coworkers there. We laughed so hard my stomach was hurting! This is the PIT crew! I highly recommend this game for anyone looking to have a good time and a good laugh.

Manda and I were surprisingly sad to be leaving the Banana bungalow and the friends we had met.

But excited to go to a bit of luxury at the same time.

Friday we checked out and ate at a restaurant called the Tasty Crust that was famous for it's Banana Pancakes ( and boy were they Good!) Then on to Lahaina for some shopping and to Napili Kai to check in. We were very greatful to have nice solid beds to sleep in with a breeze coming off the ocean and beautiful clean bathrooms! We have enjoyed relaxing by the pool and staying out of the sand while soaking up the sun and reading books. This is me taking a break from a delicous book about vampires.

I read 5 and a half books and loved every minute of my vacation!

We rented snorkeling gear and did a lot of snorkeling in Napili Bay and in Kapalua Bay. We saw 5 sea turtles in one day! It was the coolest thing! Kapalua Bay was also the setting for 6 weddings that we saw on 2 different nights. We were the unidentified snorkelers in their wedding photos.

The last night we were there we saw the most amazing sunset!

The sky literally transformed so many times right before our eyes!

This one looks like it could be a postcard or a painting!

No, we are not standing in front of a painted backdrop- this is the real thing!

So we packed our bags again and things didn't seem to fit as well this time! I think I bought too many presents! I was so grateful I had bought new luggage for this trip though! At every airport, waiting at the baggage claim it was super easy to find. It is also very sturdy and well built luggage that let me cram everything in! The limit is 50 pounds and in my big suitcase, I fit everything except for the souveneirs and it weighed 49.6 lbs at check in. How's that for cutting it close?

We had a marvelous time in Maui and are looking forward to some new adventures in Oahu!