Maui - Wednesday

This was the day I was dreading although it turned out to be a fun day. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday while in Lahaina Rocky went on a mission to find a surfing shop who's ad he'd seen in one of the magazines we'd gotten back at the condo. The Goof Foot Surf School, he wanted to take surfing lessons and somehow convinced me that I should too *sigh*. I don't do well in the ocean. I hate being tossed around by the waves. It totally freaks me out :o(

Other than surfing Wednesday was another just hang out and do nothing day. We had some more yummy kalbi ribs. The left overs from Monday night lasted for quite a few days. Rocky decided to put them in the rice this time. So he had eggs and rice with ribs and I had some cereal and a few bites of the rice. It was yummy.

We lathered up with sunscreen and headed out to the surfing school. We had a 2 hour lesson that started at about 10. Each group had 5 people in it so it was nice because the guy was able to spend time with each of us. Our group had 4 people. A lady from London, a man who'd moved to Maui and wants to surf but needed lessons and us. They showed us what to do and had us practice on the beach first and then had us go in the water. I of course don't surf like everyone else, I am goofy footed :o) You can tell in the pics below. I am turned the other way. I was still a bit nervous but the water wasn't very bad at all, the waves were small :o) and everyone else in the water seemed to be okay. We didn't all go out at the same time which was good. Our instructor went out in the ocean and told us when to come out. He'd hold our board and tell us when to start paddling, get up and start surfing. I did pretty good. Fell a few times before I could get up but the water was shallow and I didn't freak out. We both got up a few times and it was a blast. Our instructor even had Rocky and I try surfing side by side but I didn't last long and we wiped out.

After surfing we went back to the condo and cleaned up and had lunch. We wanted to do more shopping so we headed to the shops in Kaanapali. The outdoor mall there had a variety of shops so that's where we did our souvenir shopping. We also had an early dinner there and ate at the Hula Grill...YUMMY!

In the evening we headed to the beach in front of the condo. We pulled up some chairs and watched the pretty sunset.

Old Lahaina Luau

Maui - Tuesday

Yikes, I almost forgot to update...sorry Amy :o(

Just a quick recap of the weekend. It was filled with work, work, work. The home kind not the actual work kind. So although we are tired it's been great to see the progress in our new place. Saturday morning I went out to the last long run of the spring season team. I handed out the spirit cape to 3 very deserving participants, did some chatting and cheering and then headed home to pick up the hubby and the baby. We headed up to Granite Bay for a bbq and fun in the sun with Rocky's family. Ummm, so much for no traffic on Saturday, it took us about 3 hourjs to get there. Patch and I weren't happy. We don't do well in heat and traffic. Rocky's older brother has a nice home with a pool, very much needed in the Sacramento area. While it was freezing cold here and over cast it was in the 90's there :o( yikes. We had a great time though with everyone, at some super yummy food and did a little tanning while in the pool. Cause you know, I'm not dark enough..LOL! The celebrating of our marriage continues and we had a cute cake with some cute dukies after dinner on Saturday.

Sunday we came back. Drive wasn't as bad, we got home fairly quick. We did some more shopping for the house and then went home and unpacked a few more boxes and put things away. Monday was more of the same and our first major trip to the grocery store...YIKES! Little by little it's all coming together and looking very nice :o)

Okay, back to Maui....aaahhhh....how I wish I was there now :o(

Day 4 - Shopping, Relaxing and Luau.

The day started out with breakfast :O) Rocky used the left over kalbi ribs from the night before and made a kalbi rib omelet. Kind of weird but it was YUMMY. Breakfast also included some bacon and of course, can you guess? Rice!

We had breakfast on the balcony and planned our day. A trip to Lahaina to check out the Banyan Trees and do some shopping.

OOPS!!!

Lahaina is a cute little town with lots of restaurants, art galleries and lots and lots of shopping. We had lunch at the Old Lahaina Fish Company. Rocky had the crab cake sandwich and I had the fish & chips, they were both very yummy. Belly's full, shopping done and back to the condo. We lathered up with some sunscreen and hit the beach :o) Hung out there, came back and then got ready for the highlight of the evening, The Old Lahaina Luau. I read some good reviews on several luau's but this had the best reviews of all. So that's the one we picked and we loved it and had a great time. I'll let you see for yourselves :o)

Here is short video of what the show was like.

Actually, as you've already noticed the video is actually above this post, I can't figure out how to get it down here :o(

Maui - Monday

Snorkeling with the Pacific Whale Foundation

Destinations: Molokini Crater and Lanai

Monday was an all day snorkeling trip. Olivia and her parents had done a sunset cruise with the Pacific Whale Foundation back in December and they really liked it so she suggested them for our snorkeling trip. I'm glad we picked them. The crew was a lot of fun and the food was yummy. We also met some other passengers and shared traveling stories. We met a couple from Alabama who'd never been to Hawaii. They were staying for like 2 weeks I think and were doing some island hopping. I think they literally planned a different event every day. They said Maui was the best though.

The first stop was Molokini Crater and it was really nice. The water was super clear and before we even jumped in the water the fishies were already surrounding our boat. My biggest goal during the snorkeling trip was to see a sea turtle. Didn't happen here though :o( but we did see some very pretty fish. I normally freak out for a bit when I'm in the water but this time I didn't. I was very relaxed and was able to enjoy it. I think it helped that Rocky didn't leave my side. The water was a bit cold but we had some long sleeve rash guards that the boat provided and that helped keep us a little warm. I am bad and have not developed the underwater pictures but I'll get that done soon and share the fishy pictures with you.

A little about Molokini Crater

Located 2 ½ miles off Maui's south coast, Molokini is an extinct volcano that is now designated as a State Marine Life and Bird Conservation District. Its crescent shape acts as a fortress that provides protection from waves and powerful currents making this area one of the top ten dive sites in the world.

Molokini's back wall sharply drops off to depths of 300 feet. In the center is a lush reef area with excellent viewing up to 150 feet. The pristine waters are home to about 250 species of fish - some of which are found nowhere else on earth.

The second stop was Lanai. We didn't like it as much. The water wasn't as clear, there weren't as many fishies and the water was super choppy which made lots of people on the boat sick. No fun. BUT the highlight of the trip to Lanai was a SEA TURTLE :o) yipee! I got to see and I was able to get some pictures. I just hope they turn out.

A little about Lanai

Lanai is the smallest of Hawaii’s inhabited islands, covering 140 square miles. Once the home of a thriving pineapple plantation, Lanai has reinvented itself as an alluring resort destination offering world-class golf courses and award-winning accommodations.

The area we snorkeled in is called Manele Bay. Which is below in the picture.

The trip back was the longest. It was super windy and super choppy. This is also when they decided to serve lunch. Uhhh, not a good combination. Rocky felt horrible on the other hand I felt fine and stuffed myself with a yummy Chicken Sandwich and a Pina Colada :o) Rocky wanted to do nothing with food or really with the boat any more. He just wanted to be back on land. Lots of people weren't feeling good on the way back. I think most of the boat fell asleep just so they could feel a little better. After my yummy lunch I also fell asleep and then all of a sudden when came to a stop. I thought we had arrived but when I opened my eyes we were still in the middle of the ocean. Hmmm, what's going on? One of the crew members had spotted a dolphin so the captain stopped the boat to wait. It took a while but then 2 dolphins appeared right next to our boat and once we got going again they stayed with the boat for a while. It was very neat to see them.

The trip was fun besides the icky feeling Rocky had on the way back. We got back and did some shopping at the Pacific Whale Foundation shop and then headed back to the condo. We didn't feel like doing dinner out since were were pooped and by the time we got back Rocky was starving so we stopped at Aloha Mixed Plate again and took it to go. YUMMY Kalbi Ribs!

This was the sunset from our balcony on this evening.

Next week I'll try to finish up with our trip to Maui. It'll include the luau, surfing and a 4 mile walk on the beach.

Things are going well and Rocky and I are settling into married life. We don't have much planned this weekend which is nice. We'll be spending Saturday with his family and I think the rest of the weekend we'll just veg out. We need it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe long weekend!

Maui - Sunday

Our Wedding Day - April 29, 2007 :o)

Woke up fairly early. I was having trouble sleeping in too late because of the time change so we just got up. Rocky made breakfast for himself. I can't do a huge breakfast every morning so I decided to just have some cereal and some yummy fresh pineapple and papaya on the side. He had eggs and rice :o) he has to have his rice. We made breakfast and had it out on our balcony. It became our ritual every morning. It was so nice to just sit out there and eat, talk and enjoy the scenery.

We decided to have a mellow day since we were getting married in the evening but needed to start getting ready around 2pm because we had to leave the condo around 3:30 or so to head to Makena which was about an hour away. After breakfast we decided to go on a short walk on the beach to explore and see what was around the area we were staying at. We weren't going to be gone to long though because we didn't want to be in the sun too much. The last thing we wanted was to be crispy red in our wedding photos.

We went on our walk and then came back to the condo. Hung around for a bit and then headed off to the mall to get my nails done. I had a pretty ring now to go with my wedding band so I wanted pretty nails :o) Rocky even managed to get his very first manicure. I think that's all he talked about the rest of the day. He loved it.

Back to the room again and more relaxing :o) too bad I can't do that here every day. Work for 2 hours, take a nap, work for 2 more hours, take a nap. I could get used to that real quick.

Anyway, then it was time to get ready for the big moment. I don't think either one of us was nervous. At least it didn't seem to me like Rocky was. I was more excited than anything else. I couldn't wait to walk down that beach and marry Rocky.

We got dressed and headed out to Makena which is on the other side of the island and about an hour away. Rocky wanted to get there a little early because he didn't want to get lost or be rushed. We got their a little too early though and I had to sit in the car with the air blowing under my dress cause it was warm. On our way to Makena we saw a beautiful rainbow, I told Rocky it was Brenda. She was there and we even put in a little request to her for no rain. As we got closer to Makena there were some UGLY dark clouds and we were sure it was going to rain. It didn't...phew!!!

We met up with the people who were performing our wedding and they drove us out to the little beach where we would be married. It was called Makena Surf and it was amazing. It was a beautiful little spot, very quiet and secluded with a really nice view. They made us feel so comfortable and ended up doing such an amazing job. The ceremony took about 15-20 minutes and the rest of the time we spent chatting with them and taking pictures when the time was right. The sun and clouds had to be perfect :o) and they were. I still can't believe how great our pictures turned out.

Once were were all done with the wedding stuff we took off to dinner as Mr. & Mrs. Reyes :o) We had dinner at Nick's Fish Market which was just a block or so away from where we got married. It was located inside the Fairmont Hotel. It was a good dinner but we weren't thrilled with the service. Oh well. We were happy as can be and our wedding turned out perfect. It was exactly what we had wanted and more.