Maui 2011

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I went with Jon and Mandy to the gorgeous Hawaiian island of Maui.  We had such a great time!  I am so thankful for that special time that I get to spend with my husband....and being on a beautiful beach makes it just a little bit better! :)  I know that this might be picture overload but there were so many pretty sights and fun things to do that I just couldn't narrow it down any further!  If it is a really good photo, then it was probably taken by Jon! :) Blogger will only let me upload so many at a time so this little recap will be done in two separate posts but I am going to do them at the same time so keep reading!

The car of choice in Hawaii has to be a convertible.....but 6 days worth of luggage for 4 people, plus those 4 people, make for an interesting trip to/from the airport!

Upon arriving, we went straight from the airport (don't look too closely....we had just been on a plane for 8 hrs) to Mama's Fish House for a delicious dinner.  Daniel is STILL talking about the mahi mahi!  Looking out over the ocean while waiting for a table is not such a bad welcome either!

The Black Tahitian Pearl dessert - chocolate mousse covered in chocolate with a cookie shell....yummo!!

After dinner, we went to check in at the hotel.  We were greeted with leis and lots of alohas.  When we made it up to our room (which was really nice by the way) this was sitting on our coffee table.  They leave a welcome platter in every room (right) but, because it was both of our birthdays in Oct, they left us some special birthday cakes with 'Happy Birthday' written in Hawaiian.

Looking out over the main pool towards the ocean.

We left the hotel at 3 AM the next morning to go watch the sunrise at the top of Haleakala.  The elevation is 10,023 feet (and we were at sea level at the hotel) and it is COLD up there!  It was 41 degrees when we got there....luckily we were all prepared!

What a backdrop, right?

It was absolutely stunning and, despite the great pictures, it is even more beautiful in person.

It was kinda crazy to come back down to 85 degree weather at the hotel!  This picture is of the pool/lawn area while they are lighting the torches before sunset.

Dinner looking out over the ocean....so enjoyable.

Part two down below!