Disclaimer: We are not tourists. We don't like being tourist-y and we don't really want people to get the hint that we're tourists. So... we don't take pictures of our hotel sign. We don't take pictures at every. single. location we visit. We don't take pictures of our food. In fact, sometimes we forget we even brought a camera. We don't wear fanny packs. We rarely look serious in our poses and sometimes, when we go to Maui, we're lazy.
First impression of Maui: the 6 hour plane flight with babies crying, cramped seats, nausea and no food or entertainment. We flew Alaska Airlines which means: they charge you $14 to watch a movie, they cram the planes full, and they don't seat you together even though your tickets say you're supposed to be together. If I ever go to Maui again... well, Alaska is hardly the route I'd take. Geographically and umm... plane-company-ily.
After that dreadfully long flight, we were starved, tired and ready to not be on a plane ever again. On the shuttle ride from the airport to our rental car, we asked our driver "Fred" if he knew of a place nearby that had good Hawai'ian BBQ. "Fred" told us of a place called "da kitchen". I thought he just had a thick Hawai'ian accent and was telling the "dumb tourists" that you get food in a kitchen but it turns out there really is a place near the airport that is called Da Kitchen. Filled with locals and hardly any tourists, it's a little hole in the wall place that serves the real stuff. Super yummy.
The first pleasant surprise of the trip was that Enterprise Rent-a-car didn't have any economy sized vehicles available so instead of this car:
...we got this car:
... and visions of off-roading trips danced in my husband's head.
So with our cool off-roading SUV, our full tummies and our luggage, we headed to our hotel. Our first stay was at the Royal Lahaina Resort.
We spent a few hours on the beach with no cell phones, iPods or cameras, then headed back to shower and get ready for dinner. After about 10 minutes, my husband was already done getting ready so he took some shots from our balcony...
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| My favorite. You really can't take a bad picture of Hawai'i landscape... |
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| And yes... this is what our room looked like within mere hours of checking in. I am not ashamed. Mom, don't look. |
On Tuesday, our first full day there, we had aspirations of going to Haleakala to see the sunrise. Those aspirations fizzled and died because we decided to sleep in and spend the day relaxing and snorkeling. No pictures yet because I haven't developed the water camera film. Which I will get to in approximately 4-6 months. Stay tuned.
That night, we went to the luau that was held nightly at our resort. I know, I know... we totally weren't planning on spending money on a luau but with a lovely anniversary gift from my parentals, we decided that we had come all the way to Maui so whatever. I'm a woman. I'm allowed to change my mind multiple times a day without any prior notice.
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| The pig oven thingy |
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| The cooked pig which I don't think is the one that we actually ate unless they shredded it up like super fast. |
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| Fire dancer who LICKED THE FIRE STICK WITH HIS TONGUE. Ouch. |
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| With a tripod and the shutter open a long time, my hubs captured this. So smart, that guy. My husband. Not that guy in the picture. He plays with fire for a living so his smarts are questionable. |
As you can see, no pictures of the half naked girls. This is a G-rated (ish) blog after all.
Stay tuned for the next episode of Maui Honeymoon Anniversary Vacation Thing...
...we got this car:
... and visions of off-roading trips danced in my husband's head. 
