spoken from the heart: Marion's in Maui

Saturday June 20th, 2015

THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE♥

Sunday June 21st, 2015

Brunch

Sunday late morning we had a brunch at Washburn Cafe in Springfield and then we went back to my parents house where we opened our gifts :)

After we opened our gifts, we loaded up the car and began driving towards Seattle, where we stayed in a cute little Airbnb house for the night.

Monday June 22nd, 2015

Day 1 on our Honeymoon♥

This is the cute little house we stayed in. I'm so happy I discovered Airbnb! It was way more comfortable then a hotel and we got a house versus just a small room for half the price!

The house also had a hot tub in a beautiful backyard and it just happened to be a beautiful sunny day in Seattle as well :)

We were in no rush that morning so we sat in the hot tub for a while, drinking our coffee and taking in all of the last few days or even the last week as it was pure awesome chaos the entire week before the wedding!

We had to be at the airport by 5pm to catch our 7pm flight to Maui so we left here and headed towards our soon to be apartment where we left our car for the trip! Our awesome friend Sam picked us up and took us to the airport.

Jesse being silly, trying to make me laugh because I was having minor anxiety about flying. I am not a fan of sitting in a tight space, breathing the same air as hundreds of other people for long periods of time or for short periods of time for that matter!

Overlooking Seatac

Seattle from the sky

I do love the views I get from an airplane!

We got to watch the sunset from the sky which was pretty cool!

It was just a straight bright & colorful line on the horizon.

Making our way into Maui at 9:30pm their time (12:30am Oregon time)

WE MADE IT!

Let the adventures begin:)

Tuesday June 23rd, 2015

Day 1 in Maui- Exploring the island

Waking up in Maui feels surreal!

Especially to this view! We stayed in a condo with our balcony overlooking the ocean.

Even better, it wasn't just the ocean, but turtles LOVED this area so every single day that we were here, there were always at least 2-5 turtles down there swimming around the rocks. At one point we counted 18 turtles!

Those condos are where we stayed with this little beach cove steps away from our front door. I'm already ready to go back:)

We walked to the beach cove before we left for breakfast that morning and we found this little guy swimming really close to the beach. It almost swam right into my legs!

Paradise!

Coffee and breakfast with this handsome fella at this cute little restaurant in downtown Lahaina♥

Our view from our breakfast table

Fresh ahi eggs benedict. I don't think I've ever in my life had a more delicious breakfast:)

After breakfast we walked around downtown for a while.

♥♥♥

Body surfing!!

Beach #1 ♥

Those shave ice with haupia ice cream in the bottom became a major addiction for the entire time we were there :)

Also became an addiction... lol

Driving on the south end of Maui exploring the area and finding hidden/less populated beaches.

The first black sand beach that we found.

Big Beach♥

There was some serious boogy boarding going on at this beach!

After Big Beach we started driving back towards our condo and stopped at one more spot where we had seen other people snorkling at earlier in the day.

Flipper :)

Now this, WAS. THE. BEST. PART. OF. OUR. DAY!

We got back to our condo right as the sun was setting so we walked down to the beach cove and found this big guy soaking up the last little bit of sun in the sky!

It was nothing short of amazing!

We ended the night with fresh mango and pineapple mimosas, listening to the ocean out on our balcony :)

Wednesday June 24th, 2015

Day 2 in Maui- The West side of the Island

We woke up this morning, walked to the balcony and saw this cute little guy swimming on the rocks below us.

We made a fresh Maui breakfast at the condo this morning.

I couldn't get enough Mango! :)

After breakfast we swam and laid by the pool for a relaxing morning♥

Jesse found a banana tree!

We decided to go explore the west part of the island today!

Napili Beach Bay

My first fresh coconut

The Nakalele Blowhole! The ocean has undercut the shoreline, pounding underneath the lava shelf, where it spits through a man-sized hole in the lava. The blowhole varies tremendously with the size of the surf. It wasn't going off too crazy when we were here but we saw a couple good blows!

We spotted a cave!

Beautiful scenery, but what you can't see from this picture is the road we are on while taking it. For about 1.5 miles the road gets narrow- very narrow- as it descends along the side of the mountain. There was another car in front of us and right towards the end of the narrow road we ran into a predicament, where the car in front of us came head to head with another car coming in our direction. When I say the road was narrow I mean, maybe a few feet on one side, the cliff side. Watching these cars maneuver around each other was nail biting! When we had to get around it thankfully the road was a little wider and we were on the inside passage but this whole process took 20 or so minutes, it was such a tight squeeze!

Once we made it around the obstacle, we drove down into Kahakuloa Village. A tight-knot community isolated from the rest of the island. It felt like we were in a different country. The village was so cute and seemed like such a simple life compared to the hustle and bustle, face paced life in the city!

We stopped at Julia's for supposedly the best banana bread on the planet! I have to say, it was pretty dang good banana bread but maybe not the best of the plant:)

We turned around at the end of the village and began heading back toward our condo.

Another stop, the Olivine Pools. They were named that because of the ample amounts of a semi-precious gem called Olivine encrusted in the surrounding lava and sandstone.

It was a fun area to swim but the ocean was crazy on the other side of the lava. It amazes me to watch how much force and power a body of water has.

Our view for dinner. When I was in high school, I came to Maui for a basketball tournament. I remember eating at this local Hawaiian food restaurant but I couldn't remember the name of it for the life of me! Just by chance, Jesse and I came across it and I remembered it the second I saw it :)

Cold mai tai's after a long day in the sun :)

A traditional Hawaiian desert.

Haupia coconut custard pudding

After watching the sunset, we walked around downtown Lahaina and found this giant beautiful Banyan tree. It has branches twisted and tangled like nothing I've ever seen before.

Thursday June 25th, 2015

Day 3 in Maui- The Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is without question the most famous and desired drive in all of Hawaii, the crown jewel of driving. It's been compared to driving through the garden of Eden: a slow, winding road through a lush paradise that you always knew existed- somewhere.

We got up really early this morning and hit the road to try and get ahead of the mass traffic we were warned about. This first stop is where Jaws Surf Break (Hawaii's biggest surf break) is at on a good day.

We stopped at multiple different places off the road where we could hike into spots to find little treasures like so.

This was called Twin Falls. It had a series of 6 or 7 waterfalls and while they were pretty, they were nothing spectacular compared to what we saw farther on down the road.

This road so worth every wind and turn!

We took turn off of the road to Hana, and onto Nahiku Road, that led us down through the luxuriant community of Nahiku. When plants go to heaven, Nahiku must be their destination! I'm not even kidding, it was the most beautiful garden looking area I have ever seen with my own two eyes. Everything green seems so happy and healthy. Nahiku was formed in 1905 as a rubber tree plantation, but the effort went flat a decade later.

One of my many favorite stops off of the Road to Hana!

A waterfall straight into the ocean

This spot gave a jaw dropping view of the shoreline all the way back to Ke'anae. Miles of coastline are revealed as the sounds of the surf and the small falls make everything just perfect!

My love♥

Hana Bay large black beach

Hamoa Beach! Jesse and I's absolute favorite beach on all of Maui! It is known to have the best body surfing on the island.

Wailua Falls

A little fruit stand off the road. There were stands like this all over the island that were pay by honor system :)

We bought a passion fruit and it was definitely different. It had a very strong floral taste and was super slimy. I didn't mind the flavor but the texture made it hard for me to swallow.

The Seven Sacred Pools.

The swimming here was awesome and the pools were right on the ocean.

Standing under a waterfall :)

The back part of the Road to Hana, everyone says you shouldn't drive, because it is a single lane, windy, dirt road on a cliff with no guard rail. Most rental car companies don't allow you to take cars on the road. But... Jesse and I wanted to see just how bad this road really was so we decided to make the full loop instead of turning around.

It's kind of hard to tell but that is a pure vertical wall cliff right below me. It was a bit sketchy to drive on because there were some blind corners on the cliffs but we took it slow and had no problem at all! It gave us stunning views of the coastline!

Now we are in Southeast Maui and around more open country fields.

The road was absolutely beautiful with the views of the mountains to our right.

We stopped at the Tedeschi Winery for some delicious wine tasting. We actually bought a bottle of their pineapple blanc to open on our 1 year anniversary♥

When we got back into town, we stopped in downtown Kihei to walk around and watch the sunset on the beach after a yummy sushi dinner at Sensei Sushi♥

It was such a long, beautiful and perfect day exploring the Road to Hana♥

Friday June 26th, 2015

Day 4 in Maui- Molokini Snokeling & Laua

We just got loaded onto the boat and are waiting to take off to go snorkeling at the Molokini Crater:)

They told us it would be cold and we might want a wet suit, so we went with it until we got in the water and realized, we are from Oregon. THAT was not cold. Haha :)

HUSBAND & WIFE! Eeeek! ♥♥♥♥ :)

The lunch they provided for us on the boat.

After Molokini Crater, they took us to turtle town to swim with the turtles which was fun but we had more fun swimming with the turtles at our condo because there weren't swarms of people around too.

Rumor has it, that's a nude beach.

That long stretch of beach is Big Beach, one of the first beaches we went to our first day on the island.

Cheers to an awesome day with an awesome husband!♥

We continued our awesome day with an awesome night at a fun laua!

I know that looks like a staged background but that is literally the sunset!

Saturday June 27th, 2015

Day 5 in Maui- Sunset Dinner Cruise

Back at our favorite food shack, Aloha Mixed Plate.

We went down to the Kaanapali beach resort area but didn't stay too long. We discovered we're not big fans of the super crowded beaches! So we went back to the less crowded and populated beach right next to our condo.

On our way to our dinner cruise.

It was not disappointing! Such a delicious dinner!

There were so many spectacular sunsets that we saw but this one gives them all a run for their money! It might have been the most beautiful!

Sunday June 28th, 2015

Day 6 in Maui- Parasailing

Stopping to get our morning coffee before heading to the beach for a parasailing adventure! This little coffee shop became a regular stop for Jesse and I in the mornings!

Walking down the boardwalk to where the boat picks us up at.

So awesome!

After we got dropped back off on the beach from an incredible parasailing experience; we went swimming in the ocean for a while!

We moved from the Kaanapali beach to Big Beach- one of our favorites!

Relaxing in the oh so warm sun! :)

We rented a boogy board for the day!

He got pretty dang good at it!

Sun bathing :)

These people were sitting right where the waves were crashing and I'm not sure if they were drunk or if they were doing it on purpose but the ladies chair broke and they all started laughing and then she couldn't get up but I'm pretty sure it wasn't cause she physically couldn't, like it didn't seem like anyone was hurt or something was wrong... I have no idea. It was weird. Lol. It was quite entertaining though!

I was having fun with our rings and my camera while Jesse was napping :)

Packing up to go back to the condo.

That view never gets old♥

We made the best home cooked dinner that night with fresh lobster, ahi tuna, veggies, rice, poke and pineapple!

Stunning!

Dinner is served! :)

Monday June 29th, 2015

Day 7 in Maui- Pool Side/Beach Day

We had a very relaxing day today! With no plans, we just laid pool side, soaking in the sun all morning and then went to swim with the turtles in our beach cove that afternoon!

There were soooooo many turtles out today, I couldn't stop taking pictures of them! I probably have over 100! :)

Lunch break from swimming and turtle watching.

AWESOME! ♥

Swimming with the turtle :)

A perfect relaxing day ending to another breath taking sunset♥

Tuesday June 30th, 2015

Day 8 in Maui- Snorkeling Mokule'ia Bay

With our own snorkeling gear, we set off for slaughterhouse beach to go snorkeling in the crystal clear bay.

The water here was as clear if not more clear than at Molokini Crater!

This was the most fun I had snorkeling the whole time and every time was way fun! :)

Getting all pinteresty over here;)

Hubby & wifey on our last night in Maui♥

This little guy kept coming out of his hole for only a second and then would drop back down! I think I sat there for 15 minutes waiting to get a clear photo of him! :)

Oh Maui, you never fail to amaze me♥

Wednesday July 1st, 2015

Day 9 in Maui- Haleakala Sunrise

For our last day in Maui, we woke up at 3am to make the drive to Haleakala to watch the sunrise and while I may not be a morning person, it was totally worth it!

When I was in Maui with my basketball team back in high school, we all got up super early to go see the sunrise here. Which a bunch of high school girls waking up in the middle of the night was humorous to begin with but it got better. The entire drive up there was basically a pouring rain storm. It was so dark and foggy and the rain made the road impossible to see. So picture this: a van full of high school girls, its 3 or 4am, and we think we're all going to die from accidentally driving off the cliff cause we can't see the road. I can't even begin to describe how funny it was (now looking back of course). When we finally made it to the top, it was too cloudy and foggy to see so we didn't even get to see the sunrise! That is one hilarious memory I will never forget! Needless to say, I was very thankful Jesse and I got to actually see the sunrise this time :)

It was unbelievable how many people were up there!

♥

Looking on the other side of the mountain.

After watching it completely rise, we headed back to town where we got our coffee (totally needed it) and then went back to our condo to pack up our stuff.

Saying our see ya later's cause we will absolutely be back and to stay in that same place too!

♥

One last picture of the view from our balcony!

I was trying to find the condo that we stayed in when I was here before. All I remember is that you had to walk through a grassy field to get to the beach and there was a tree like this one. I took a picture of that tree with those palm tree's in front of a sunset and I still have it in a picture frame on my wall. I think this was it but I can't say for sure.

Shopping in downtown Kihei

Waiting for our last shave ice on the island :)

We found this beach in Kihei to sit at and watch our last (for this trip) Maui sunset on♥

Watching the sun fall behind the horizon♥

I would just like to say that is what I call pro packing!! Lol. I was very impressed with myself ;)

Farewell Maui, it was an amazing honeymoon and we will be back♥

We had a redeye flight and thankfully I was able to sleep most of it (I think waking up at 3am that morning helped) so when I woke up, we were almost to Portland and the most beautiful sunrise was happening. These pictures don't do it any justice, but it lit up the entire sky a orangy pink color. Absolutly beautiful way to welcome us back to Oregon♥