Maui - Day 5

Day 5 on Maui (Friday) was relaxing day, especially when compared to the two previous days. We were finally able to sleep in which was nice. One of the things we both really loved was the sound of the ocean – we would fall asleep to it and wake up to it! It’s pretty soothing. =) At any rate, our home was just a short walk from a super yummy coffee shop (Bad Ass Coffee Company named after the donkeys that used to haul the beans up and down the mountainside) and a delicious Farmer’s Market. So we headed down there and grabbed some yummy stuff, which of course included pineapple. We then headed to the beach right outside our hotel with our Bibles to have a good read with some awesome scenery. We had signed up for a “timeshare presentation” to help us save a little bit of money on our paid adventures, so we had to stick around our area for most of the morning. My family is NOTORIOUS for going to these and getting suckered in and buying a timeshare – which we love by the way because then we get discounted vacations. BUT, we knew going into it that it was just to save money on this trip and we didn’t need to buy a timeshare on Maui right now. So we went to the presentation and the lady was a bit pushy…but we came out successful and didn’t purchase one. Who knows – in the future we may because they are certainly a good deal if you plan to vacation at all with your family or friends. After that, we stopped back by the room to grab our snorkel gear and went for a swim right by our home.

Tonight is the night we went to a Luau. We opted for the Polynesian style (vs. the truly Hawaiian) because it’s more of an entertainment show and there is lots of good food. The Hawaiian style Luau serves mostly raw fish, which would not have gone over well with me! It was a lot of fun, but I don’t think we’ll need to do it again - one time is enough for these kind of things. As you walk in, they give you a lei but it’s a small shell lei. They were selling the other ones for $10. But after we were done and waiting for our car, Dustin was able to finagle the front desk and get me one for free!!!!!! We ate a TON of yummy food (pork, steak, mahi mahi fish, teriyaki chicken, fresh fruit, veggies, rice, desserts, etc.) and again they had an open bar. We didn’t drink a ton, but it was funny because even if we would tell our server that we were fine with what we had, he would give us a few drinks and say “Oh, you have to try this one!” Right before the show starts, they do a hula dance lesson. Well, our server volunteered me to go up there and dance! Although I was up there with mostly little girls, it was a lot of fun. It’s a lot harder than it looks!!!! Then we watched them do all sorts of different cultural dances and traditions, including the fire and knife dance. If you’ve never been to one, we think it’s fun to check out on your first trip to the islands.

These hibiscus flowers are all over the island in a a variety of colors. We used to have a red one in our yard in Florida...a very tropical flower!

The market had everything you could imagine - bananas, pineapple, mangos, papaya, breads, veggies, guacamole, chips, hummus, jellies, bagels, flowers, jewlrey...you name it, they probably had it!

The photo above and below are both views right from our hotel room! Dustin got a great deal on an ocean view room - you just can't go any other way here!

Our home for 8 days - standing in the porch doorway, looking into the living area and kitchen. The back is the bedroom and in between is a bathroom. Not very glamorous but boy was it a great place to call home all week long. We would stay in F-205 again in a heartbeat!

Heading to the "Drums of Paradise Luau"

It was held at the Hyatt on Ka'anapali Beach, which is a really nice hotel! There were waterfalls and fountains everywhere and then this rain forest type set up in one of the lobbies. There was a Macy's and all sorts of different stores in there that made up an actual shopping mall - all within this hotel!

This is the stage for the night.

They do this ceremony tradition at the beginning, where they blow through the conk shell and then go over to the pit where they have buried the pig and been smoking it. They then carry it out and cut it up to serve it. It was delicious!

Part of our dinner right here - the Pig!

The first plate! Ha! =)

Here I am, with all the little girls, getting a hula dance lesson!

The sunsets and sunrises were so amazing on this island. I just love these two photos.

These ones below are a bunch of different dances that they did throughout the show.

The lei my sneaky little husband found for me!