can you blame him?
his face was so
worth it when
he came skipping
over to SHARE
his surprise!
off we were to find some food,
not just any food...we both have a thing with food on vacation,
we want to TASTE where we are.
i guess it’s good thing to have in common,
but at this particular time, it was BAD.
nate hadn’t had a meal all day, some silly crackers on the flight
and the man has a HIGH metabolism,
he ALSO can throw a crazy fit when he is hungry.
in search of a restaurant we had read about
we end up on the beach
i HAVE to dip my toes in!!!
i take off into the water...
we find out all the restaurants on the water are closed
due to the storm coming,
so we were on our way back to the car and in our 1st and ONLY tiff.
“I NEED FOOD!!!” “I AM IN PARADISE, STOP RUINING IT FOR ME!”
etc. etc. etc. really funny looking back,
i will always remember to pack the man a scooby snack,
i thought i left all that at home!
ahhh men! i know many can totally relate!
on to our hotel “the ritzy”! AMAZING!
i got a REALLY good deal and could not believe that THIS...
is where we got to spend our week!!!
we were treated like royalty and “leid” upon arrival!
tru LOVED his!
then we were off to our luau to watch
the men explode with hawaiian energy
while the ladies portray the
beauty of their island and hearts!
we had a lot to pack in the next 5 days,
some of this...
a little of that...
and a PINCH...ME!!! JONI!!!
my MOST FAVORITE mentor, friend, sister,
mama of 3 beautiful girls who i adore (plus one son),
inspirer, soul searcher, prayer warrior,
story teller (my head is full of amazing visions thanks to her),
lover of beautiful SIMPLE life, etc. etc. etc.
i could write a whole page on joni
God let me know SOMEONE
was going to be there with us
when i saw her waiting for us...
it was one of those deep, spiritual, pinch me moments.
i felt like i was in a dream.
so we ate...at the gazebo...
banana, macadamia, pineapple pancakes
with coconut syrup
while she poured out her love of maui ALL OVER US!
she taught me how to spot a sweet sea turtle
and the awesome spray of a whale.
joni and steve
(i have a NEW love...STEVE,
he makes me
laugh, in fact...
i am still laughing at some of his
quick humor)
took us to the...
BLOW-HOLE!
nate was in heaven!
THIS pretty much
somes it up.
I LOVE JONI and now STEVE!
steve...that rock, is just
reminding you that
“JESUS LOVES YOU”!
sake, sushi, and the hot tub in the rain
all to ourselves, at “the ritzy”,
lets call it a great night!
this might feel like it is going on FOREVER,
but it’s only day 2 1/2...
it’s whale watching time
so, keep your eyes peeled
for the breaching
WHALE!!!
incredible!
goosebumps!
pics don’t do it justice!
after everyone let us get off the boat 1ST
(tru was screaming the last 15 min)
we were greeted ashore to everyone standing still,
quiet and in awe
as they admired a mama whale and her babe
just off the shore
right by our boat that we had just got off!
the locals said that was a pretty rare sight to see so close.
i was taken
by everyone stopping themselves
to cherish a simple sweet moment
lunch at the infamous
hula grill
where your toes are dipped
in sand while you enjoy
your meal,
tropical cocktail and
a view of the
ocean!
this is the great part,
where i muster up enough courage
to swim out, 100 feet
into the murky water (i overheard a waitress earlier that day tell a customer “snorkeling isn’t safe in this murky water(the storm) that’s when the sharks come out to play”)
next to a sea turtle the size of ME!
i touched it! i had to!
i am now in my 30‘s it is time to live life on the edge!
then nate had to, since i touched it. only to find out...
after posting my latest on facebook that we could give
mr. huge sea turtle a bacteria
deepest apologies if you now have a new bacteria.
or two!
no, i am not pregnant AGAIN!
i guess this is what
4 babies
in 7 years
does to your body.
totally worth it!
sometimes.
this is when nate was
getting annoyed at my
picture taking...but there
was just sooo much beauty
EVERYWHERE!
it must’ve been time to feed him again!
doesn't he look THRILLED!
i thought his flower was a perfect match for his
JEEP!
front street lahaina, we were in search of the perfect dinner,
when a sign promising us fish tacos lured me in.
in the middle of a sweet alley we feasted on,
$3 fish AND pork tacos. fyi...
this cute little taco stand opened the day tru was born,
9/3/2010
here was the BONUS that night...
free entertainment!
guy was hilarious
with his birds.
fascinating.
road to HANA. i didn’t think it was THAT scary!
the scenery was breathtaking.
the thought of her history was fascinating.
i DID dream of living there
off the land
with the land.
through the bamboo forest, past the creepy
photographer and weirdo model, to
the...
WATER FALL!
where we picnic’d and i admired these
squishy little feet...
AGAIN, nate was in heaven
hiking over and through
all the terrain.
along the road to hana we stopped at the black sand beach...
ridiculously gorgeous!
this whole trip i was in awe of my Creator, Father, my God!
the colors are so vivid, the texture is so rich,
and the smells are heavenly.
praise was constant in my spirit.
our last stop before hana we met a NW guy from hood river,
he ensured us he would make us a quality coffee drink.
he did.
we sipped on that, munched on mango bread,
and pure vanilla dried coconut.
finally made it to hana.
we quickly ventured back down, just short 2 hours.
back to paia. funny little town.
reefer is the scent.
the old man with his cheesy grin,
knew everyone and opened conversation with
“life is sweet”, while nodding his head at us.
high as a kite.
he certainly enjoyed his meal, we felt it was lacking.
our last FULL day...
what to do, what to do...
THIS.
with an out of this world,
only in my dreams pina colada in hand! followed by a nap.
dinner at the pineapple grill.
outside please.
wasabi pea pistachio encrusted ahi
over coconut scented rice
with wild mushrooms.
famous pineapple upside down cake
topped with a macadamia nut ice cream
and a caramelized rum sauce.
delish.
drinks with joni and steve at the hula grill
to re-cap our weeks and scheme of ways to move here.
breathing in all the salty air that we possibly could.
hopeful for a moment
that we might
never have to leave.
homecoming came and it literally felt like
i was JUST here in my home.
on mama duty.
thank goodness for those memories
when i need to escape my beautiful reality
and dream!
hopefully you got a little color
just from the intense radiation
that beams with the thought of maui.
hopefully you feel like you got a little taste
of our trip to maui.
hopefully this didn’t make you too hungry.
hopefully i will never have another
blog entry this long!
*all this was made possible by...
the AMAZING grandma lew!
THANK YOU to the moon and back! I LOVE YOU mamasita!
(thank goodness at the time, you didn’t quite
know what you were signing up for)
the 3 kids that were left behind,
someday you might understand why.
I LOVE YOU maeha moo, aj, and emry boy!
the SAVE THE DAY grandma pit!
thank you for calming my mom and picking up the
pieces while she was sick.
I LOVE YOU cheryl!
the INCREDIBLE and LOVING babe-alicious!
thank you for coming along on my maui trip
it wouldn’t have been the same without you.
“it’s always better when were together”
I love you nate piturachsatit!