Hawaii Travel Diary: Maui Part 2

Oh yes. You can bet I don't care one bit that it's been over a month since we got back from Hawaii, I'm finishing my recap whether you read it or not.
Picking up where I left off (many weeks ago) we'd been enjoying the second part of our vacation in Mauii. We'd had a relaxing couple days just lounging around the resort and eating our weight in fresh Ahi Tuna.  We had very few plans for our vacation but the one thing I told T.J. I wanted to do on our trip was go on a snorkeling excursion. We were able to get free snorkeling gear from the hotel to use right on the beach and there were tons of fish and beautiful clear waters to explore there, but I desperately wanted to take a boat ride out to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town for some more exciting snorkeling.

On Thursday we had scheduled our early morning snorkeling cruise with Seafire Charters (they were amazing!!). Wednesday had been incredibly windy, lots of rough waves and rain overnight, so we were glad that it wasn't raining when we woke up Thursday morning. We got up early and drove to the boat landing to catch our ride. Even though the wind had mostly died down, the captain warned us that it would still be quite rough out on the water and that we might not get to go to all the usual spots but that they would still take us to a bunch of cool places. They gave us the option to reschedule and made sure we were all confident swimmers and snorkelers, and I've never gotten seasick before, ever.  In hindsight, this should have been my first red flag but we said we were still good to go and so did the rest of the group going with us. While we were getting checked in, a different charter snorkeling trip went out ahead of us. 30 minutes later, they were back, soaking wet saying they couldn't get to the crater. That should have been our second red flag, and again the captain made sure we were all prepared to go and again I was overly confident. The ride out to the crater was bouncy and rough but the fun kind, with the wind blowing and the waves splashing you as you sliced through the water.
Molokini crater is a half moon shaped rocky outcropping in the middle of the ocean teaming with marine life, and on that day it happened to be getting slammed by huge waves. The captain said we could try to snorkel on the back side which would be more protected from the wind and was still an amazing place to snorkel because it is basically a 300 ft wall of coral. And that's when things went down hill for me. As we sat there rocking and swaying and rolling with the waves, we put on our masks and flippers and I started to feel less than okay. I was getting clammy and nauseous but just knew I'd feel better once I was in the cool water so I quickly jumped into the ocean. The water was so rough and my stomach flipped and rolled with each wave and my snorkel kept filling with water as waves splashed over me. I was constantly having to blow out water and I couldn't catch my breath and the nausea just would not go away. I decided I had better get out of the water and the second I got back on the boat I threw up over the side (which the fish loved- gross). Luckily? I wasn't the only one feeling seasick or I might have been embarrassed. The crew was so sweet and handed out ginger ale and wrist bands and rubbed essential oil behind our ears. T.J. was totally worried about me and I totally did not care that he had seen me get sick for the first time in our marriage.

We only stayed at the crater for maybe half an hour and I was so glad to get moving and have the cool breeze in my face but once you're sick the only thing that really helps is dry land. The next spot we stopped was just a little ways off from shore and a lot less rough but I knew I couldn't put a snorkel mask back on. I was hesitant to even get back in the water at all but I swam to shore along with a couple of the other girls and basically crawled onto the beach.  We waited there for a bit before one of their office staff came and picked us up and took us back to the boat launch to wait for the rest of the group to return. I told T.J. to stay on the boat with our things (and there was no point in both of us missing out on the turtles- T.J. saw three and I was super jealous) but he said the ride back was even more rough and a bunch more people got sick so I was super thankful I'd gotten off when I did. The charter company was so nice, the crew made me feel so much better with their mothering, and they even refunded us for my trip. Even though it was a total bust for me, if we ever go back to Hawaii I would definitely try to do this trip again, but would just be sure to go on a day when it's super calm and smooth.

I was feeling completely dehydrated and still queasy so we decided to walk to a nearby restaurant, Monkeypod, for lunch. I had a coke and a margherita pizza (I just needed something easy on my stomach) and then we went back to the hotel to get back to doing what we do best, relaxing and reading.  The pool staff came around later in the afternoon and passed out Popsicles and the day was salvaged. That night we went for a walk on the beach and picked out our favorite ocean side houses before heading to one of the Lehua Lounge by the upper pool for a light dinner and then calling it an early night.
Friday was our last full day on Maui so we were going to make the most of it. We went down to the beach in the morning and T.J. rented a paddle board and I relaxed under the umbrella and watched him out in the water. Then we grabbed snorkel gear (the day before hadn't completely ruined it for me) and enjoyed a much more relaxing time in the water together. For lunch we dined at the Bumbeye Beach Bar again, and again ordered the most delicious Ahi Poke to share along with some summer rolls, plus a pina colada for me.

After lunch we moved to the pool area and the rest of the day passed peacefully. We had originally made dinner reservations at Morimoto but decided we wanted to go back to the Ka' Ana Kitchen, where we'd dined the first night, again. There were still too many yummy items on that menu that we wanted to try and we did not regret it! We actually had our same waiter which was funny, and he brought us a glass of champagne to toast to our last sunset in Hawaii. 
We headed back to Washington the next day and over a month later I've finished recapping the most wonderful and relaxing vacation. It was exactly what we needed- a time to just be together and breathe. I watched the stress melt away from T.J. as we landed in Hawaii. And after a perfect week, just the two of us and no responsibilities, we came home refreshed and in denial that our trip was behind us but ready to get back to our puppy and the real world. To round it off here's a little video of some gopro footage from our time in Maui. (It's mostly just of us snorkeling so hopefully it doesn't make you seasick...)

Comments

  1. Just the post I've been waiting for : ) You have some lovely photos. So glad you had a wonderful trip with your sweetie xo

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  2. Also very glad I was not on the snorkel trip. teehee.

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  3. You are brave to do all that after the rough day of attempted snorkeling! Great job on the video- I love that Beach Boys song :)

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  4. I enjoyed the video! I've never been snorkeling. It looks like so much fun though! Thanks for posting about the rest of your vacation. So glad you two had such a good time. Sorry about the sea sickness though.

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  5. This all looks so fantastic!! I love Maui! I have never been snorkeling though -- I may need to try that next time we go!!

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  6. So much fun, Shannon!!! I want to go to Hawaii so badly now! <3

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