To date, we have had four vacations to Maui in the past three years, and those details are below. You can also read more about our future plans, and find a few quick fun facts about our time spent on Maui.
Our Trips to Maui
Next Trip - September '09
It feels like we just got back from Maui, but still we long for that warm air and invigorating ocean breeze of the Valley Isle. Could we possibly pull off another trip so soon? What's the rush? Well, the 1st Annual Maui Photo Festival and Workshops are being held in September, and they're calling out to me loud and clear. We're cutting it a little tight, and although we were planning for a week-long getaway in December anyway, why wait that long?
View Future Plans
Trip 4 - February '09
It's really hard to say that one trip is better than the rest, because they've all been truly magical. This most recent trip, however, was way better than we could have ever dreamed of. Not only did we get to see tons of whales this time of year, we finally made it up to Haleakala for the sunrise, had amazing vacation portraits taken, had two Maui Tweetups, drove the Road to Hana ourselves, stayed there overnight, and even saw HAPA for the second time at the MACC!
Phew, getting all the notes together for this trip is gonna take some time. Be sure to watch the blog for updates when this is all finally ready.
Trip 3 - April '08
Now we were faced with a dilema. We wanted to see the whales in Maui during winter, but February 2007 was too soon budget-wise and we didn't want to go through 2008 without going to Maui at all. We were originally thinking this would be a shorter trip, yet with some good fortune and a little saving, we were off to Maui sooner than we had thought and stayed for 12 nights.
And we didn't go alone this time, either. We broguht along my mom as a celebration of one of those milestone birthdays she had in '08. It was fun playing tour guide and showing her around the island. And we knew seeing the whales was going to be a long shot since whale watching season was just about over, but were we ever surprised.
View Trip 3 - April '08
Trip 2 - September '07
We bought our first condo in October of 2006, so that put our Maui budget on hold for awhile. After the monthly mortage payments were figured out, we chose September for our next trip and to also coincide with our fourth wedding anniversary. It felt like forever while we waited for this trip to arrive, and after the two weeks passed, it seemed like it went by so fast.
Our sophmore trip felt more like home since we were returning to many of the same places we had visited the year before. It also was our first full 2 week vacation, which felt really, really nice. New beaches, new restaurants, more driving and new places to shop made this repeat trip one of additional discovery.
Trip 1 - June '06
Our first trip to the island of Maui was at the beginning of June, 2006. We had taken our honeymoon on the islands of Oahu and Kauai two years earlier, and it was time to see what the Valley Isle had to offer us. We honestly fell in love with Maui before we even unpacked our luggage.
Little did we know at the time, but those first 9 days we spent taking in the magic that is Maui was life changing. From our first luau to a nice sunset cocktail cruise, and from circling the island by helicopter and a guided tour along the Road to Hana, it was the beginning of a new chapter of our lives together, and one that would bring us so much joy and introduce us to so many beautiful people that we never would have met otherwise.
View Trip 1 - June '06
Quick Fun Facts
Here are some quick facts and totals about our trips that we think are fun to share (includes our honeymoon in Oahu and Kauai in '04).
- Total number of days in Hawaii - 61 days
- Total miles flown, round trip - approx. 42,100 miles
- One trip around the Earth is 25,000 miles
- Total time on airplanes - 94 hours
- That's over three full days!!! Not to mention time at the airport.
- Trips to the ABC Store - too many to count
- Usually once or twice a day
- Free Del Sol tote bags - 5
- Free with every $50 purchase :)
- Average number of digital photos taken per trip - 2,100 photos
- Average time to review and print photos once home - 2.5 months
- Months we've been, or planning to be, on Maui