Escape to Paradise - Maui Vacation, Pt. 1

After a very busy autumn, we couldn't wait to get off the ROK and spend a couple of weeks relaxing on the beach. We knew we were probably only going to have the time and patience to go on one big excursion while in Korea, so we wanted to make it count. Initially we considered going somewhere like Thailand. But, honestly, taking a newly walking toddler to a third world country and trying to navigate the jungle with a stroller or find something for him to eat on a non-English menu sounded more stressful than fun. We loved our time in Hawaii a couple of years ago and knew that was a good, family-friendly option. But if we were going to invest that kind of time and money into a vacation, I wanted to see something new. So instead of returning to Honolulu, we booked a furnished condo in Maui!

Our trip to Maui was rather miserable. I came down with a bad stomach virus the day prior to our departure so I was nauseous the whole time. Our flight left on a Friday evening, and so we got stuck in Friday afternoon traffic in Seoul which meant we were confined to our seats on a sweltering city bus with no bathroom for two and a half hours at Kaden's normal dinner and bedtime. Thank God for streaming YouTube videos. Judah & The Lion is the only reason we survived that ride to Incheon. The flight to Honolulu (where we would change planes) wasn't terribly long, but by the time we boarded the plane Kaden was already over-tired, over-stimulated, and sick of his car seat. Unfortunately, he did not sleep well in it, and so we had to try and keep him calm and happy all night long. Again, thank God for technology. The seat-back tv screen was a life saver. I think he watched Rio two or three times back-to-back on that flight. The only good thing about that first leg of our journey was that we randomly happened to sit behind some of our friends from the Fiends who were planning to spend Thanksgiving on Waikiki with friends.

 We had a six hour lay-over in Honolulu before catching our 45 minute connecting flight to Maui. By the time we arrived I was exhausted and weak and just needed to lie down. Thankfully, Honolulu has a huge military presence and, therefore, the airport has a fantastic USO. After clearing customs and immigration, we made our way there and settled in. For those who don't know what a USO is - it's a volunteer-run safe haven for military members in transit. They usually have a couple of TVs, with chairs and couches, free food and drinks, internet access, showers, and a quiet place to lie down and sleep if needed. I've only ever been to two different USO's, but the one in Honolulu is FANTASTIC. The people who volunteer there were so kind and gracious. One of the ladies brought a big pot full of homemade kahlua pork, cabbage and rice for us to eat, which was delicious and needed. They had a children's play room for Kaden and James and I were both able to take naps, which was very needed. By the time we boarded our flight to Maui, we were all feeling a little better and ready to begin our Hawaiian vacation!

Once we de-planed, we were immediately faced with the reality that Maui is not Oahu. We knew all the islands in Hawaii are different. But I guess I figured that Maui is such a big vacation destination, it would be fairly similar. Not true! We learned from the flight attendants that 80% of the population of Hawaii lives on Oahu (in Honolulu and the surrounding area), so the other islands are much more rural and sparsely populated. The airport in Maui was pretty small and almost completely deserted at 6 pm when we landed. By the time we grabbed our bags and got directions to our hotel, it was dark outside. Our hour long drive to the western side of the island was almost pitch dark. Very few city lights until we reached Lahaina (where we stayed). It was shocking, and honestly a little disappointing. I loved the energy of Waikiki when we were there in 2012 and was looking forward to doing a lot of shopping and eating out. Some of the best places to shop in Maui include K-mart and Walmart (their first Target won't open till March), and most of their restaurants are individually owned mom-and-pop type places. The atmosphere is much slower, and more laid back on Maui. It's not as busy or commercialized. This is not a bad thing! In fact, with an infant, it's perfect. It's just different than we were expecting so it took us a couple of days to mentally adjust.

When we arrived at our condo at The Kahana Sunset it was pretty late, so all we did was pile into bed and sleep. The next morning, James and I were impressed to wake up to this view from our master bedroom:

 When we made our reservation, it was for a one bedroom, one bathroom suite with a garden view. But apparently we got a free upgrade to a two story, two bed, two bathroom condo with an ocean view! Below are some photos of our tropical home away from home.

Upstairs master bedroom

Both bathrooms were like this

We loved being able to relax in our own space and cook our own meals. The fact that we could put Kaden to bed upstairs in the guest room and then continue to hang out downstairs without tip-toeing around was SUCH a blessing. Even things that would normally be an annoyance turned out to be perfect. They were doing some construction on-sight, creating a new and improved common area by the pool with better beach access. We could see the excavators and dump trucks working from our private lanai (patio) and Kaden loved to go out there and watch them.

Our view on the drive into town for breakfast

 That first morning, we had no food in the house, so we had to go out to breakfast. (Aww, shucks!) We found a great nearby restaurant and ordered a big American breakfast. Kaden charmed the waitress into giving him some free pancakes. Turns out he's a fan of breakfast food, just like we are. He also loved sitting outside and watching the birds hopping around, eating the crumbs he kept dropping.

 The rest of the day was spent shopping and napping. We went to a real grocery store (yay!) and stocked up on some favorite staples. Then we drove back to Kahului (the city by the airport where most of their shopping and chain restaurants are) to buy some necessary beachwear at K-mart and Old Navy. We tried out one of the most highly recommended restaurants in the city for dinner and were a little disappointed. The food wasn't bad, but we were definitely the only ones there under the age of 50. The restaurant was what someone in the 1960's would have thought was a great place to go out and eat. But we were very underwhelmed. Again, the expectations and reality of our dining and shopping options were a little frustrating. But, thankfully, we still had several days ahead and things could only get better from there!

Such a beautiful place!

The next day was Sunday. We decided to take it easy since mommy was apparently the only jet-lagged person in the house and didn't sleep much that night. We did, however, insist upon introducing Kaden to the ocean as soon as possible. Where better to do that than at the private beach behind our condo complex? He loved playing in the sand and standing in the surf and letting the waves lap at his chubby ankles. After a few minutes of hesitant exploration, he fell in love with what he now calls the "osh" (ocean), and wanted to press out deeper and deeper. I'm so glad he wasn't afraid of the water! But it did make future beach trips a little more challenging since we had to keep a close eye on him and make sure he didn't get in over his head. ;^)

First family beach excursion!

I had to keep a vice-grip on him to prevent him from running head-long into the surf

 Turns out it's a little difficult to walk in wet sand... hahaha.

 That night, we drove down to the near by tourist town of Lahaina to walk around the main street lined with shops and eat some dinner. Apparently Lahaina is the historical royal capital of the kingdom of Hawaii. Reputedly it has some of the best sunsets in all of Hawaii. The main drag has a mixture of old historical buildings and new shops, restaurants and art galleries. It's all VERY touristy. But, as we were tourists, we didn't mind.


They were holding an art festival in a public park there, underneath a GIANT banyan tree. I was unable to get a picture that would do the thing justice. It was very beautiful!

 We ended up having dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which was right on the water at sunset. This was a restaurant we enjoyed when we went to Hawaii last time. They have all kinds of delicious gourmet burgers. I got the California turkey burger with avocado and grilled pineapple. Even Kaden's mac and cheese came with some tropical flair! We quickly realized on this trip that kids menus at restaurants are made up almost exclusively of fried food, carbs and cheese. We ended up feeding him a lot of stuff off of our plates so he was consuming more than grilled cheese, mac and cheese, spaghetti and french fries. At least they have no shortage of fresh fruit in Hawaii!

All kinds of indoor/outdoor dining spaces on Maui

 Hawaiian royalty was right about one thing: the sunsets in West Maui are gorgeous. This was only the beginning of a very picturesque vacation...