Maui: Day 4

2:30am:  Beep. Beep. Beep. Alarm goes off. It's time to get up. Today we drove up Mount Halekaeka with Maui Sunriders to watch the sunrise then biked down the 27 miles to sea level.

2:45am: Scrambling to find the warmest possible clothes we brought along. It's 30 degrees at the top of the crater. We're Minnesotans, but didn't exactly plan for that kind of weather in Hawaii.

3:00am: On the road. We rubbed our sleepy eyes; not sure what the upcoming trip down the volcano will bring.

3:30am: We arrived to the bike shop. Everyone else seemed sleepy too. There's kids there which is a good sign to me; if a 12 year old can bike down a volcano so I can I, right?

4:00pm: After a short safety briefing we're off up the mountain. Our tour guide Remy tells us fun facts about the mountain and our surroundings. Of course we can't see a damn thing because it's pitch black outside. Hope we make it down OK. Car sick anyone? I hope not. The roads are steep and windy all the way up.

5:00pm: 10.023 feet high. Mount Halekaeka is the 3rd largest volcano in Hawaii after Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. We drove to the top, hopped out and man, it's cold and windy! We can't see anything but clouds and the dark rock of the crater's inner circle.

5:45am: The sunrise is beginning. They say the view will make you come to Jesus. And they're right. Only God is responsible for such a wonder.

Maui Sunrise from Andi Dickson on Vimeo.

7:00am: After the sunrise, we hopped on our mountain bikes and started our 27 mile trek down the mountain. I envisioned dirt roads, dodging trees and all hell breaking loose. In actuality, we biked down the same paved road we drove up. It's the steepest paved road in the world so it fast, but safer than I'd imagined.

8:30am: Half way down the mountain, Andi and I stop for breakfast at a local roadside lodge. We warmed up with hot coffee and a warm breakfast before making the rest of the trek downhill. 

9:00am: The most beautiful site I'd seen in Maui yet. As we rode down the volcano, it started to mist a little, horses alongside the road and the most picturesque rainbow was present. We hopped off our bikes to snap a few photos.

10:30am: We're nearing the end of our ride down Halekaeka, cruising into the small surf town Paia. What an amazing experience biking down a volcano was!

11:00am: Andi and I headed down the beachside road to watch the surf roll in. On the Northern side of Maui, the waves crash hard against the land. We snapped a few photos of locals hanging out at the beachside.

Noon: We head back to the hotel in Lahaina. We're exhausted so Andi and I decide to lounge by the pool at our resort for our last day before heading to Maui's eastern edge - a town called Hana.

6:00pm: After laying in the sun then showering up, we headed to dinner at Sonz, the nicest restaurant at the hotel. We ordered a delicious dinner to cap another great day in Maui.

Tomorrow we're checking out of the Hyatt and driving the famous road to Hana. We're staying there for our last 3 days on the island. Looking forward to the next big adventure!

Maui: Day 3

We had an awesome day in Maui.

Andi and I spent much of the day driving the Northwest coast of the island from Lahaina through Wailuku and back. We drove along the narrow, winding road and stopped along the way to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. Lots of lush green plants, sweeping views of the ocean and waterfalls. There's really nothing like driving along with the convertible top down, listening to tunes and laughing all the way. It was by far the best day we've had on the island; so great to spend a day with no one but my husband and the open road. Here's a few photos from our road trip:

After our road trip, we came back to the hotel to change and meet the Hula Girl for a sunset boat cruise. Andi and I were both a little apprehensive about going on the boat ride -- we usually don't like to do the typical touristy-type stuff and be lumped in with dozens of other people -- but we took a gamble and booked an evening cruise to go whale watching. I am so happy we did! We had a fantastic time.

The Hula Girl is a catamaran with a few crew members on board. As soon as we got on the boat, the cocktails started flowing and the chef started to prepare dinner selections of our choice. I ordered blackened ahi tuna; Andi got blackened swordfish; by far the best meal we've had on the island thus far. During the 2 hour ride, we saw several mama whales and their babies about 100 yards away from the boat. It was amazing to see how graceful and huge they were!

 

Nothing more romantic than watching the sunset from the ocean. We had the perfect evening!

Tomorrow, we're getting up bright and early (meeting a group at 3:30am!) for a downhill mountain biking adventure. We're driving up to the top of a volcano and watching the sunrise at the summit, then biking down 27 miles to the bottom. Should be an adventure for sure!

Mahalo until tomorrow!

Maui: Day 2

We're adjusting to Aloha life just fine with lots of fruity cocktails and beachside naps to take us right into vacation mode.

Last night we ate dinner at Sansei - a renown sushi restaurant in the US. It was amazing! The reservation list was far too long so we risked it by showing up and asking to be put on the waiting list. Turned out, there was 2 spots open at the sushi bar so we filled our bellies with hot sake and yummy sushi rolls. Awesome experience!

Today we hopped in the car toward Wailea, just about 45 minutes away from our hotel/side of the island. We stopped at a scenic overlook and watched a few whales in the ocean. So serene and beautiful.

First, we stopped at Wailea Beach - which our Maui Revealed guidebook said was a 'real gem!' The beach was perfect and my favorite so far. Soft, sandy beach and lots of sunshine. We lounged around through most of the morning and read books by the water. 

For lunch, we stopped by a roadside hot dog stand and ate true Hawaiian Dogs with all the fixin's.  Tasted much like a Fairbury Brand hot dog for me -- shout out for all my Nebraska friends!

Then we cruised down the road to Makena Beach, the biggest undeveloped beach on the island. Andi loved this one because it felt so untouched - there was definitely a lot of people watching at this one. 

Although, I really wouldn't know .... I slept most of the time!

Here's a few more photos of our trip ...

Another adventure awaits .... until tomorrow!

Maui: Day 1

Well, we made it to Maui! After a full day of planes, trains and automobiles yesterday, we arrived into Lahaina at around 10pm local time last night (which, for those of you counting, was 3am Minneapolis time). We'd been traveling for nearly 24 hours and were both absolutely exhausted. Originally, we had a long lay over in LA so we rented a car and had planned for Andi to show me around Huntington Beach (where he used to live right before we started dating) but just as we were boarding our flight to LA the airline attendant called for 2 volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for $800 in travel vouchers. We OF COURSE volunteered and were rebooked onto a later flight directly into Honolulu. It turned out to be a sweet deal for us - we arrived into Maui 20 minutes before our original flight would have gotten us there and made out with $800 to use for a future trip somewhere. Nice!

Unfortunately, my cold is still hanging on. I felt horrible for the girl who sat next to me on the 8 hour flight. I tried my best to cover my mouth and blow my nose in the bathroom but it wasn't always the easiest. I'm pretty sure she and her travel companion were on their honeymoon too. Eek. Sorry. Today I woke up feeling much better though so I think I should be in the clear by tomorrow.

Me mid-day traveling

After a long day traveling, I'm exhausted!

We're staying at the Hyatt Regency in Lahaina. It's the kind of place you get lost trying to find the elevator, it's huge and very different than the places we usually stay. I think we'll have a great time here. There's a beautiful pool area and access to the ocean where we lounged around most of today.

                                      

Tonight we're heading out to dinner and to check out the town. More adventures to come!

Who Do You Think You Are?

Have you seen NBC's new show Who Do You Think You Are? I stumbled onto it last night and thought it was the coolest show ever. I am fascinated with ancestry and it's one thing my parents - especially my dad -infused in our family when we were little kids. On Memorial Day each year, we'd all pile into the car and drive from cemetery to cemetery, laying flowers on headstones of family members we knew and those who died years before we were born. Taking this family road trip wasn't always on the top of my list but now looking back, I appreciate my dad telling the stories of where our history.

My parents are both of German descent and my dad's tracked his geneology all the way back to Mathias Mentgen - the man that came to the United States from Germany. Here's a piece of his story:

Mathias Mentgen lived at Trier, Germany which was separated from France by the Mosel River. His father operated a ferry boat to take passengers across the river to France. Mathias used to go with his father and knew how to operate the boat. One hot night in the summer he and his brother Jake were sleeping outdoors when two men came and asked if they would take them across the river and not make them sign the register. They were political escapees and said they would pay them well. So the boys took them across the river. The men said they were escaping to America and were going to Buffalo, New York. Mathias and his brother said they wanted to come to America to escape army services, so the men told them to land in Buffalo, NY and they would help them. The men gave the boys money and gave Mathias a cutting diamond imbedded in a handle. The boys never said a word to their father about taking the men across.

In 1852 Mathias, Jake and another boy came to America, one being smuggled on board due to lack of passage, and landed at Buffalo, New York. The men they’d met before had gone down to meet all ships coming in and found Mathias. They gave all three of the boys jobs in New York and Mathias lived in New York for awhile learning painting. It is not known when Mathias left New York and came to Chicago, Illinois where many of the Mentgen descendants live today.

I like to read this story and remember all the sacrifices and spunk my ancestors had before I came along. We've visited Mathias' burial site on our Memorial Day family drives and it's amazing to me this history isn't too far away from where I am today. Mathias died in 1909. That's only a hundred years ago -- the lifetime of essentially one person. Isn't that fascinating?

Things

I've been feeling out of sorts lately and I just can't put my finger on it.

1. I woke up two nights ago with a scratchy throat. Not the kind where you're sick; just the kind where feel like you miiight feel a cold coming on. Yesterday there were 7 people sick in my office. One guy was so sick he literally laid his head on the conference table at one point. GO HOME I said. I don't want to get sick too. I'm going on vacation to sunny, beautiful Hawaii in 3 days and I don't want to be sick. This morning I woke up with a scratchy throat and a slight tickle. I poured myself a nice tall glass of Emergen-C and popped a Zicam. I.WILL.NOT.BE.SICK.ON.VACATION.

2. I was watching the t.v. show Cougar Town last night and one of the characters made a comment about marriage and the security that goes along with it. You never have to feel like that person will leave you or turn away from you because you're hitched. Really? For some reason I don't feel like that. Don't you still have to work at your relationship and keep it fun and exciting and make your spouse interested in YOU? I guess lately I've had this weird paranoia feeling and I just can't shake it. It's like I read into every single phrase my Husband says and analyze it over and over in my head. What's up with that?

3. I'm sure you're all super tired of hearing about it, and believe me, I'm tired of THINKING about it ... but the thought of a child is just plain wearing me down. I feel like it's consuming me. I'm like depressed about it. And I keep telling myself to shake it off. Stop worrying about it. It's not our time right now. And yet - I just can't stop thinking about it. I need serious intervention. I asked on Facebook a few days ago what books I should bring to Hawaii and my sister jokingly wrote 10,000 Baby Names. I actually started to cry. God help me, I'm pathetic.

4. Which cascades into this place, this blog, and my paranoia lately about talking about my thoughts and feelings here. I feel like the outside world is judging me for having those feelings (a la, #3) and then I get all twitchy about talking about my feelings. Then I realize that it's just me - I need to talk about stuff, that's how I roll. It's my blog and if I can't write my thoughts here, then where? So then I do. And then the twitchiness comes back ... and well, you see the demon circle.

5. I saw Alicia Silverstone on Oprah yesterday and she was talking about her book The Kind Diet and how she eats a Vegan diet. Alicia was saying that after she started cutting out meat, dairy and processed foods her skin was clearer, she has more regular bowel movements and she's got more energy. This makes me want to cut out meat (which I've essentially already done) and processed foods too. Not sure I could cut out dairy YIKES! For all the great reasons she illustrated above. I really want to eat better and be healthier. I just don't know if I can really do it.

6. I'm excited for our trip next week - I really am. My brain has already slipped into vacation mode which may be the reason I feel super super lazy lately. Too lazy to clean up after dinner. Too lazy to shower in the morning. I think a little beach r & r will do the trick.

What a depressing post. Urgh. Thank goodness it's Friday.

Memories are made through the stomach

Andi and I have traveled to a lot of places together and one thing always holds true. No matter where we go, there's always one memorable food that sums up the entire trip. Who knew food held so many memories?

Nassau, Bahamas - Vinaigrette Salad
Our first trip together was a four-day cruise. I remember walking along the beach to find a restaurant for lunch and Andi and I stopping at the Ocean Club Resort - one of the nicest hotels in the area. We strolled into the beachside restaurant which was absolutely stunning. It felt like a movie - a cool breeze was sweeping through the white shear curtains, dark wood floor boards and a beautiful view of the ocean. I remember being so overwhelmed - it was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced traveling. I think mostly because I'd never really seen anything like it before.

We ordered cocktails and I remember being stunned by the prices. This was the first time I'd been somewhere like this! We ordered a vinaigrette salad to share :) I'm sure the waiter thought we were cheap asses.

Mazatlan, Mexico - White Cheese Nachos

Mazatlan was the first and last time we stayed at an all-enclusive resort. It's just not our kind of travel. While we had an absolutely lovely time at the El Cid Marina, we consumed about seventy-six plates too many of the white cheese nachos. It's not that they were bad, just too much of a good thing. I shudder at the thought.

                                           

Kauai, Hawaii - Kabobs

In 2007, Andi and I spent a week in Kauai, Hawaii. We stayed in our timeshare Coast Resort at the Beachboy which is fabulous because it has a full kitchen with plates, utensils, etc. So on the first day there, we hit up the island Wal-Mart and stocked up on groceries for the week. The resort has a few grills and patios outside for guests to enjoy which we thought was way better than going out for every meal. For some reason, we thought kabobs would be the easiest thing to make ... and make them we did. For every meal it seemed. I guess it's because we bought groceries and we wanted to make sure we used them all up before our week vacation was up. Sadly, now three years later, Andi and I still can't stomach the thought of eating kabobs. Yuck.

                                          

Caribbean Cruise - Champagne and Strawberries (the expensive kind)

An up-side of cruising is the abundance of food at your fingertips. Truly, it's pretty difficult to tire of one kind of food because there's seriously so many options. Ice cream after every meal? Yes please. One memory that does come to mind is the $14 glass of champagne I just had to have at the Chocolate Lover's Buffet one evening on the boat. It just sounded so romantic to drink champagne and devour all that chocolate around us! $28 and two glasses of champagne later ... we conquered that dream. Yikes!

                                           

Panama - Seafood Suprise

One of the most memorable moments of our Panama trip was the 'seafood suprise' dinner we ate one night in Bocas del Toro. The first night at our resort was absolutely magical. Earlier that afternoon, our resort host saw a red snapper fish swimming near the dock. He jumped into the water with his spear gun and killed the very fish we ate for dinner that night. Not only was it a cool experience, but it was seriously the best fish I ever ate (and I don't even care for fish!). The next day, our resort host asked us what we wanted for dinner that night. "Dinner was so amazing last night! Whatever you want to make is perfectly fine with us," we said. Later that night, we sat down to dinner and were served this:

...a dish we happily coined Seafood Suprise. OH.MY.GAWD. I still gag at the thought. I barely made it through dinner that night. All the slimey, slippery pieces of seafood were way too much for my poor little stomach to handle. Later when Andi and I were back in our room, I asked him what was in the seafood suprise. Octopus, squid, shrimp, and a few other fish varieties. Which might be a dream for others, but not me. Yuck!

Bangkok, Thailand - Pad Thai

I'd have to say overall, the food in Thailand wasn't bad at all. We ate some really great Pad Thai and other local specialties. There was also lots of Americanized food like eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast, European cheeses and breads, and pizza of course. However when in doubt, we always ordered Pad Thai and ate tons during our two-week trip. And eight months later? I have absolutely no desire to eat it again. No thank you, sir.

I wonder what kind of food memories our Maui trip will bring?