Maui – 2025
SO. MUCH. FUN!! Another really awesome trip checked off my Bucket List this year thanks to Bob and Cheryl, who invited me to stay with them in their timeshare!!
November 3rd: Arrived in Hawaii at 3:24 pm! The Westin Nanea is beautiful! We did a quick walk to the beach and then headed to dinner at Dukes. It was just a quick walk down the beach to a fun torch-lit outdoor restaurant. We ended up sitting with another threesome as there were no tables available. They were really nice tho!
November 4th: We lift the hotel at 2:30 am for Haleakala to see the sunrise over the clouds! It was amazing… but REALLY cold up there! But so incredibly beautiful!
Haleakala means “House of the Sun” and rises 10,023 ft. It is often shrouded in clouds. This dormant volcano dominates the entire eastern horizon and is capped by a crater that covers more ground than Manhattan. It forms more than 75% of the entire island of Maui!
I think this is what Heaven looks like…
We stopped for breakfast on the way down at Slappy Cakes where you can cook your own pancakes in the middle of the table! The food was great, and the DIY pancakes was really a fun concept!
We layed by the pool for a couple hours and then decided to go walk around Whalers Village.
Walked around the Plaza and did Happy Hour/Dinner at the Monkey Pod, right on the beach at Whalers Village! We walked through the Westin South and saw Flamingos!
November 5th: Bob and Cheryl went to a timeshare meeting this morning so I went to the beach and did some snorkeling. I was hoping to get lucky enough to see some Sea Turtles, but that was not to be! The water was rough enough to bring up a lot of sand so there wasn’t great visibility! I saw some Brain Coral and a few Reef Triggerfish; not many though. I’ll try to find a more calm place to snorkel again later in the week.
We went to Inu (at the Resort) for lunch and then headed out to the North side of the island. Watched some surfers and then stopped at the Napili Kai resort for Happy Hour and drinks at their Sea House Restaurant.
Story of my LIFE!!!
November 6th: Today was the Road to Hana! We left the hotel at about 6:45 am. The Road to Hana, also known as the Hana Highway, is a scenic 64-mile drive famous for its winding roads, lush landscapes, and numerous waterfalls. It connects the town of Paia to Hana and offers breathtaking views!
The Highway has over 50 one-lane bridges and more than 600 curves. Numerous waterfalls, (Waimoku Falls and Twin Falls), black sand beaches at Wai’anapanapa State Park, and trails leading through lush bamboo groves were scattered along the way. There was also banana bread and fresh fruit stands along the highway!
When we got back I got to try my first Shave Ice (Pina Colada and Coconut) I’m totally hooked! For dinner we went to Pailolo at the Westin North and sat out by the fire afterwards listening to a musician.
November 7th: Because of the way their timeshare works, we had to move to a different resort today for the rest of the week! I loved that we got to try out two resorts instead of just one! We took our luggage to Ka’anapali North to store as check-in wasn’t until 4:00 pm. Then we headed to Papis Ohana for their Cinnamon Rolls! OMG!!! I’ve never had anything like it! They are AMAZING, and I now totally understand the huge line around the store in the morning!
We headed to Napili Bay to find Sea Turtles . They’re huge! We saw several close to the shore when they’d come up for air! The water was rough and I don’t know how they kept from slamming their huge shells into the rocks with the current!
We went over to The Gazebo where I had coffee but Bob and Cheryl split a sandwich.
on the way back we drove through Lahaina! So much devastation from the fire! Very sad… After that we went back to check in to the new resort!
We ended up walking down to Whaler’s Village and went to Leilani’s for Nachos and Lettuce Wraps! We took the shuttle back to the resort! Also made reservations for sunday am for a ‘Snorkeling with Sea Turtles Trip’! Booked this one alone as Cheryl didn’t feel like she was a strong enough swimmer and Bob is just not into that type of thing!
November 8th: We spent most of the day poolside. Cheryl and I took a long walk down the beach and watched some Kite Surfers.
Tonight we took the trolly down to the Sheraton to watch Cliff Diving off Black Rock.
November 9th: I went on a 2.5 hour snorkeling trip this morning with SeaMaui. The reefs were pretty and there were quite a few fish. But, by far, the BEST was I was finally able to swim with a Sea Turtle! I didn’t think it was going to happen after a while spent snorkeling! We only had about 1/2 hour left to swim when a huge turtle swam right in front of me! It made my trip! It was awesome!!
I also spread some of Joes ashes! It was beautiful there and I think he would have enjoyed it! I love the way the sunlight shimmers off the ashes as they gently float to the bottom…
We took a drive to Wailea to a shopping plaza. We walked around and ate at Pint and Cork GastroPub. I had Kahlua Pork Sliders… Yum!! When we got back to the hotel I want to bed about 8:00 pm and slept for 10 hours! I guess I was tired!!
November 10th: We went back to Papi’s Ohana this morning for another Cinnamon Roll, but they were closed! Sw we went over to Slappy Jack’s again, and Cheryl and I split the Elvis pancakes (bananas, peanut butter and bacon)! It was sooooo good! We also did some custom pancakes. So much fun!
After that, I went down to the beach to sit in the sand for a while; Cheryl went for a walk; and Bob was playing with his camera up in the room!Then we walked down to Nanea to get a Shave Ice! We went to Pizza Paradiso/Pineapple Robot for dinner! It was great Pizza and the little robot server was adorable!
November 11: We sat by the pool for a short while and then took the shuttle to Whalers Village and then walked down to the Westin with the Flamingos and the Parrots!
Then we decided to do a ‘progressive’ breakfast/lunch! Did drinks at Leilani!! And on the way to the airport, Hawaii offered up one final beautiful Rainbow and one of their signature incredible sunsets!
All good things must come to an end! Our flight leaves at 11:00 pm tonight!! Goodbye, Hawaii! We had a BLAST!
Thank you Bob and Cheryl... for sharing this amazing trip with me!
And to finish off the trip, I was able to take my first Waymo Ride!! It was so much fun! (And dropped me off at Peggy Cole’s house where I had left my car!)
