Maui Vacation!

Wow, It has been quite a while since I blogged. We just got back from our 12 day vacation in Maui. It was really quite amazing. It wasn't at all what I expected. I hadn't envisioned the huge expanse of empty mountain side that made up most of Maui. There were just a few main coastal roads that led you around the island. These roads had scenic outlooks around every corner and we continually would stop and snap a picture.
We quickly learned that Maui is the number one place in the world to see humpback whales! We took a whale watching boat tour and got to see about 20 whales up close and personal.
One day we traveled the Road to Hana which is a must do if you go to Maui. The road to Hana is 52 miles of twist and turns. The 52 miles cover 56 one-lane bridges and 617 curves. It was actually a little scary to drive it. On the way to Hana we stopped about 30 times and ventured off to waterfalls, black and red sand beaches and a number of state parks. My favorite stops were the Pokowai Sea Arch and a bamboo trail we found that led to a waterfall.


Fortunately an old friend of mine lives in Maui. He took us to a bunch of "hidden" places that we wouldn't have normally found. He also taught us how to hitchhike! Who knew one of the fastest ways to get around Maui is hitchhiking? People were more than happy to pick us up in their convertibles and drop us wherever we wanted to go! We used this mode of transportation on Superbowl Sunday to visit a bunch of different bars showing the Superbowl.

EEEKKKK

Had to share this picture! Think I was scared????

Thieving Monkey!

Still on vacation, sun burnt and sleepy already at 7:00 pm. Thought I would share an interesting part of the trip so far. We went on a boat tour around the chain of tiny volcanic islands known as the Granada Islets (Las Isletas de Granada). It was a great way to explore Lake Nicaragua. There are 365 islets in total. Some are inhabited, while others are barely large enough to hold a tree or two. You can purchase your own island here for about $100,000. Some of the houses were AMAZING.

One of the islands is inhabited by monkeys! We pulled up to look at the monkeys and one jumped in the boat. He proceeded to unzip all of our bags and search through our belongings. Finally, he came upon my nephew's sippy cup. He decided this was what he was looking for and confiscated it. He then sat on one of the boat seats and watched while everyone took pictures. Then he was off.... with the sippy cup...... back to his island!

Getting Excited About My Trip to Nicarauga Next Week

I'm sitting here today trying to decide what to pack for my trip to Nicaragua next week. We are flying into Managua from Dulles. Then two days in Managua, the capitol of Nicaragua. Not exactly sure what we will do there but I plan on visiting Lake Managua and the Volcanoes.I do hope to have time for scuba diving while there. I hear they have freshwater sharks in this lake?? Kinda scary!

Then we are off to Granada for two days. I hear there is an amazing artist community in Granada where they sell handmade hammocks and other crafts. Our last three days will be spent in San Juan Del Sur....
I'm really hoping to take surfing lessons as well. I hear the surfing in Nicaragua is phenomenal. Hmm.. still trying to decide what to pack. I guess shorts, bathing suits and lots of sunblock!

Recent Vacation.... Wish I was still there.

I thought I would share some pictures from my recent vacation. We went to St. Pete Beach in Florida. We just randomly picked this beach mainly due to the cost ;) We did get a pretty good deal but spent way too much on expensive restaurants with delicious seafood. We were totally lazy for the first three days. We basically spent all day in the water, which was very clear, floating on rafts. I of course got sunburned even with 80 block on! (the curse of being a redhead)

On the fourth day, I decided we would be adventurous and take the trolley up the gulf coast ending up at Clearwater Beach. I suggested we just randomly stop at the different stops that looked interesting, explore and swim at the various beaches. We ended up stopping at some really cute but touristy type places. Clearwater Beach is sooo different than St. Pete. Very touristy! I liked our beach much more.

Overall, it was fun and relaxing. The flights were smooth and the hotel was pretty nice for the price. (Tradewinds Sandpiper) We had our own cabanas on the beach that provided somewhat of a respite from the Florida sun in July. We saw fish, stingrays (stingray?), horseshoe crabs and I think I saw a barracuda but I didn't tell Ken and Savannah. (They might have freaked!)

We decided next time we will definitely drive rather than fly (cost) and we will actually buy some groceries instead of eating three meals a day at restaurants.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.....
I put the rest up on facebook.

Last vacation day and a beautiful storm....

I'm sitting here on my last day of vacation waiting for a storm to clear. We've had perfect weather the whole time.

This storm was quite a nice surprise, absolutely beautiful. We could see the rain coming across the ocean for about an hour. Then all of a sudden the sand was blinding us and then the thunder and lightening started.

We made a mad dash to the room and watched the rest from the balcony. This is the view out of the room right now. The locals say it should blow past in about thirty minutes.
Arrgghh, I really don't want to leave tomorrow.

Weird, Sweet or Scary?

Okay, I'm not sure how people are going to take this but.....

My sister's best friend dated a guy for two months. I think she liked him in the beginning but it just didn't work out. About a month later we heard a rumor that he had posted this for her on Youtube. I think he found out that she had seen it and he took it down. Guess what! It's back. We realized it the other night while we were sitting around remembering this video. I actually think it's sweet. I think she is embarrassed by it, lol. What do you think? Weird, Sweet or Scary?



I hope everyone has a great week. I'm off to St. Pete Beach for vacation with my boyfriend and his 13 year old. I hope we can keep her entertained. She is getting to the age where we are boring. I think we will veg out on the beach, eat lots and lots of seafood and sightsee.