aloha and mahalo

Justin and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Hawaii - 4 days on the Big Island and 6 in Maui. I qualified for my President's Club trip this year which is a Sales incentive trip we're awarded if we exceed our annual expected quota. We decided since we were flying all the way to Maui we might as well piggy back on the trip and check out another island. We need a vacation from our vacation! It was truly amazing.

Here are some pics from the Big Island:

We stayed at the Sheraton in Kona.

We had dinner and our first Mai Tais of the trip at a great beachfront restaurant called Huggo's. We lucked out since there was a local band playing and we got a great spot to watch the sunset.

The next morning we got up and started our drive to the Volcano. It was about 75 miles away but due to the speed limit, and windy roads, it took a lot longer than you'd think. Plus, we stopped to check out the beautiful sights along the way. Here are some photos from our drive:

We finally arrived at Volcanoes National Park after a couple stops at black sand beaches and a coffee ranch. The volcano and steam vents were pretty active. It was a very unique experience to walk over hot steam coming out of the ground!

Then we explored the National Park - we hiked down through an old lava tube where lava really flowed many years ago, drove through the lava fields and caught a view of the volcano from further away.

On our way back to the west side of the island (yes, this was a long day!) we drove up to the dormant volcano, Mauna Kea. The peak is 13,796 feet above sea level but there is also quite a large portion of the mountain under the water as well. So much, that if it was all above sea level, it would be the tallest mountain in the world. We got to the check-in station at 9,000 ft where they recommend you stop and get acclimated to the altitude for at least 30 minutes. Then we continued on....it's a 9 mile vertical drive from the mid-station to the top. And 4.5 miles of it were not paved - making for a very bumpy ride.

When we got to the top we felt like were on the moon. or Mars, anywhere but Earth. It was pretty amazing. There are 13 telescopes on top that are used for scientific research. I was hoping we could go inside just to get out of the 45 degree weather and 20 mph wind but they are not open for public observation.

Above the clouds! And trust me, my head was feeling it. I was a little nauseous and sick from the altitude and was ready to go down as soon as we got to the top. But the view was totally worth it!!

And we made it back to Kona just in time for sunset at the resort.

Then it was time to head to Maui on a quick 20 min flight.

In Maui we stayed at the Four Seasons Wailea. Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived so we hung out at the pool with some of my colleagues for a few hours. No complaints here!

Dinner the first night was setup on the lawn at the Four Seasons.

When we got back to our rooms there were gifts from Tiffany for each of us!

The next day we woke up and rented scooters and explored Maui with our snorkeling gear. We had dinner with our friends, Cassie and Jason, at a delicious Italian-French fusion restaurant called Capische.

My entree - lobster, clam, giant prawns and fish (not sure what type) all rolled into one creamy tomato broth with pasta. Delicious!!

The next day we went on a catamaran cruise with all of my colleagues and their spouses to Turtle Island. I didn't catch any photos of the turtles but we were swimming with 5-15 of them at any given point. That night we had dinner with a small group at a sushi restaurant called Kai, in Wailea Village.

Sake flight.

The next day, Justin and I got up and rented a Jeep to drive the Road to Hana. It was gorgeous. Unbelievably beautiful.  We spent about 7 hours in the car doing a full loop of the East and South Coasts of Maui and then stopped by a pineapple winery before having appetizers and Mai Tais at Mama's Fish House.

Three Bears Waterfalls

A view of Hana from the Bay

Seven Sacred Pools

St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 1862. Only holds services if there is a 5th Sunday in the month.

Sunset back at the Four Seasons

Before the Luau and Awards Dinner our last night on the island

The last day, our plane didn't take off until 10:30 pm, so we chartered a rafting boat to take us to the island of Molokini for the best snorkeling in Maui. We are truly blessed to have experienced such an amazing and memorable trip.