Since we are expecting we decided to take our family vacation a little earlier this year and went to our favorite place, Maui for about 10 days in Feb. It's a great destination and worth the 14 hour journey from the east coast.
Our trip consisted of relaxing on the beach, eating some good local food, playing with James, whale watching, and sleeping. It was the trip I've dreamed about. Adit was great and played with James most of the time allowing me to nap almost daily. Plus he arranged a prenatal massage for me that was amazing.
My favorite part of the trip was playing with James on the beach. Everyday we'd head to the beach and Adit would make James a big hole to play in. He even made a retaining wall to keep the water out, but when the big waves came it quickly filled and became a pool he enjoyed splashing in. When the water went away he'd keep asking where it went. Lol.
We stayed at Black Rock which is an excellent place to snorkel with countless fish and several turtles living there. The turtles were so close that they'd be just 2 feet from shore. James was so excited that he could see them from the beach. Adit did some snorkeling this time and I didn't bother because I didn't want to get anymore leg cramps, especially when vulnerable in the ocean. Oh the joys of pregnancy!
Another fun part of our trip was the whale watching tour. The fun started just getting on the catamaran. The waves were about 8-10 ft high so we couldn't easily board from the shore. Instead the boat parked closeby and we had to run to the ladder between breaks. Adit was carrying James and our stuff, I went solo and when we were told to run we did. Adit made it on without getting too wet, I on the other hand got hit with a huge wave and got soaked, I held onto the assisting staff and hand rails then safely made it up the stairs. That was a little scary and I was not looking forward to getting off the boat later. After settling on the boat I went to the top deck to search for some whales, we were so eager to see a full breach and the humpbacks did not disappoint. I even managed to get a shot of some of the breach and lots of whale tails.
Maui is a quiet destination without much of a night life so we spent most of our evenings walking on Front St. where we'd have dinner and stroll around the local shops. While walking we saw a street vendor who would let you take pics of his birds, I am normally not one for taking these pics, but I couldn't help it after James saw a white cockatoo and called him Nigel. For those of you who don't know, that's the sinister bird from the movie Rio. After chatting with the owner he said that he'd be back the next day with a Blue macaw too so we had to take a pic with Blu and Nigel. James was happy even though he didn't look like that in the pics. Lol.
It was so nice having a vacation with no agenda. Since we've been to Maui many times we didn't feel obligated to see any sites or do anything touristy. Our only agenda was on where to have meals as we wanted to eat as much fresh fish as possible. If you are visiting Maui, I suggest you try the local food at Aloha Mixed Plate, visit Fred's Mexican Cafe for Taco Tuesday specials, and Sansei for sushi. I also recommend that you take some professional family pics, we did it and I love the way the pics came out!
The trip was a success since we came home really relaxed and recharged. I love this destination and am looking forward to returning with 2 kids next time. :)
Did you go on a baby moon? if yes where did you go and would you recommend it? Please share with us as I'm always looking for kid friendly destinations!
Happy reading!
Rachel
