Aloha

We are back on the mainland, home with our babies.  We are feeling refreshed and looking tan.

The island...  Oh! The island!... It was beautiful. It was just how I remembered it- blue! Blue water and sky, and the air was warm and smelled like salt water and suntan lotion. 

Hello, Maui.  I've missed you.

 

We arrived at the hotel and were welcomed by a receiving line of leaders from Sleep Train.   

 

 

Devon and I were invited to Maui to celebrate his 15 year anniversary with the company.  Those mattress folks really know how to celebrate!   There were nearly 180 of us in the Sleep Train group, and over the course of the week we hung out with new friends and old friends who also rely on the mattress business to put food on the table. 

 

 

Jeff, Devon, me and my Mai Tai.  Jeff and I worked at Simmons together, and it was really great to catch up with him.

Welcome Dinner, the first night.



But, don't worry. we were also able to spend time alone- it was like a honeymoon!  Just us!

Watching the sunset in Kihei

And, yes, of course, we missed Joe, Lucy and Max.  But we knew that they were in good hands back at home, so we were truly able to relax and enjoy the week and not worry too much about the kids. :)

Just short of inviting you over to watch a slide show of our vacation, here are some highlights.  In no particular order...

The Hyatt is A M A Z I N G.  There are penguins on the property, for goodness sake!  And the pool was fab.  I want to live there.  At the Hyatt.  On Maui.

On Day 2 we went on a whale watching/snorkle cruise.  We saw several whales (I've always wanted to see whales!), and some even swam pretty close to our boat!  We also saw turtles.

There were group dinners planned for each night, including a luau, and I must say that tropical drinks taste best when someone else buys them :)  I enjoyed a few :)  Devon and I ate fish at nearly every meal.  Yum!

Our friends Ryan and Jessamyn, who moved from Seattle to the Bay Area

Luau

Once President's Club was over, we said goodbye to the Hyatt and moved up the beach to the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, which is where we stayed on our honeymoon.  While we were still very happy to be together in Maui, I will admit that we were a little sad to see the view from our room go from this-

to this-

And while we slept with the doors open at the Hyatt and listened to sounds of the ocean and the wind through the palms all night, a sign at the second hotel said not to keep the doors open due to unwanted insects.  Plus, the aforementioned island smells of salt water and suntan lotion was not present at the second hotel.  Instead, our room was filled with the scent of marjuana.  Our neighbors were surely hangin' loose, smokin' weed!  Oh, and I can't forget to mention that our shower and our toilet shared a tiled stall...  convenient, right?  So, yes, once the "all expense paid" portion of our trip ended, our accomodations took a nose dive.  But, I repeat, we were still together in Maui!

 

We rented a Jeep one day and drove around the north half of the island.  Devon loved hugging the curves of the one-lane roads, on a cliff, without a guard rail...  We stopped several times to take in the view and snap some pics.

 



the blow hole

narrow road!

 

 

Look at this next picture from Ka'anapali Beach.  The whales were jumping!

 

Here, let me zoom!

 

 

Ah yes, we had a lot of fun.

 

 

In conclusion, Maui makes me very happy!