Craig and I went to Maui in October of 2019, and we have dreamed about taking the girls ever since. Our original version of "the girls" didn't include Camryn, so we decided to wait until she would be easier to travel with. She ran a fever the day before we left, but she ended up being so great our entire trip. Carter normally bears the title of Easy Child without question, but she gave us a run for our money the first few days of our trip. I woke up during the first night at 3 a.m., and I caught a glimpse of Carter walking around our room...in her swimsuit. A few hours later I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed Camryn's jammies in the bathroom floor...Carter had put her swimsuit on, too...at 3 a.m. That first day really had me second guessing whether they were old enough for Hawaii, but things quickly turned around.
Several people have asked me what I love about Maui, and I still haven't figured out how to answer that. I do love Maui, but I really love Maui at the Grand Wailea. It's an absolutely magical resort by Waldorf Astoria...one that we could never afford...but one that we save all of our Hilton points for...and will likely continue to save for future trips. It has nine pools that spill into each other via water slides, remarkably lush landscaping, and breathtaking views...it's the definition of paradise. Our family really enjoys traveling to new places, but we would love to go back to the Grand Wailea as often as we can afford.
The pool and beach could have kept us entertained, but we planned a few excursions throughout the week to explore the island. Unfortunately, the Road to Hana wasn't as fun for the girls as we had expected. Camryn's head must have started hurting from the pressure and altitude change, and she was distraught by the time we made it to Hana. We had just enough time to get to the Hana General Store to buy medicine ($21 for Tylenol and a 2 pack of Ding Dongs), before our reservation at the black sand beach. The girls were amazed by the rainbow eucalyptus, and I was obsessed with the flowers. I loved a certain flower and spent most of the ride back trying to get a picture of it, but Craig thought he was a local and drove like a maniac making it almost impossible to capture.
Our second adventure was to the summit of Haleakala at sunrise, which meant we had to leave our hotel at 3:30 a.m. The early wake up time would have been much easier at the beginning of our trip, but I couldn't get a reservation until our 6th day. Surprisingly everyone was in a really good mood that morning, and the girls couldn't stop laughing when we got to the top and it was as cold as we had said it would be. We put on all of our layers and ate a little breakfast, and right before we needed to find our spots for the 5:37 a.m. sunrise, Carter thought she was going to be sick. Sure enough, a quick trip to the bathroom confirmed her fear, but thankfully it passed quickly. We found Craig, Charley and Cam right as the sun was coming over the clouds. We took a couple of pictures and hurried into the gift shop to get warm, and we ran into our old neighbors, the Kirbys...not sure what the odds are to know someone that far away, but it has to be slim. We were back at the hotel and asleep by 8:30.
On the last day, we let the girls order (virgin) drinks from the swim up bar, and Carter has told a few people "the drinks at the pool" were her favorite part! It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite part, because the entire trip really was perfection.
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