Hawaiian Happiness

Hello friends or should I say ALOHA? We have been back from Hawaii for a week now and I'm finally done throwing a tantrum that vacation is over. The good news is I came back super tan. The bad news is the tan is almost gone since I spend my days in an office. UGH.

We spent six glorious days and nights in Maui and had a fantastic time. Everyone keeps asking me, "How was your trip?" and I keep saying, "If you like laying in the pool doing nothing all day followed by a delicious meal and getting in bed by 10:00pm, then it was GLORIOUS."

Lots of people have been asking me for recommendations for Maui so I thought I'd do a little recap + toss a whole bunch of pictures up here for your viewing enjoyment :)

WHERE TO STAY: Growing up my family always vacationed at the Grand Wailea and I am a very nostalgic person so I always stay there. That being said, the GW is smack in the middle of a row of hotels, all of which are beautiful - it just depends what you like! The Four Seasons and the Fairmont are right next door and the Andaz is just a few blocks away. We visited the Andaz a few times this trip and loved the vibe so maybe next time we'll try that! (Note: these are just Wailea hotels - there are plenty of gorgeous places to stay in Lahaina or on the other side of Maui, I just personally don't know much about them.)

I mean - come on. Look how gorgeous this place is! 

WHAT TO DO: Um, swim? Tan? Relax? No but seriously, there are actually a lot of fun things to do in Maui if you want to take a break from the pool or beach. Here are a few things we have done that I have loved:
- Maui Swap Meet - on Saturday mornings at the Maui Community College there is a little flea market/swap meet that's worth visiting. There's maybe 40-50 little booths total selling anything and everything from jewelry to delicious homemade jams and jellies to homemade popsicles to seashell necklaces to soaps to Hawaiian shirts and more. I bought a pink Hawaiian print bathrobe and Rami got to drink from a whole coconut. WIN WIN. 

- Snorkeling! Last year we went on a half-day excursion with Sail Trilogy and loved it. We got to snorkel in two different spots and saw tons of fish (no turtles, sadly) and even a dolphin! They feed you breakfast and lunch on the boat so it's worth the slightly steep price in my opinion.
- Shopping in Lahaina - Lahaina is a town about 40 minutes away from Wailea but it's a great place to spend an afternoon or evening. The little town has fun shops, great restaurants, and BEAUTIFUL sunsets!  

WHAT TO BRING: Please see this post for more information but I will list a couple more: a Swell bottle to drink by the pool (I mentioned this before but it is such a good idea I'm repeating myself), plenty of sunscreen (I THOUGHT I packed enough but since we are such pale Jews we ran out by day 5 and had to buy a tiny bottle at the hotel giftshop for $14.99 - I was THRILLED let me tell you), a pool noodle if that's your thing (it's mine), and nothing fancy. Really. I mean, pack a pair of wedges if that's your thing but everywhere we went the fanciest I ever saw anyone was a cute sundress and sandals. 

WHERE TO EAT: In typical Jordan MRSR fashion I took a ton of food pictures so I think I am going to do a separate blog post about delicious things to eat in Maui - so stay tuned for that! Here's a sneak peek :)

So! Maui is pretty great. If you get the chance, go. That pretty much sums it up :)