Maui, Hawaii
We originally thought about visiting Hawaii over the holidays because flights were pretty reasonable. However, as soon as we looked for housing between Christmas and New Year’s we realized the only options left were $10,000/night. So we made alternate plans to visit West Texas instead. But as soon as we did, Alex’s friends Chris and Crystal let us know they would be visiting her parents in Oahu and we were welcome to stay in the guest house with them. So Hawaii was back on! We started with two days in Maui, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (the only days housing was still available!) and then flew over to Oahu for the remainder of our trip.
Here’s a little recap map I drew on my new iPad of the places we visited in Maui!
We arrived at night, had dinner at Paia Fish Market, and visited Foodland for some provisions since we weren’t sure what would or wouldn’t be open on Christmas. We stayed in Haiku and woke up to this scene.
We visited Baked on Maui for breakfast, with chickens running about.
Then it was time to embark on the Road to Hana, a beautiful, winding drive through nature and tiny towns.
The Road to Hana leads you to Haleakala National Park.
We took a nice hike through some woods and up to a bamboo forest.
The Pools at Ohe’o
I love all the fruit stands in Maui!
On our way back, we visited a black sand beach and got to use our beach mat from Melbourne.
Our trusty steed.
Saying hello our neighbors on the Christmas Day.
We drove down to the other side of Haleakala to see the peak of the mountain.
It was completely fogged over, cold, and windy.
But still beautiful.
On our way back down the mountain, we stopped by this little flower stand, and met the nicest man who handed us a bunch of extra things for free. We picked up a bouquet to bring with us to Oahu for our hosts.
Then we visited Maui Brewing Co. for an afternoon snack.
Makena Beach.
The Shops at Wailea and dinner at Monkeypod.
Then it was on to Oahu! Stay tuned for part two.
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.
