Why? Well besides the obvious answer of the climate being perfect (sunny and warm but not too hot) and getting to wear things like flip flops and sun dresses and swim suits all day... yes, besides that... there was the hotel. We stayed at the best hotel in the world, the Grand Wailea, and since Dan was attending an IEEE conference our trip was heavily subsidized by his work. Thanks, IV!
The Grand Wailea has seven swimming pools, extensive beautiful grounds, 4 water slides that my kids were happy to go down (and several that they were too scared to do), a beach that looks and feels like someone photoshopped it into real life, and last and definitely not least, a walk in wading pool that the kids could play in while the adults sat in lounge chairs drinking mai tais.
The kids were happy. Mommy was happy.
Dan was in conference all day from dawn to midnight for the first four days. My heart almost broke when I pictured him sitting through boring math lectures all day while we were swimming and making sand castles, but hey, to each their own. I bet you are wondering how I could have handled both kids in the water all day by myself, right?
Because I brought a Secret Weapon: Nana and Papa!
In case you didn't do the math, this meant that the grownups outnumbered the kids. Which I think is key for successful traveling. It means that there is always someone available to change a diaper or take someone potty or go get an extra towel or go down that waterslide one last time or float down the lazy on or help with sunscreen. With grandparental help, I got to say "yes" to my kids all week long, which felt wonderful.
But of course the kids couldn't just play outside all day long... could they? Well, yes and no. I can't say that they ever got tired of the beach and pools, but it did get dark around 6 which always called things to an abrupt halt at the end of the day. Luckily the hotel also had a huge indoor kid play area where we could take the kids. It was full of games, legos, crafts, a huge toddler room with things to climb up and slide down and a pretend kitchen, a 1 ft deep wading pool shaped like a whale, a mini soccer field, hula hoops... etc. I don't think we have any "Dan" pictures from that area but here are a few from my phone.
We spent the bulk of our time at the resort but we adventured out a few other times to see more of Maui. Highlights included:
Dan is still sorting through and publishing the 1,295,476,197,021 pictures that he took. As he posts them, you can see them here.
The kids were happy. Mommy was happy.
Dan was in conference all day from dawn to midnight for the first four days. My heart almost broke when I pictured him sitting through boring math lectures all day while we were swimming and making sand castles, but hey, to each their own. I bet you are wondering how I could have handled both kids in the water all day by myself, right?
Because I brought a Secret Weapon: Nana and Papa!
In case you didn't do the math, this meant that the grownups outnumbered the kids. Which I think is key for successful traveling. It means that there is always someone available to change a diaper or take someone potty or go get an extra towel or go down that waterslide one last time or float down the lazy on or help with sunscreen. With grandparental help, I got to say "yes" to my kids all week long, which felt wonderful.
But of course the kids couldn't just play outside all day long... could they? Well, yes and no. I can't say that they ever got tired of the beach and pools, but it did get dark around 6 which always called things to an abrupt halt at the end of the day. Luckily the hotel also had a huge indoor kid play area where we could take the kids. It was full of games, legos, crafts, a huge toddler room with things to climb up and slide down and a pretend kitchen, a 1 ft deep wading pool shaped like a whale, a mini soccer field, hula hoops... etc. I don't think we have any "Dan" pictures from that area but here are a few from my phone.
We spent the bulk of our time at the resort but we adventured out a few other times to see more of Maui. Highlights included:
- Eating fish tacos almost every day with fish that had been pulled out of the ocean a few hours earlier
- Snorkeling in Lahaina which was like swimming through an aquarium
- The best shave ice on the planet (yes, "shave," not "shaved.")
- Visiting the Maui aquarium
- Watching the sunset and sunrise every day
- Sneaking into nana and papas adjoining hotel room after the kids were sleeping to have a glass of wine and watch tv
shave ice
mai tai
sand
sleepy girl
sleepy boy
jetlagged kids 5:30am watching barney
happy
my favorite nerd :)
