Tiana and I (Micah) went to Hawaii, Maui to be exact in January of 2012. One thing I love about Washington State is the summers. Another thing I love? The winter weather… What!?! That’s right! I love that it forces me to go tropical! I try to go on to at least two tropical adventures each year. What I really need is to figure out how to go for 3-4 months straight and have the kids in school, or at least learning what they need to know. Any ideas?
Even though I married a ½ Hawaiian, this was my first time there. The trip was to Maui and we stayed at the Grand Wailea Hotel. This place was pretty awesome! There were lots of plants, waterways with fish and it was all integrated with the pool. Speaking of which… The pool was HUGE! It had a rope swing, lazy river, water elevator, two large water slides and several smaller slides, a sand bottom section, floating bars, tv’s, etc. It was just 40 feet away from the beach so we were pretty happy to be there!
Wailea ResortWailea ResortSaltwater ponds at the Grand Wailea HotelChapel at the Grand Wailea with a coy fish pond surrounding itMicah Valentine and Cale BurbidgeMicah Valentine fresh out of the water slide at the Grand WaileaMicah Valentine in the lobby of the Grand Wailea with a big mammaTia and Micah Valentine at the WaileaTiana Valentine posing at the Grand WaileaMicah Valentine at the WaileaAnother small pool at the WaileaMicah at the poolOne of the small water slides at the WaileaRyan Wahlbrink and Micah Valentine jumping off the rope swing at the Grand WaileaMicah Valentine jumping out of the pool at the Grand Wailea. Go to: www.youtube.com/TheMicahValentine for a cool video.Tia Valentine chilling in the pool at the Grand WaileaTia and Micah Valentine hanging at the poolTiana Valentine and Katrina Wahlbrink relaxing at the poolTia and Micah Valentine at the Grand Wailea PoolTia and Micah Valentine Wailea Beach, (the pool is off to the R with the white shades)Tia and Micah at the Wailea Beach
The first night we had a welcome/business dinner. Tia and I ate some great food! It was a smorgasbord of meats, treats, cheeses, and lots of other great stuff. There was also a live band, and of course the whole occasion was right on the beach!
Tia and Micah Valentine at welcome dinnerRyan and Katrina WahlbrinkTiana and Micah Valentine
Big Beach is a popular site to visit. It’s an okay beach, with a far amount of people. The waves are not super big and they break right on the shore so it’s not good for boarding or surfing. Tia and I hung out there for a couple hours. Then we went just North over a little rock wall to a place known as Little Beach. Little Beach has much better waves and it was packed full of people. There was a really nice hike just beyond the beach (North) where you’ll find lots of lava rocks, black sand and turtles. Oh… yeah, that, it’s also a nude beach. Just a little detail.
Micah Valentine heading into the water at Big BeachMicah Valentine in the water at Big BeachMicah Valentine posing and trying to look coolTia Valentine at Big BeachTia Valentine at Big BeachTia heading through the rock path towards Little BeachTia Valentine overlooking Big BeachMicah Valentine overlooking Big BeachTia Valentine overlooking Little Beach (It’s the only picture we took of Little Beach)Micah falling off a water trampoline. Apparently we weren’t supposed to be on it without a pass. The 3 kids on thought it was pretty funny.Tia and I were craving sushi so we brought some back to the hotel
Josh Newell lives on Maui. We met up to go surfing in Kihei, but a humpback whale died and there were tiger sharks all over the place. No big deal, we just move up the island to another beach. Check it all out at www.YouTube.com/TheMicahValentine
I met up with my buddy Josh Newell who is a teacher on Maui, but in this case he wasn’t teaching little brown kids, he was getting ready to teach me how to suff.Micah Valentine and Josh Newell wave huntingMicah Valentine and Josh Newell catching a nice little waveJosh Newell and Micah Valentine looking for another wave to surfTiana Valentine chilling on the beachJosh Newell catching a waveMicah Valentine fighting through the waves to get out in the Pacific OceanTia watching and recording while catching waves in Hawaiiit’s a battle out there, Micah Valentine punching wavesTiana and Micah Valentine posing after surfing in MauiWe had a few really first class meals. This steak was just part of a 4 course meal served to us.Tia and Micah at a sweet dinnerThis was no joke! We had breakfast at the Grand Wailea Hotel in Maui every morning. Nothing crazy, eggs, fruit, juice, etc. This was the bill for 2 people!
Finally before we left we went to see some real surfers.
