We went to Maui, Hawaii June 2 - 10, 2016.
We stayed at the Marriott. It was the first time I have ever been to Maui and not stayed at the Grand Wailea. It was a nice hotel and property -- but NOTHING beats the Grand! When we arrived, we had a fruit and cheese platter waiting for us in our room.
And the views were beautiful!
We arrived in the evening, had the next day there and then that evening Mark & Allison's family made it in.
We rented a poolside cabana to try and beat the heat.
I really liked this beach. You had to walk a little further than what you do at the Grand, but we really liked the lava rock that bordered this beach. It created the best snorkling right on the beach!
We found this snail crawling up the sand just barely off the beach. Jens put his size 11 foot beside it. It was really big!
Molly and I were snorkling in the water JUST off the beach. Just after I took this picture, she put her snorkle mask back on and went under. She shot to the surface and screamed that there was a sea turtle! I calmly told her that it was probably just a rock. She replied by yelling, "Do rocks have eyes!? It LOOKED at me!" I took the mask and sure enough, there was a turtle!
All her yelling alerted other beach goers to the turtle. Before we knew it, there were a dozen people there with us watching it. We got out of the water and climbed up on the rocks to get a better view and some pictures. We watched him for 30 minutes or so.
We love Lava Flow drinks!
The hotel offered free scuba diving lessons. Molly couldn't wait to do it! Then if you wanted to pay them for a guided tour in the ocean you could. Which we did. Jeff had a little cold and couldn't get his ears to clear. Cade couldn't clear his ears either. I really didn't feel comfortable with Molly UNDER the ocean somewhere without Jeff so instead she and I went and explored the tide pools that were on the oppisite side of the beach from us.
We found all kinds of sea life. Lots of little fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and muscles.
Meanwhile Mark, Lexi, Devin, Jens and Sidney went scuba diving with the guide.
They had the best time! They all loved it!
We went to the luau the the Marriott offered. They were currently under construction so instead of holding the luau on the beach, it was held on the rooftop.
I have been to quite a few luau's before. This one was by far the best one I've ever been to. Jeff agreed. The food was great. The entertainment was great, and the view was great.
The kids got tempoary tattoos.
Our table was lucky enough to be chosen as the first ones to go the the buffet line!
We took a catamaran out to Turtle Town and to Molokini to snorkle. When we got to Molokini, it was too windy and the water was sandy and unsettled. The catamaran wouldn't even anchor down because it didn't want to crash into the island. So instead we went to another place. I can't remember what it was called but it was awesome! Lots deeper than Molokini but it had tons of fish in the reef and turtles too. I have been to Molokini before and its fantastic but I was happy to see a new place.
We went to breakfast one day to one of our favorite places, The Kihei Cafe!
Banana macadamia nut french toast with coconut syrup - delicious omlets - eggs benedict - and the best breakfast potatoes around!
We always have a blast when we are with the Johnson's.
They are our best friends!
Alli also took our family pictures while we were there.
They turned out nice.
Typical Jeff - to take a phone call in the middle of ANYTHING!
