People ask me: Have you been on vacation? – No, I have been in a dream. Six weeks seem like such a long time, but when having fun time passes quickly. This is my final Maui blog post, sharing some of our incredible memories with you.
Family time!
First and foremost, we had lots of great quality family time. Being able to spend six weeks together 24/7 as a family without the stress and obligations from the mainland has been so valuable. The twin boys had a good time. They will not be able to remember the trip. But I hope that they will look at pictures, listen to our stories and maybe read this blog and understand why we dragged them to the other side of the world. The travel was approximately 30 hours!
They had a tremendous development. On the flight over they were happy to sit and play on our lap. During the weeks, the both learned to crawl and one can even climb stairs. Our return flight was very different, with two small toddlers speeding up and down the ail on all four. I also see that they both understand more and more of what we are saying.
The trip was also challenging for them. We are active parents and they had many days in lots of sand and wind. Once in a while, we hung out at our rented house the whole day to make sure that they could relax and play inside.
Paia, the coolest beach town
We stayed in Paia, a cool hippie town with a strong personality, on the north shore. For us, this is the perfect basecamp. The drive to all the windsurf and surf spots on the north shore is short and 30-40 minutes to the south-west side for surf, stand-up paddle and great family beach parks.
Every night we all enjoyed the breathtaking sunset from «our» house in Paia.
Paia has so many great restaurants and we tried them all. It is impossible to pick one favourite. We had great lunches at Des Amis, mexican from Milagros, huge fish dishes from the Fish market, the world´s best pizza from Flatbreads and coffee at Anthony´s.
In Paia you find many different shops, where you can buy clothes and unique products to bring home. I try to buy Maui and Hawaiian made products, supporting local designers and producers! And you have the world´s most hard core organic grocery store here, Mana.
Paia also has great yoga studios. I had a month subscription at Infusion Barre and yoga and took classes several days a week. I also tried the Mesh yoga.
Life on the water
I imagined that we would windsurf almost every day. This did not become the case. The first 10 days it was super warm and no wind! I was actually a bit worried that the trade winds never would return. But fortunately it did. For three weeks, we windsurfed every day. I did not practice my gybing as planned. Kanaha is to choppy for me! But I challenged myself with some small jumps and tried some small waves. I will do more of this on our next trip! Alexander ripped the waves at Ho´okipa, and he almost nailed that backloop. Hopefully next time!
We stand-up paddled (SUP) and surfed more than expected. I did not surf, only SUP. I must admit that three watersports are too much for me. It is much more fun for me to be able to catch waves on the SUP, than struggle on a surf board. Maybe I am just lazy.
The SUPing was great and I really improved. I handle a small SUP and had many good waves. I did not catch that head high wave, but almost. It is also so much about learning to read and handle the ocean. Picking the right wave, being able to get in and out with waves trying to tumble me and improving my technique. Alex surfed a lot, and if he picks up kiting he will be a true waterman!
Being a real tourist!
On our previous visits to Maui, we have not done any tourist attractions. The fear of being stuck in Hana (a small town after 620 turns at the very east of Maui), with good wind on Kanaha has kept us from it. This year we went on hikes in the Bamboo forrest, in Iao Valley and to the Twin falls. We even did a luau at the Old Lahaina Luau. All good experiences.
We planned to go to the volcano Halekalea and bike down from it, but we decided to save it for a later trip. The same goes for visiting other islands and the Molokini crater. So much to do, so little time!
Final words
One of the reasons I like to write, is that it gives me time to reflect. I started writing this blog post yesterday early morning while the rest of the family was sleeping. This sad feeling grew inside me, and I almost started to cry. Writing and selecting pictures made me realize, it is over! Well, I should have known already since we are in Norway, it is cold and we are on a different time zone. 😉
Being a twin mother is busy. Since we got back, we have had a tough time to get the boys and ourselves back European time zone. Yesterday morning in front of the fire place, was the first time since we left Maui, that I let it all sink in. I feel truly blessed to have made this trip with my family. We have so many good memories that we will keep in our hearts forever.
Is it possible to love an island? I hope so. In that case, I love you, Maui. The climate, the wind, swell and water. At last but not least, the people and the aloha lifestyle, where we have time for and show love to each other, old friends, new friends and strangers.
I look forward to see you again in a few years! Mahalo Maui!
Much aloha from Cecilia
PS1: Have you enjoyed my Maui travel blog posts? Feel free to share them in social media and inspire others active families to travel!
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PS3: The focus on my blog will now turn back to inspiring leadership. I am considering to write all my blog posts in English. Stay tuned!
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Did you read my other Maui stories?
Part 1 How to survive 26h on a plane with infant twins
Part 2 Windsurfing at Ho´okipa
Part 3 Windsurfing and family time at Kanaha
Part 4 Join us into the wild bamboo forest
Part 6 A SUPer family on the south side