Maui~Beach Time and then Goodbye Maui

Our last two days on Maui were mainly reserved for more time at the beach, but we did manage to have one more incredible experience before coming home.

During our travels, we always try to do something new--to try something that we've never done before, and something we certainly can't do at home. For Hawaii, we chose an excursion on an outrigger canoe. These are the kind of canoes the Polynesian people sailed to Hawaii on many years ago and it's actually the national sport of Hawaii. We joined up with another couple and two guides to spend 90 minutes paddling along the shores of Lahaina, learning some more Hawaiian history and seeking out sea turtles.

Getting ready to head out with our paddles...

The turtles would swim right up to our canoe...

Or they would just chill out on the ocean floor; the water was so clear we could see to the bottom in 20+ feet of water!

Why hello there Mr. Turtle!

It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad we were able to fit this in to our busy schedule!

After our canoe excursion, we had lunch at Leilani's, which turned out to be our favorite spot for lunch! I really have no idea why, but they had these nachos that were incredible! We had them 3 different times for lunch. We also finally were able to indulge in the famous Hula Pie. I can certainly see why it's famous!

Hubby & I at lunch @ Leilani's

And a half-eaten slice of Hula Pie...Oreo crust, ice cream pie with macadamia nuts, hot fudge topping, whipped cream, and toasted macadamia nuts on top...ok, I need to stop talking about it before I book a flight to Hawaii just to have a slice!

For the afternoon we easily found our way back to the beach cabanas and spent the afternoon in total relaxation...it couldn't have been any better!

This waterfall was right outside our hotel window and also the path we took each day to the beach!

A view from our hotel boardwalk

And the view from our beach cabanas!

This was the lobby of our hotel...I'm serious, this gorgeous waterfall was the first thing we saw each time we entered the hotel! Definitely made us feel like we were in paradise!

Friday night was our planned "fancy dinner." Food on Maui is notoriously expensive so we made reservations for one really nice dinner to celebrate our anniversary about a week early. We headed to Merriman's at Kapalua and it was incredible. The view was stunning, the food was incredible, and our dessert was on the house since we made reservations for our anniversary.

A view like this at sunset...yes please!

My meal...seared scallops, grilled asparagus, and creamed corn...yes, it was so good it deserved it's own photo!

Hubby & I at dinner!

Our chocolate purse for dessert with more Hawaiian Anniversary wishes!

Merriman's @ Kapalua, definitely an incredible evening to end an incredible week....

On Saturday, our plane wasn't scheduled to depart until 10:30 pm so we were able to enjoy the rest of the day at our hotel by making arrangements for a late checkout and reserving some time in the hospitality room to clean up. We spent another day at the cabanas, had another lunch at Leilani's--this time with free Hula Pie, and stayed at the beach until the cabana boy told us we had to leave!

Love the blue sky & palm trees...Maui, we'll definitely be back!

We thought this was awesome...this guy was paddle surfing with his puppy! Made us definitely miss Bogey!

And one last shot from our balcony!

Hubby & a slice of Hula Pie!

And one more view from the cabanas!

It was so nice to have the hospitality room to shower and get ready for the long flight home. We had dinner at a pizza place we had noticed when heading out towards the Road to Hana and it wasn't that far from the airport. The pizza was decent, but definitely not one of our favorite meals while we were visiting paradise.

We headed to the airport and checked in, complete with our box of 5 large pineapple and headed home. Our flights were completely smooth this time around. We got home, had a quick lunch with my parents after they picked us up from the airport and then promptly went home for a 3+ hour nap! When we started planning this vacation, we had hopes that it would be our last big trip as only husband & wife. However, I had no idea that God would actually turn it into our Babymoon! I couldn't have asked for more! While paradise was wonderful, home is pretty perfect to me as well.