As the plane descended from the clouds and the tropical island of Maui was directly below us, I could finally feel the tension in my body melt into the air like the spring snow in Minnesota. The cold, the dark skies and the ice crystals became a distant memory, replaced by palm trees, clear blue skies and sandy beaches.

 

We had landed in paradise.

 

We — as in my wife (Terri) and I and two close friends, Al and Nancy — had been planning our trip to the Hawaiian Islands for nearly a year and the vacation of our lifetimes had finally begun. We centered the trip around Terri’s and my 25th anniversary and the Saastamoninens around their impending retirements.

 

The first island we embarked on was Maui — the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and probably the prettiest. We had one week with a stay at Maui Hill Resort for one week, then a quick flight to Oahu to spend another week in Honolulu.

 

Maui Hill is a resort just across the road from a giant beach on the southwest part of the island. The place was exquisite and our room consisted of a living area, dining area, kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms. Each bedroom had French doors that opened to a huge patio/deck for relaxation or enjoying the scenery.

 

Our Maui week consisted of snorkeling (my favorite), a road trip around the island (Road to Hana), zip-lining, hiking to waterfalls, a helicopter ride to Molokai, a submarine excursion, kayaking, a whale watching cruise, a luau and a 5K ran/walk. While snorkeling our first day, a lady near me asked if I had seen the sea turtle by the reef and I got really excited. Sure enough, when I swam over and dipped my mask below the water line, there was a giant, green sea turtle hunting for food along the coral reef.

 

I quickly swam (or dog paddled) over the Al and summoned him to the reef, then waved to the girls on the beach to join us. We all enjoyed seeing the millions of tropical fish, but swimming beside a sea turtle was the highlight of the underwater adventure.

 

Zip-lining was better than I expected as we zipped across dense jungles from seven different platforms. We got adventurous and more brave as the day went on as by the final two “zips”, most of us were traversing the lines upside down (on purpose).

 

The Road to Hana was very nice, though it could have been better had the traffic not been so bad. We did have a stop along the way to explore a lava tube (I had never heard of one before) where we (sans Terri) descended down a dormant lava tunnel with rented flashlights. Terri (claustrophobia) attempted to join us in the pitch black underground passage, but eventually backed out and headed back up to ground level.

 

Our helicopter ride consisted of flying over a smaller island (Molokai) and soaring near the shores of Maui. The pilot kept us entertained as he beckoned landmarks and points of interest while trying to crack corny jokes. While his sense of humor was a little lacking, his skills as a pilot was surely impressive.

 

The submarine ride to the bottom of the ocean was a delight, though Terri still had reservations about being in a tightly-enclosed vessel with no escape. She persevered and eventually relaxed to enjoy the views out the dozens of portholes. We saw eels, sting rays and sharks as well as a sunken ship and all its sea creature inhabitants.

 

One day, we kayaked from a Maui beach to Coconut Island — otherwise known as Gilligan’s Island. It’s where the opening scenes of the show were filmed as well as a few other scenes from the long-running TV comedy. At Gilligan’s Island, we were coached on where to snorkel to capture the best viewing sites for sea creatures who reside along the coral reefs. We spent a good two hours snorkeling, then paddled back in our kayaks and enjoyed a delicious lunch served in a Hawaiian shack.

 

The whale watching cruise was spectacular as the ship’s captain guided us to an area where breaching whales had recently been seen. Sure enough, we saw several giant humpbacks rupture the surface, then flap their huge tails on the water as if showing off. The highlight was when a mother and her calf arrived and both enjoyed breaching the waves as they frolicked in the bluish-green ocean. The captain said it was rare for a calf and its mother to appear near a cruiser, so we were gifted with a genuinely remarkable experience.

 

Our final two days on Maui had us attending a luau (delightful) and taking a dinner cruise to watch the sunset aboard a catamaran.

 

Outstanding.

 

Next week I’ll share our experiences on Oahu, the third-largest island in Hawaii and home to Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach.