Aloha Maui: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

There's nothing like spending a day at home feeling terribly sick (thanks for that, time changes and lack of sleep and airplanes) to make you reminisce about feeling definitely not sick and being in Hawaii. As all good things must, our trip to Maui inevitably came to an end. Four days was not nearly long enough, but perhaps no amount of time would be. We made the most of our final day, enjoying the beach, snorkeling, and making sure we fit in some last minute sightseeing. Our flight was not until 8 pm, so we had almost an entire day before flying home to our real lives that unfortunately do not typically involve relaxing by the ocean, fresh seafood lunches, and getting to spend days at a time together. Brandon wanted to fit in some more snorkeling, so we did a bit of research and learned that Honolua Bay is one of the best spots on the island. We managed to find the somewhat obscure parking lot by the few cars that were gathered there and made the short, pleasant hike to the rocky beach.

I found a shady spot to read (I did not want to be gross and salty for the plane ride home) while Brandon snorkeled in the calm waters.

We also wanted to visit the iconic Iao Needle before leaving the island. Between Honolua Bay and Iao Valley State Park, we stopped for lunch at Fresh Off the Boat. This small restaurant is essentially a food cart created out of a boat that is permanently parked and ready to serve freshly caught Hawaiian seafood.

The chalk menu highlighted the day's available options. I enjoyed a trio of fish and Brandon tried the shrimp and teriyaki beef combination. It was all delicious.

After lunch, we spent a rainy hour exploring Iao Valley, determined to make the most of the day despite the wet conditions.

The park was lush and lovely, perfect for a romantic ramble and kissing in the rain.

To dry out a bit, we decided we had to find one of Maui's best spot for malasadas, Simply Sweets. The unassuming store front in Wailuku is the home of sweet deliciousness. Although options like Da Bomb - a malasada that is filled with haupia cream and served with Chantilly cream, chocolate, nuts, and coconut on top - were certainly tempting, I kept it simple with a chocolate filled "Maui-sada."

We spent the remainder of the afternoon chasing the sun, eventually finding a sunny spot on a beach that we had all to ourselves. If we had to end what had been a perfect few days in paradise, I can think of no better way to do it.

And I certainly cannot think of anyone else with whom I would rather spend those perfect days in paradise.

And with that, I am finally finished sharing about my birthday trip to Hawaii. Now that summer is officially over and cool air and rain are starting to sneak into the forecast, I will get around to actually sharing about the best summer ever - a quintessential Oregon summer that passed all too quickly.