Mind Trip to Maui!

Want to head to Maui?  I've never been, let's go!  Blue Sky Tours has a fall deal that must be booked by Sept. 23rd that includes 5 nights at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort, $200 in hotel credits, daily breakfast, and an economy rental car.  I've added travel protection to all of that just because I don't go anywhere without it and the final price is only $1,732.69 per person.  But here's the question, can we really go to Maui for only 5 days?  Let's see.

Our flight doesn't arrive until 9 PM on the first night so, we'll stop off some place and get a quick bite and then head on to the Marriott for a good nights sleep.  I'm thinking that the first day just needs to be a day of rest and relaxation.  After all, we spent a lot of time on airplanes and in airports yesterday and I am exhausted!  Maybe this is the day that I'll spend that $200 in hotel credit and it might all be in the spa... Although the hotel pool bar might have a Mai Tai that will play into things.  We'll just have to see how far the $200 will go.

After one full day of relaxation, I'm recharged and ready to hit the ground running.  That means the second full day on Maui is going to be spent at Haleakala National Park hiking.  You're right, I'm not really a hiking kind of person, but you're going to have to work with me here.  For artistic purposes, just suppose that I am a hiker. So off we go.  You can't beat the scenery at Haleakala and you sort of have to hike to see it all.

It's kind of awesome, huh?  I'm thinking that if anyone really wants me to get to the top of this crater, they are going to have to find a way to drop me off there and let me hike back down. Because I just don't see me hiking up and down this thing.  It's a lot to ask of me, you know?  I mean, we've already established that I'm not a hiker to begin with except in my imagination.  So, now you want me to hike to the top of a volcano crater above the clouds?  I just don't see it happening.

Maybe I could just hike around in the lower elevations and look at the pretty waterfalls and such. I think that would be more my speed. When I was reading about the crater on Wikipedia it said that you have to be cautious about altitude sickness up there. Combine altitudes that create altitude sickness along with hiking and it's not looking too good for me.  Seriously, I'm a Texan. I'm not accustomed to altitudes higher and about 25 feet.  I live in a two story condo and I've been known to get a nose bleed from walking upstairs!  Maybe I should head back to the hotel and check on the guy who brings the Mai Tais around to you at the pool....

On second thought, after seeing some more of the photos from Haleakala maybe I should just suck it up and hike. The place is amazing!  But there is no way you will ever get me to the top of the crater for a sunrise like the one below no matter how pretty it is... unless of course, it takes me so long to hike up to the top that the sun is coming up the second day when I finally arrive. The problem that I have with this scenario is that I have that beautiful luxurious hotel room over at the Marriott just going to waste while I'm spending the night hiking to the top of a crater.  What's a girl to do?  I think I'll just enjoy other people's photos of the sunrise over the crater and head back to the hotel before dark. After all, this is supposed to be a relaxing get away not an endurance test.

After that day of hiking, I'm thinking that the third full day in Maui will have to be spent back at the hotel's pool and the beach in recovery mode. Maybe in the afternoon, we'll hop in the rental car and check out some of the local beaches.

Yep, there are plenty of beaches to visit.  In fact this might be just how I spend the rest of the trip.... hopping from one to the next. How much time in life do you really get to spend on a black sand beach like this? I'm going to need at least a full day just for this one.

I'm going to have to get back to you tomorrow.  I've got some serious thinking to do about whether or not 5 days is enough time in Maui.  I'll let you know what I decide.  Have a great Pre-Friday!