Maui 2015: The Second Honeymoon
By Tom Neal
Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media
Maui Beach
My wife and I went to Maui for our honeymoon over 21 years ago and told ourselves we would be back there for our 20th anniversary.
Which we did.
We had been to Maui a few times in between, but this trip was a little more special.
Usually, when we visit Maui—our home away from home—we stay in Lahaina. This year, it wasn’t in the budget, so we got a less expensive place in Sugar Beach. It was still close enough to Lahaina to get to our favorite places to eat and visit.
It was actually a pretty nice place and centrally located. The resort was nice, everyone was friendly, and it “forced” us to explore an area of the island we had never really ventured into.
I’m glad we did.
The beach was a bit murkier than Lahaina, but the water was still great to swim in. We did have to watch out a little more for tiger sharks, as they tend to hide in murky water.
Haleakalā | First Light
We had always wanted to watch the sunrise at Haleakalā, but could never bring ourselves to wake up at 2 a.m. on a vacation.
This time was different.
We did it the day after arrival, so really, it was only 5 a.m. “our time.”
It was WELL worth waking up so freekin’ early.
The drive up is a nice, windy road with some pretty sharp turns and hairpins, but it’s not bad because you don’t have any traffic coming down at you. Once you get near the top, though, finding a place to park can be difficult.
We had been warned that it can be cold on top of the mountain, but when you’re told this by locals, we expected “cold” to mean maybe 50 degrees.
We’re from Washington. It gets wet and cold there most of the year. We can handle 50 degrees with a sweatshirt and long pants.
NOPE!!!
It was 33 degrees, and then add the wind cutting straight through you.
Definitely take a warm coat or windbreaker up there. Or do like we did when we went back on our last day and take the blanket and comforter off the hotel bed to wrap up in while you watch the sunrise.
There were probably 5,000 of my closest friends up there with us, all waiting for the same thing.
I’m not really a “spiritual” kind of guy, but there was something different about being up there, over 10,000 feet above sea level, freezing my ass off and watching the sun come up out of the clouds below us.
I can’t really put it into words.
But I can tell you this: it changed the whole vacation for me.
I generally carry the stress from home with me when we go on vacation. It usually takes most of the trip before that stress finally subsides.
Not this time.
Being on that mountain on our first full day, watching that sunrise, my stress just disappeared.
The whole trip was super chill after that.
Again, I can’t really convey what it was like into words.
YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE IT!
’Nuff said.
After the spectacular show, we cruised back down to the condo and took a couple-hour nap.
Familiar Ground
We decided to alternate activity days and relaxation days.
On that first day, after napping, we cruised on up to Lahaina—our favorite town—for some playing and shopping.
With each trip to the island, we visit our beloved Banyan Tree on Front Street, head over to the Lahaina Beach Resort where we spent our honeymoon, and then go to Betty’s Beach Cafe for food.
Some traditions don't need improving.
We always have a great time on Maui without going to all the touristy places and expensive tourist traps, but we did make an exception this time and went to the Maui Ocean Center.
Yep.
We should have done this years ago too.
I found out they offered a deal where you could swim with the sharks.
Hell yeah, sign me up!
Well, you have to be dive certified and bring your own gear, or rent it from somewhere else on the island.
Well shit.
Guess I can’t go swim with the sharks.
My wife did offer to let me do another shark swimming excursion, though.
She said she would be happy to take me out in a boat, cut my arm deep so I could bleed a lot to attract the sharks, then throw my ass in the water.
I married such a sweet girl!
Anniversary at Sea
Another touristy thing we did on this trip was a sunset dinner cruise on the night of our anniversary.
This was a very special night, and we got a great table on the top deck of this smallish boat.
The boat set off from the wharf in Lahaina, and we spent a couple hours out on the water with meals and drinks, watched a beautiful sunset, and had a great time.
Except for the small bout of seasickness I got.
It wasn’t too bad until the boat stopped and the rocking motion got to me.
All in all, though, it was a spectacular night with my lovely wife.
As we left Lahaina heading back to Sugar Beach, we noticed there were a lot of stars visible.
When we got back to the resort, we grabbed a blanket, went down to the beach, and looked up at the stars.
I downloaded an app on my phone to show us where each constellation was, and we spent hours just looking up and comparing what we were seeing to the app.
Fun and free.
Can’t beat that combination.
We had a lot of beach time, shopping, driving, and just enjoyed each other’s company.
On the last day, we decided to do it again.
Wake up at the butt crack of dawn, head up to the top of Haleakalā, and watch the sunrise.
Same mountain.
Same cold.
Same incredible view.
It was such an incredible way to begin and end our second honeymoon.
Twenty-one years after our first honeymoon, we had come back to the same island to celebrate twenty years of marriage.
I’d say that was worth getting up at the butt crack of dawn for.
Aloha!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Neal is the founder of Bigfoot Trails Basecamp, an independent adventure media project built around real experiences. He’s spent most of his life around vehicles, motorcycles, racing, travel, and projects that tend to take longer and cost more than originally planned.
After decades of doing all that stuff, he’s learned that the best stories usually aren’t the ones you planned. They’re the people you meet, the places you stumble across, the things that go wrong, and the moments you never expected.
That’s what he wants to capture with BTB.
He doesn’t want to write about adventure from the outside. He wants to go experience it, then tell you what happened.
Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media
