dekel & i went to maui, hawaii for our “babymoon” back in may, when i was 22 weeks preggers & we had an ahhmmmaaaazing time. we were there from 5/31 – 6/4 so we had 4 nights and ~5 days to explore the island. i’d love to share where we stayed, what we did & where we ate if you would like to see!
we decided to stay in weilea beach area, as a friend had just been there and recommended it (shout out to ashley!) and also we found this incredible resort & decided it would be totally worth the “splurge.” we are normally airBNB people, but this was a trip we wanted to feel pampered, have our room cleaned daily, enjoy the infinity pool and have a beautiful beach within walking distance. we only booked one activity (snorkeling & swimming with sea turtles!) and made two restaurant reservations before we arrived because we wanted to leave a lot of room for impromptu activities and places to try on a whim and i wouldn’t have done it any other way. we rented a car to pick up at the airport so we could just take off and go upon arrival and i would highly recommend that for convenience.
day 1
do: grab our rental car, check in at the fabulous weilea beach resort, change & head to dinner
eat: dinner- the mill house
we arrived around 2 pm to maui, picked up our rental car & drove ~30 min to our resort. we checked in & were greeted with “welcome drinks” and leis, picked our jaws up off the floor because the resort and scenery were THAT stunning, had our bags brought up to our room, showered & cleaned up from a long travel day, changed & headed out to an early dinner at the mill house to catch the sunset. i can’t express how much we loved the resort we stayed at. from the moment we stepped foot on the property we fell in love and knew this was going to be a magical, special trip. like i said, it was a splurge per night but sooooo worth it! the grounds were pristine, there were hammocks and swings and rocking chairs to chill on, different pools to lay out by, a beach within walking distance and top notch friendly staff. we felt like royalty staying here!
{the beautiful open-aired, spacious & stunning lobby at weilea beach resort}
{babymooners}
{the view from our room}
{aloha from maui!}
{the mill house restaurant: also a recommendation by my friend ashley who had just been to maui and said this place reminded her & her husband of ubud, bali (which was a place dek & i LOVED)…and it really did! it was serene and picturesque, the photos don’t do it justice. the clouds were creeping above the mountains, which looked fake in front of our eyes. we couldn’t believe the views from the patio we sat on – it was incredible!}
{dinner views}
{#ootn}
{we ordered the swiss chard fritters with parmesan & garlic aioli to nibble on while we waited for dinner}
{i ordered the tomato, mozzerella & basil pizza}
{dek had the burger with bacon, cheese, sauteed grilled onion & house sauce}
day 2
do: snorkeling with sea turtles, lounge by the serenity infinity pool (which is adults only and wonderful) at our resort & go out for dinner
eat: breakfast- buffet on the snorkel boat, lunch- pizza madness, dinner- monkeypod
a snorkeling adventure! we had this planned for bright & early the morning after we arrived, which was friday. we booked this prior to our arrival through this company called lani kai and were to check-in at the boating dock at 6:45 am. we booked the trip that would take us to molokini reef to snorkel & then to “turtle town” to snorkel and swim with sea turtles, which i was SO excited about! this was a really fun adventure but something tragic & disturbing happened while we were on the boat headed to the first stop of the trip, molokini which i feel the need to write about if only to bring awareness that accidents happen and to try to always be as safe as possible. this incident was so unfortunate & scary to witness, but probably could have been avoidable.
all passengers boarded the double-decker boat and breakfast of powdered sugar donuts, bagels & fruit was served. people were sitting/standing around drinking their coffee and chatting and the boat took off toward molokini which was about an hour or so away from the dock. dekel & i sat at the back of the boat on the bottom floor because the stairs to go on the upper level were soooo steep and i thought i would get sea-sick up there, so we sat at the back of the boat on a bench by the stairs to go up, which i can’t express how steep they were! about half way there the crew was walking around asking if people wanted to wear wetsuits because the water was chilly and we might be more comfortable this way and dek & i both wanted one, so we got suited up and took some photos (proof below!) and then as we were approaching molokini reef the water started getting really choppy and rough & the captain announced to stay seated and hold on to the boat rails. dek & i were seated in our spot at the bottom of the steep stairs when out the corner of my eye i see an older woman start to try to descend the stairs. she was holding on to the rail as she was coming down, but a wave crashed into the boat and she fell to the bottom, at our feet, literally almost on me, and just laid there not moving. this all happened so fast and everyone saw/heard what happened. the crew immediatly stopped the boat, rushed to bring her ice, left her laying still as to not move her neck because she fell right on her head and it could have been broken! there was no gushing blood that we saw, but i was so shaken i thought i witnessed death, it was so scary to see. the lady had family with her and after a few minutes paramedics (aka coast guard) were called and came to meet us from a different boat because she needed to go to the emergency room. but they had to cut off her wetsuit and get her on a stretcher and transfer her over to the other boat so we could keep going on our snorkel trip. we were shaken for the rest of the trip and day because of this. i don’t know why the lady tried to come downstairs right after the announcement to stay seated, but i just kept hugging dekel so thankful that this didn’t happen to one of us or someone we know. maybe it was all the preggers emotions, but it was super scary to witness and made me want to do a PSA to be careful out there!
ok, now back to day 2….swimming with the sea turtles was one of the most incredible experiences i’ve ever had- we both agreed it was SO cool and were so glad we did it. we were so close to them, swimming in their element. they would skim and “sleep” down on the sea floor and then come up for little breaths, it was insane to witness these guys so close up. they were not afraid of humans one bit, they’re protected animals so you obviously can’t touch them, but they would swim so close to you that you had to back-paddle to keep from grazing their arms or backs. my favorite thing to do for the hour we had was following them around and just witnessing them, they were massive! after snorkeling, we were all wrinkly, cold and tired and hungry! we got back on the boat and back to land and were in search of lunch so we stopped at pizza madness, which was a place one of my fav bloggers, kathleen barnes, recommended here. it was such good pizza, i didn’t get a photo of it because we ate it so fast- ha! after lunch we went to lay out by the pool and sip some frozen drinks and relax. we loved the infinity pool at our resort, it was a “serenity zone” so no kids were allowed, no floats were allowed in the pool to block the view and waiters would walk by bringing you fresh cucumber water every so often. it was heavenly. we passed some hours in the sun and then went to wash up and change for our dinner reservation at monkeypod, which is a restaurant that kept popping up in searches when i was researching where to eat in maui. they have a location in weilea beach so the drive was like 2 minutes from us and the food was fresh, vibes were good. all in all we loved it!
{heading out to snorkel}
{on the boat about to take off from the dock}
{all suited up, i tried a medium suit on and it didn’t zip over my baby belly so large for me please}
{beautiful creatures}
{pizza madness! sorry no pic of the pizza because we were sooooo hungry & devoured it within minutes}
{post-lunch lounging by the infinity pool at our resort}
{virgin pina colada for me!}
{22 weeks pregnant}
{my love}
{#ootn}
{garlic truffle oil fries at monkeypod}
{caesar salad deliciousness}
{coconut pie for dessert – yum!}
day 3
do: road to hana
eat: breakfast- starbucks coffee & cheese danish, lunch- burrito bowls from a hut along the road to hana with ice cream for dessert (not to mention snack stops along the way, like banana bread!), dinner- longhi’s italian seafood & ice cream for dessert from lappert’s
we heard all about this “road to hana” adventure and wanted to do & see it for ourselves! we read it was best to take off early to not get stuck behind cars on the narrow, almost one-way road and that the drive would be very scenic with many fun little stops along the way. you’re basically driving around half the island in the northern region & then you turn around once you get to hana & make your way back before sunsets because navigating that narrow road in the dark would have been scary as hell! we took off from weilea around 6:30 AM and headed toward paia and from there you are officially on the “road to hana” – we downloaded this app because on the trip (which can take 10+ hours!) you don’t get good cell phone reception and the app was a lifesaver and super helpful in knowing when stops were coming up and determining which ones were even worth stopping for. the trip takes so long to complete, not because the island is so large, but because the road is soooo narrow and twisty/turny that you basically have to drive 5-10 mph the whole time, sometimes completely stopping when cars are coming the opposite way. there was even a large branch that was hanging down from a tree over the road when we went & one of the locals (thank goodness he was driving the road too) got out with his machete and knocked it down and some guys helped him move it to the side of the road, otherwise we would have been stuck there for a while. we packed a small backpack & cooler to take with us for a change of clothes/shoes, water, snacks, camera, etc. and then we were off! we figured this trip would take the whole day and we were right…we only got back to the hotel around 7 or so when the sun was setting so it was a full day trip, but so fun & worth it!
{map of maui: for the road to hana adventure we started in weilea beach and headed toward paia and then you drive the whole northern coastline toward a tiny town called hana to turn around & come back the same way. we read that you can continue on that road to get back to weilea that way, but that you need a 4×4, which we did not rent, and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck or fucking up the car}
{iced coffee in hand, ready to take off}
{one of the many breath-taking waterfalls on the scenic drive}
{at the halfway to hana stand for some snacks}
{i dove right into the homemade banana bread}
{my hot husband & our bright red hotwheels}
{roadtrip selfie. dek did most of the driving since i get such altitude/motion sickness we thought it would be best for me to just ride passenger style and i was fine, thankfully}
{we stopped at koki beach to take some drone photos of surfers}
{lunch stop with a shared soulmate coke- how perfect!}
{ice cream for dessert. coffee toffee for him, coconut for me}
{$2 lei’s for sale – you leave cash in a little bucket and take a handmade lei, so cute of course i had to get one!}
{maui’s black sand beach at waianapanapa state park, was by far my favorite stop along the whole road to hana}
{a stunning sight}
{i could have sat there gazing out for hours}
{gritty, yet soft, black sand}
{22 weeks pregnant & loving life}
{walking to find blow holes}
{we made it to haleakala national park for some hiking & exploration}
{it was so humid – i was a hot, sweaty, sunscreened, bug-sprayed mess}
{bamboo forest along the pipiwai trail – dek showin’ off his upper body strength}
{beautiful pathway}
day 4
do: eat, relax, explore
eat: breakfast- cinnamon roll place, lunch- snacks on the beach, dinner- rock & brews in paia
we started the day with a sweet breakfast of cinnamon rolls the size of our faces from a little hole-in-the-wall that i read about on carrie bradshaw lied blog here, then we set off to a beautiful beach called makena in weilea near where we were staying to relax, layout & play in the waves (here is a cool 360 video of the cove where we shot some of the photos below!). after laying out for a few hours we went back to our hotel to nap and shower & head out to a small surfer, hippie town ~30 minutes from weilea beach called paia. we passed through it the previous day on the road to hana and i had also read about how quaint it was so i knew i wanted to go back for dinner & to walk around a bit. dinner was delish as we sat outside on a patio to people watch and shared a burger and salad, then i got a famous ululani’s shaved ice for dessert…yum! by the time we were done eating most of the shops & boutiques were closed (this really was a small, sleepy, hippie town which was so cute) but there was one boutique still open where i was able to get a souvenir ring in the shape of a wave, which i still wear today as it reminds me of our babymoon & especially this special place.
{fresh out the oven}
{big ass cinnamon roll topped with pecans & sweet glaze}
{at makena’s cove/beach – can you spot us?!}
{at 22 weeks pregnant, baby was the size of a coconut}
{view from the sky of makena beach}
{loved the surfer town, hippie vibes of paia}
{a rainbow!}
{famous hawaiian shaved ice from ululani’s – i got sour apple, pink lemonade and passionfruit}
{yum!}
day 5
do: frolick on the beach, lay out by the serenity infinity pool, drink mocktails, pack our bags, enjoy dinner & head home
eat: breakfast- the market near our resort in weilea, lunch- snacks by the serenity infinity pool, dinner- flatbread pizza company in paia
since this was our last day, we toggled between doing an “activity” or just having no plan and soaking up our time together, the resort and the beach and opted for the latter. to start our day we got up at sunrise to take some drone photos at weilea beach which was cool because no one was up yet so we had the whole stretch of sand to ourselves! then we headed off to breakfast nearby for smoothies & sandwiches and then we decided to go chill by our favorite pool at the resort until it was time to check out. even after check out, they held our bags and there was a “post check-out” area with showers and a waiting room so you didn’t have to leave the property or keep your belongings in the car until you had to go to the airport. we wrapped up pool time around 4 and headed back to paia to get pizza from the flatbread company for dinner and then had to head to the airport around 7ish. on the way to dinner i was getting the most horrible cramps of my life, they would come and go but i was uncomfortable the whole meal, not knowing what was going on. i was questioning if it was gas, contractions, etc. my mind was going wild thinking something could be wrong with the baby and we were about to get on a plane to travel home for ~12 hours, it was dreadful. by the time we got to the airport i could barely stand up straight and was cramping so bad i just wanted to get home. the whole plane ride was hell, i was squeezing dek’s arms and tears were rolling down my face but i tried to play it cool to not make the other guy next to me uncomfortable and also there was nothing to do at this point but ride it out…literally. we had 2 stops on our way back to dallas and at one of them i called my doctor describing my symptoms but of course, they wanted me to come in, which i did the next morning after we landed and turns out i had a urinary tract infection. i had never had one before, but seriously those cramps felt like the devil was inside me and it was horrible. the cramps went away after i got back to dallas, but at least all of that discomfort happened at the very tail end of our beautiful babymoon so i was able to enjoy everyday to its fullest. we had the best trip and i’m so glad we chose maui and where we stayed, it was a trip of a lifetime and one that will always be so special to me because it was our last vacation without baby and being parents. it was truly amazing!
{weilea beach}
{our sleepy, sunrise faces}
{i love the ocean}
{footsteps in the sand}
{fruit shakes from the market – coconut pineapple for me, green for him}
{breakfast sandwiches}
{poolside virgin pina colada back at our resort}
{kalmata olive & goat cheese pizza from the flatbread company}
{beautiful maui on the way back to the airport}
