Hawaiian Honeymoon Part II | Lahaina & Haleakala Sunrise | Maui

I’ve been putting off sharing these because honestly, it’s hard to relay how beautiful our time in Hawaii was. It was the honeymoon I’d been dreaming about for years and didn’t know I would ever get the chance to actually have! I mean… it’s Hawaii!!! I wouldn’t have picked any other place in the world to spend our first incredible, romantic two weeks of being married. It was so surreal waking up next to each other every morning and then planning our day of adventure on the island. There is no one else I’d rather spend hours climbing a mountain with or take crazy hairpin turns overlooking the edge of ocean cliffs!!! Maui was full of ADVENTURE and it was so peaceful and I really can’t describe it in words.

We started our honeymoon in Oahu for a few days before flying to Maui for our week long stay in Ka’anapali. The first thing I noticed about the island were all the mountains! In Oahu, the mountains are mostly on the eastern side of the island. In Maui, they’re in the very middle! Our plane landed in a valley in central Maui and then instead of taking the 50 minute route on the main road to our resort, we decided to listen to my trusty guidebook and take the long way around the nothern tip of the island… and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! It ended up being my favorite thing we did in Maui. We liked it better than the road to Hana or any other road on Maui really! It looked like what I imagine Ireland looking like, but with a more coastal and beachy vibe. This road was in the middle of nowhere, had the twistiest turns I’ve ever been on, and had side attractions like “Julia’s Banana Bread” that sold yummy snacks out of a lopsided wooden hut. It was amazing and so authentically MAUI. It was the BEST start to our week on this island!!

When we took off from Oahu we had the perfect view of Diamond Head… which we had just hiked the day before!! Amazing!!!

The flight between Oahu and Maui is so short that you really never lose sight of Oahu before you’re seeing Maui below you! They don’t have time to bring a beverage cart through the aisle, so they just pass out what’s called POG juice… it’s big in Hawaii!!

Our first sight of Maui! So green and so… country looking?!

The first thing we did when we landed was 1) Justin went and bought me a lei! 2) We waited 30+ minutes for the tiny little baggage claim to produce our luggage, and 3) While we were waiting, I looked up a place to grab lunch nearby because we were starving and luckily one of the most popular places to grab lunch on the island was within 10 minutes!! It was called “Da Kitchen” and they had Loco Mocos!! My favorite Hawaiian dish! But we were not prepared for the size of these meals. Oh my word. They were huge!!! They were so big that Justin ate leftovers THREE TIMES at the resort throughout our weeklong stay. And there was still some left in our fridge when we went home. What even. It was SO DELICIOUS.

Then we drove to a hidden gem nearby… that was an ancient Hawaiian ritual site… where human sacrifices were made. Sorry Justin. I just love the history of each place I visit and I couldn’t miss out on this! It was an awesome view!!

Then our drive to the resort began!! We had 2 hours ahead of us on the open road… it was beautiful!!!!!! We were speechless.

Do you see the waterfall?!?!

I knew from the map that when we rounded this corner, it would be a view of the part of the island we would be living on for the next 7 days. I had no idea it would look like Italy!!! So gorgeous!!

This was our resort! It was pink!! It even had a pink waterfall when we arrived! Which was a little strange to me but hey… it was on brand! Haha!

Ready for a night out in Lahaina!

The next day we just spent some time at the beach to RELAX after our crazy adventures on Oahu!! We went to Kehekili Beach and it was beautiful, albeit small!

The next morning we woke up EARRRRRLY to catch the sunrise at Haleakala. And by early I mean 2:45am…. yea. It was brutal! Especially since we had already adjusted to Hawaii time at this point! Thankfully Justin was sweet enough to drive and I just munched on peanut butter captain crunch and stared up at the Milky Way the entire 2 hour drive there. It was beautiful!! I’ve never seen so many stars. I wish I had a picture but you’ll just have to trust me! When we arrived at Haleakala, this is what we saw…

It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Like, I was actually crying as the sun came up over the clouds. There was someone singing in Hawaiian and it was just beautiful. The ancient Hawaiians considered Haleakala to be sacred grounds and I can see why… it was beautiful in every sense of the word.

And then we had the ride back down through the crater! We got to see all the things we missed during the ride up in the dark. It was insane! These roads just looked like we were driving through the clouds! And there were RAINBOWS AROUND EVERY CORNER!!!! It was insane!!!

Quick pic of our little Chevy Sonic! Lol!

Then it was time to explore “Up Country” of Maui! It’s apparently like, the redneck area of the island. Who knew that could exist on an island in the Pacific?! This is where the cowboys used to live… seriously!! It was so cool! We grabbed some Mexican lunch in Makawau and then continued our exploring of the redwood forests!!!

Then because there was nothing better to do nearby, we checked out a lavendar farm that costs $3 to get in. It was really cool!

And we’re only on day 3 of our time in Maui!!! I have so many more memories to share!! Stay tuned!!!