Maui - Day #4

We booked a snorkeling trip for the morning after the wedding. We had to meet in the lobby at 6:15 a.m. We had a 30 minute drive to the marina. This is the boat we went on. I had planned to just stay on the boat and watch everyone else. The thought of getting all sticky in the salt water and staying like that for hours was not too appealing to me.

Pops and Justin decided that they were going to Snuba. We had never heard of snuba until now. It is a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving, without the tanks. You are tethered to a raft that holds the oxygen tank. You can go down about 15 feet.

Since they were snubaing, that left Shannon to snorkel all by herself. Since it was my first day being her mother-in-law and I wanted to excel at my new position, I sucked it up and went snorkeling. I was really glad that I did. Shannon, thank you for making me go! The water was not too cold and we saw some really cool stuff along with an eel.

We also saw a couple of whales and lots of dolphins. They looked like they were putting a show on for us. They were jumping and spinning all around the boat. At our second dive, we swam with several sea turtles.

Here is Justin in his Snuba gear.

We were exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel so we headed to the pool for an afternoon of relaxing and people watching.

We booked a luau at the Old Lahaina Luau for a post wedding party. We had lots of fun, but the lei's were so itchy.

More Wedding Pictures

Maui - Day #3 - The BIG Day

After weeks of planning, the BIG day had finally arrived. We were all so excited. April 24, 2010 was here!

We got up early and went to breakfast. After we ate, we went to the pool/beach. We stayed there until early afternoon. We had lunch by the pool and just relaxed and soaked up the sun. My legs were really white before we went to Hawaii and I needed color, any color other than white, even if it was red.

Justin and Shannon broke the rules of not seeing each other on the wedding day. They had to meet their wedding coordinator in Lahaina to get their marriage license.

We agreed to meet in the lobby to head to the wedding spot, Makena Cove, which was an hour drive away. This picture is of Justin and Pops just before we got in our cars. Justin rode with us and Shannon rode with her Mom and Dad.

In Hawaii, you have to have a permit to get married on the beach and the only person you can get a permit from is a wedding coordinator. Justin researched the internet, and found the best wedding coordinator. He chose Enchanted Weddings of Maui. We highly recommend Lisa. She handled everything, along with the flowers, rose petals on the beach and photographs. Shannon was really happy with her bouquet.

They got married in a very secluded cove. You had to drive down a long winding road. We parked on a not so pretty road. You would never know there was a beautiful cove on the other side. Justin, Pops and Lisa went through the rock doorway to the cove while we waited for Lisa to get set up.

Shannon's dad walked her down the beach. Shannon look absolutely breathtaking! So did Justin! The weather was perfect and they got married facing the ocean while water was splashing high on the lava rock. This is the first picture after they got married.

Lisa took pictures for over an hour. We stayed until there was no more sun. It was a beautiful sunset. The pictures are not finished yet, but I can't wait to see them.

The wedding was perfect! After the wedding, we went to Leilani's for dinner. Justin and Shannon were so happy. They said if they left Hawaii that night, it would have been a perfect trip. Lucky for them, they still had a week of fun ahead of them. We could not have asked for a better day.

Maui - Day #2

Day #2 started out really early! With the 5 hour time difference, we were up and dressed and at breakfast around 7. We ran into Shannon's parents when we were at breakfast and had fun visiting with them.

Sidebar here: When booking the hotel, I stumbled across a AAA rate. I normally don't do this, but when checking it out, realized what a great deal it was. To join AAA, it cost about $75 per year. Our hotel rate was almost $100 less per night with the AAA rate and we also got free breakfast. Free breakfast was a great deal because the breakfast buffet was about $70 for 2 with the tip. Great savings!

After breakfast, we headed to the pool. About 10 feet separate the pool from the beach. We faced the beach and had access to the pool. Fun times. We had lunch out by the pool and then it was time to go pick up Justin and Shannon at the airport.

I spent the afternoon getting dressed while Pops picked them up. Bad idea. As great of a person as he is, he is directionally challenged! He got lost on the way to the airport.

He had the top down on the car, unknowingly with the air conditioner off and Shannon was baked.

I think they look pretty good after a 15 hour day, lugging the dress around. Pops and I decided to go on a sunset cruise on the Maui Magic. Justin and Shannon wanted a nap, so we made reservations to meet up with them and Daryl and Cindy for dinner at Dukes, again.

The cruise was a lot of fun. I got soaked getting on the boat. You load up through a back ladder. You have to wait until the tide is just right.

Unfortunately, I let someone else tell me to go right as I saw a wave coming. It was so very windy, that my pants were dried by the end of the cruise. It got a little cool and rained, but that made some beautiful rainbows. My picture does not do it justice.

While we were out, we saw a couple of whales. The sunset was gorgeous. With the cloud pattern, it made it look like the water was on fire.

Duke's was great again. Back to the hotel to get some sleep before the big day.

Maui - Day #1

As excited as I was about going to Maui, I was dreading the flight. I have a hard time sitting still for a long time. Thank you to my little "flying" pills, I made it just fine.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed when we were driving in from the airport. When you look to your left, there is the beautiful ocean. When looking to the right, it is dead brown mountain area. You can't believe you are even remotely close to a beach.

We arrived at 3 p.m and by the time we got our car and baggage and got to the hotel, it was about 5. We stayed at the Hyatt. The hotel was gorgeous, but I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the room. It is funny to me how room decor changes from state to state. The nicest of hotels in Hawaii don't really compare to Vegas or even Austin.

As you are walking through the hotel, there are several animals. Penguins, different beautifully colored birds, flamingos and swans. Lots of beautiful plants and flowers, waterfalls and ponds.

This is the view from the walkway between the pool and the beach.

Another area through the hotel gardens.

This is the view from our room.

As is normal Lolly fashion, I already had dinner reservations booked. I always like to have at least the first night planned out so that when we get there and are tired, we don't have to search for where to go.

We chose Duke's. We had eaten at Duke's in Honolulu and loved it. We were not disappointed at all. I had the terriyaki kabob with beef and chicken and coconut shrimp. It was delicious.

As much as we were dying to check everything out, we were so exhausted and couldn't wait to get to bed. We got back to the hotel at around 9:30, and that is 2:30 Texas time.

Just Maui'd

Where did April go? It came and went so fast!

We just got home from what I would have to say is one of our best trips. We have been to Hawaii a couple of times during the past 5 years. They were really fun trips because they were business trips and someone else paid the bill, but this one was even better.

This time, we went for Justin and Shannon's wedding. The trip and wedding were absolutely perfect! I would highly recommend getting married this way. It was totally about Justin and Shannon. They loved every minute of it.

I want to get in every detail for my own journaling, so I will be doing several posts. Here is just a little preview of what's to come.

Lost In The Pines

We had a little getaway this weekend at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop. Pops spoke at an annual meeting for a group of managers. This is the kind of work I like for him to do. Work a little, get paid for it and get to be treated to a nice little vacation.

This was supposed to be the tanning vacation before the big vacation. We were here about 3 years ago shortly after it opened, so it had changed quite a bit.

My goal was to lay out by the pool all day and get a little tan so that I wouldn't be "pasty" for Justin's wedding. We got to the pool at 9:00 a.m. and didn't leave until 4:00 p.m. By looking at my body you could never tell.

There was one slight problem. It was cloudy and sprinkling the entire time. At some points, I was covered by the umbrellas and wrapped up in a towel. But, by golly, we were bound and determined to stay out there all day, and we did. Most of the time, we were the only people out there. It was kind of cold.

If you have kids and are looking for a weekend getaway, this place is perfect. There is so much to do. They have a spa, horseback riding, smores, face painting, hayrides, playground, pools, lazy river, golf and lots more. It is about 200 yards from the Colorado River, so if you are a fisherman or kayaker, there is lots to do there, also.

The food was just okay, but since it is so far out, its a great idea to park your car and stay in for the entire weekend. I can't wait to take Karsyn and Landrie next time.