Roy's

And of course, on our last day, we made our special stop at Roy's.

Don't get me wrong, I love eating spicy poki and sashimi everyday, but it's nothing compared to Roy's. With their seared ahi tuna, unique fish entrees, and delectable chocolate souffle cake, it's a must. The service is always top-notch and it's a nice way to end a lovely vacation.

Nakalele Blowhole

Melissa always knows where to take us. Another fun spot to see is the Nakalele Blowhole. The blowhole erupts every few minutes, so you can spend a little effort and a lot of time trying to get the perfect picture. This is another area where I'd recommend shoes with decent traction. If you want to get close, you'll need them.

Seven Sacred Pools

Another rewarding site at the end of the Road to Hana are the Seven Sacred Pools.Bring shoes with traction or be willing to go barefoot. Flimsy flip-flops will not get you far.The view is nice from anywhere, but the more adventurous you are, the better it gets.

Road to Hana

We tackled yet another early morning to trek the road to Hana.

The road to Hana is another one of those popular tourist hot spots that can be a hit-or-miss - depending on whether you like scenic drives. Before you depart, make sure that your rental car is a 4-wheel drive and you have an experienced driver. Here's your warning: if you get car-sick easily, don't read in the car. The roads are windy.

It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive (without stops). The route follows the coast and winds its way through patches of tropical forest. There is a CD that you can purchase that will give you explanations of what you're seeing along the drive. We purchased it on a previous trip, but I remember it being rather dry and most of us fall asleep during the ride anyway.

Take your time driving. There are several narrow passages, bridges, and one-lane roads. The only reason we started our trip in the morning is for the Pipiwai Trail, which I highly recommend.

Bamboo Forest and hidden Waterfalls. I think yes.

These trees remind me of an illustration from a Dr. suess book!

In the bamboo forest.

Check out the size of the waterfall compared to my mom!

Haleakala Sunrise

When you go to Maui, you'll hear about this beautiful sunrise that you can see from the Haleakala crater. It's amazing and totally worth doing at least once.

I'm all about relaxing in Hawaii, but this sunrise requires a 3am wake-up call, all the blankets you can find in your hotel room, and a good driver who can maneuver windy roads in the dark. 

My dad was our  designated driver... with a car full of designated sleepers. Even with his skillful driving, a reckless driver managed to clip our side-view mirror (I think). My dad pulled over to check for damages (only some chipped paint) and continued on. When we arrived at the top, he had to retell the whole story... unsurprisingly, I slept through the whole thing.

We parked our car near several other rentals and tried to wake ourselves up. Eventually, we saw passengers from cars around us start getting out of their vehicles. We followed suit w/ our blankets and cameras (of course). 

As the sun broke through the clouds, a native hawaiian began her chant to appease the gods. It was beautiful.

Beach time

Thanks to Melissa, we were actually quite productive in Maui. We were at the beach almost everyday. We saw tons of fish (and a few turtles). I'm pretty sure we got too close to them... oh well... We also got thrown into the waves and did some boogie boarding. I quit a little early because there was too much salt water in my eyes. Maybe I was doing something wrong?

Snorkeling

If we weren't sleeping, eating, or hiking somewhere, we were definitely at the beach. It wasn't so much relaxing and tanning, but SNORKELING!

Maui

I feel like there's never really much to say about Hawaii... I never really remember what I did. I just come back very relaxed and tan. With that, we spent a lot of time at the beach and even made it to the banyan tree in old Lahaina.

Here are my favorite photos:

Catching up on old news

Now that I work behind a desk, I thought that I could keep myself awake (on days like these) by updating my travel blog. I always read and follow other blogs, but I often neglect my own. I'm two vacations behind and leaving for Maui again this weekend... so I'll work diligently in the next few days and see how much of my travels I can even remember..

I'm also an avid coffee drinker and have a new favorite coffee shop. PHILZ!!

Atlanta's museums

Atlanta has a ton of museums and we must have bought some sort of "Atlanta pass" because we went to quite a few of them. Here's a quick overview. I'll let the pictures do most of the explaining.

1. CNN - You get to go on a tour of the offices of CNN. They show you the types of technology they are currently using and how they run everything live.

2. Coca Cola - It starts with a video about Coke and its popularity around the world. There's a tasting station and whole bunch of random souvenirs and collectibles.

3. Atlanta History Center - Really awesome section about the Civil War. You could seriously spend a whole day in here. We spent at least 3 hours in the Civil War section. Also, beautful Swan House in the back. (Final Destination for Amazing Race Season 19)

4. Aquarium - best aquarium everrr!! i got to see whale sharks, beluga whales, penguins, everything basically.

Charleston

While in Atlanta, we decided to make use of our rental car and do a day trip to Charleston.

So, some of the houses look like this...

Many houses were destroyed in the 1886 earthquake and rebuilt with earthquake rods. The city of Charleston is working on rebuilding their historic center, but it's a project that takes time and money. It's fun to think that there was a lifetime where women dressed in large hoop-skirts and drank sweet tea on their open porches.

I was definitely inspired to read Gone with the Wind., which is quite a long read, with an un-fulfilling ending. When you're in Georgia and South Carolina, you can totally bring yourself back in time and imagine the grandiose plantations and see where southern hospitality comes from.

 Even though historic Charleston was charming and I loved it, other parts of Charleston were not so nice. We were able to find some good food, but they were hole in the wall places (and those are always the best). We found these huge peanut butter cups.

 Pralines are amazing! You have to have a sweet tooth though. They're basically candied pecans in a sugar/cream/butter base. This is what they look like when they're fresh out of the mixer. The mixture is warm and when it cools and hardens, it is ready to serve. Sometimes, they get dipped in chocolate too. Heaven!

 Our tour guide recommended Jestine's Kitchen. Apparently, also recommended by Oprah. I could eat their fried chicken again any day. Skip the coca cola cake though. I don't get it.