The Ho and I are feeling rather wistful tonight; we leave Maui tomorrow, and this vacation trip becomes the memories we’ve made.

Anna Kim posted some of the photos she took yesterday just now, and it really hit home how magical this trip was. Liz opened up the sliding doors to the lanai, we turned the lights down so we don’t attract the bugs, and we sat on the edge of the bed and looked through them while we listened to the ocean waves, the palm tree leaves in the wind, and the cicadas outside.

Ho-lee-crap Anna is good at what she does. The cover photo for tonight’s blog entry is by her, one of my favorites of the ones she posted.

It’s so freaking magical here in Maui. This trip has been MAGIC. It’s the first time that Liz and I have taken a vacation all on our own, not visiting family or friends, and somewhere a decent distance away. This hotel has been expensive AF…but it’s also been freaking amazing. The service, the view every day, the food, the smells, the decor and feel of the place…that breeze that runs through the main hallway and the one outside our room door…the fact that the beach is a hundred yards away and we can come and go from it as we please…it’s really been the best thing ever.

Liz and I were talking about how coming out here, we were really looking forward to hanging and swimming in the six pools that they have. Except that all the time we spent in the water, we spent it out in the ocean. I do not understand anyone here in Maui that spends their time in a pool when the ocean here is as freaking perfect as it is. It. Is. Paradise. The water is so warm, the sand is so soft, and the waves are so gentle. I get it now. I get why people want to be on the beach all the time. I’m one of those people out here in Maui.

We took a long walk along the beach tonight and talked about all our favorite things we did this trip, and we did A LOT of stuff this trip, at least for us. Snorkeling, Massages, a culinary tour of the best island food each day, renewed our vows, swam all day in the ocean…

Tonight we packed up our bags, ate all of the leftovers that we wanted to eat…tomorrow, we’ll have our last breakfast, maybe visit the beach one last time, and then we’ll bid Maui adieu.

This is a special place for us. It’s our paradise of choice. We will be back.

Oh! And it rained today. Like, POURED rain for a good couple hours. We did errands in Kihei while it happened, and it was clear over there, which is barely more than a mile or two away! How crazy is that? Seems very tropical 😛 But, yeah, Wailea got dumped on.

It smells so fresh and clean. And it never got cold. In fact, it seemed to get warmer when the rain came. At the very least more humid.

Damn those photos are incredible. Thanks, Anna!

Good night, Maui. We will miss you until we see you again.