Babymooning in Maui

Since we are becoming parents in April, we wanted to take one last vacation together and take one last chance to really cherish our relationship and bond that we have shared for 8 years of blissful marriage. After planning a surf trip to Peru and Chile, Chelsea found out she was pregnant and we were forced to  stay domestic. Out of all of the Hawaiian Islands, we decided to go to Maui again.

 Oheo gulch and the 7 pools at the end of the Road to Hana. 

 Chelsea eating lilikoi flavored ice-cream made with coconut milk

Sunset in South Kihei

 Jaws was breaking and it was pretty awesome to see. We same some gnarly wipeouts and some killer rides.

Mike surfing Ho'okipa

We decided to do Maui the cheap way. We avoid tourist traps and luxurious hotels in our travels. Instead, we opt for cheaper vacation rentals that add more character to our stay. We only paid over $100/night for one night in our 8 night trip. Despite popular opinion, you CAN do Maui on a small budget.

Awesome, private jungle bungalow in Nahiku.  One  of the most romantic places probably on earth. We had a great time hanging out in this beautiful and lush town.

There are myriads of waterfalls on the island of Maui, mainly concentrated on the Eastside, on the way to Hana.

Mike on our hike through the bamboo forest, on the way to the gigantic waterfall.

 The Pipwai Trail was an awesome hike that led to a 1,000 ft waterfall at the top of the trail. It was refreshing and incredible. This is a definite must-do activity for all those traveling the Road to Hana. Any description I give of this waterfall will not do it justice.

 Hiking at Haleakala Crater. It looks and feels as if you are hiking on Mars. It is a long and steep descent into the crater and the ascent is super intense. The 10,000 foot elevation doesn't make it any easier.

 Ferry ride to Lanai, For information on Lanai, check out our previous blog post on Lanai.

 Crystal clear water with Lanai and Molokai in the background. We go to the San Diego beaches every day, but the water doesn't even come close to comparing.

 I was really hoping to score surf at Honolua Bay. It was flat there most of the week, so I rented a board on the last day and just showed up, hoping there would be something to surf. There was a very inconsistent swell, but the sets were about chest high and lined up. I even met a local who was originally from Chile. Pedro was a super mellow guy who told me all about the island and his native country of Chile. We shared waves, talked story and exchanged numbers after the session. 

 Honolua Bay: Chelsea sat on the cliff above and took some shots of me. Nothing great, but still fun to get wet and catch a few fun ones. It was an adventurous walk down the cliff. It just added to the epic nature of that wave. Once in the lineup, we had an awesome view of Molokai as well, which made the break even more picturesque. 

 This picture does a great job of showing how shallow the reef is on the inside. We snorkeled it the day before and it was full of brain coral and gigantic sea urchins. You do not want to fall on that. I know from personal experience.

It was an incredible trip. We love the Hawaiian Islands and the culture, people and the natural beauty that can be enjoyed around every corner.

The Romantic Island of Lanai

While babymoonin in Maui, we also wanted to spend sometime on Lanai. We had only been there for a day trip once before, so this time we wanted to spend a couple days and really slow down to the mellow pace of Lanai. This island doesn't get a ton of tourists and while there, we would often go hours without seeing anyone else. This cute, small little island we would call the most romantic of the Hawaiian Islands. With more pine trees than palm trees, it doesn't have the tropical feel the other islands do, but it's still beautiful in it's unique way. Here are the highlights from our stay on Lanai.

Taking the ferry from Maui to Lanai - It's only a 45 minute ferry ride and we got to see a ton of whales along the way!

Staying at the Hotel Lanai - This is a restored old plantation home that is the cutest place we've ever stayed in.

Hanging out at a remote beach - No footprints or anyone else in sight at this beautiful cove.

Snorkeling at Manele Bay - The best snorkeling we've done in the Hawaiian Islands was here! There are tons of very brightly colored fish and live coral. Because the island is so rarely visited, the sea life is much more vibrant.

Hiking to Sweetheart Rock

Off-roading to checkout remote coastline and an ancient fishing village, where King Kamehameha had a summer house.

 Hiking through the mountains of Lanai on the Koiliki Trail

View of Molokai from the top of the peak of Lanai

Amazing view of Maunalei Valley

Waiting for the ferry to take us back to Maui

View of Lanai from the Lahaina Harbor in Maui when we got dropped off by the ferry.

San Onofre Trails - Hiking, Nudists, and Secluded Beach

This weekend was another beautiful, sunny November day and at a perfect 70 degrees, it seemed fitting to go for a nice hike. We chose one of our favorite local hiking spots that seems to be surprisingly relatively unknown by lots of San Diego and Orange County locals, which are the trails at the San Onofre bluffs. There are 6 different trails that lead you down to the approx. 3 miles of state beach.  Just south of the state beach, the beach trail continues through Camp Pendleton. This is also an awesome place to go for some uncrowded long boarding!

You're guaranteed to run into a few nudists just south of trail 6. As we've found, the common trend among nude beach goers is they typically tend to be male, age 40+ and love to stand up and do a little stretch coincidentally always when you are walking by. This weekend was no exception for this norm based on the few we ran into getting their tan line free sunbathing in.

The good news is once you pass the nudist section you are on completely remote beach. How many places in Southern California can you be the only one on a beach???

Getting There: From the 5 fwy, exit Basilone and head west. You'll go south past the San Onofre Surf Beach and follow signs to San Onofre State Beach which leads you to the top of the bluffs and the beginning of Trail 1. This is a state beach so the typical $15 day use applies if you do not have a state beach pass (which is awesome to have, by the way).

We like to start at trail 5 or 6 and head south to do the more remote part of the trail which very few people seem to head to.

Here are a few pictures from our hike this weekend: