New York City Spring Break

For 2022 Spring Break, we headed to New York City - this was the first vacation that was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 and was cancelled just a few days ahead of leaving so it was nice to get to take this trip.

Highlights included:

Central Park Playground Fun - one day we had the playgrounds to ourselves because the weather was dreary and the local schools were in session and the next day the parks were as crowded as could be - it's always fun to be outside in the city.

Natural History Museum - the Natural History Museum still required proof of vaccine and masks so it took a few minutes to get all checked in. The Museum itself is amazing. We started with Haden planetarium show and exhibits, explored a bit more, had lunch, and ended with the gems and jewels area. I could have stayed in that gems and jewels area all day long!

Museum of Ice Cream - the girls and I went to the Museum of Ice Cream for a fun experience - it's in SoHo so we took the subway without J for the first time and had a lot of fun. There were many different things to do and see and the girls tasted 10 different flavors of ice cream! Their favorite was the sprinkle pool at the end.

Time with J and V - J's brother J and his wife V live in New York City so we got to spend a bunch of time with them including dinner at their apartment, girls' lunch in SoHo, and hang out time at our hotel.

J's Half-Marathon - J ran the United Half-Marathon that goes from Brooklyn to Central Park. The girls and I were able to catch him around mile 5.5 and 11.5 before meeting back up with him after the finish. It was the perfect finish to a great spring break in New York City.

Hawaii - exploring Maui

 We also spent some time exploring the beauty of Maui.

J found a trail run he wanted to do at the top of Haleakala so we got up early one morning and drove up - sunrise crowds can be busy and require reservations so we arrived just after sunrise and easily found parking. The view was amazing but it was a bit chilly at 10,000 ft of elevation. 

J went on his 11 mile run while the girls and I drove to the end of the trail and enjoyed a picnic in the car while we waited for him.

The views were simply incredible and not enough pictures were taken.

On our last day, our flight was moved to 9pm so we had most of the day to explore. Our server at lunch suggested a gelato shop on the Road to Hana so we headed there and decided to go to the next stop, which was a beautiful surfing and turtle overlook. This was a perfect 'goodbye' to Hawaii before we dropped off the rental car and had dinner at the airport before our journey home. 

This was such an amazing trip that I am so grateful we were able to have together.

Hawaii - Maui sweet treats

 If you know me, you know might sweet tooth - there were three different places we visited in Maui for me.

The easiest was Leppert's ice cream in the mall next to the hotel - the ice cream and the waffle cones were a nice treat after dinner, but C was pictured out.

We also planned an excursion to a cacao farm and chocolate tasting - the tour started at the chocolate factory and then was a quick drive to the cacao farm - this was a great experience for all of us - we learned all about the requirements to have the cacao farm on Hawaii and got to explore a bit before the chocolate tasting. We all agreed we liked the citrus flavored chocolates the best and bought a box to bring home. 

Lastly we went to Maui Cookie Lady's storefront - I adore these cookies and couldn't wait to see her storefront - it's an adorable stop and I am so glad I got to see the shop. 

Hawaii - enjoying Wailea

Ahead of flying to Maui we had to take another COVID test in Oahu and complete all of the forms again - we traveled on June 11 and the interisland test requirements ended on June 15 so we were on the tail end of having to do this. That said, we met some honeymooners who didn't know this was a requirement and were stuck in Oahu airport waiting for results to come in.

The girls sat together on the short flight to Maui, we passed COVID screening, picked up our bags, and picked up our rental car. Check in to the Grand Wailea was easy and we were greeted by another amazing view - we could watch sunset from our balcony. I also made a Shipt order for some groceries to be delivered to the hotel and this was a nice snack refresh. 

The Grand Wailea is simply an amazing property - there is so much art and beauty to admire. The girls were each given a hotel passport of things to find so we enjoyed learning a bit more about the art through this book.

We booked cabanas for two of the pool days and this was nice - we had a dedicated spot, shade, and spent pretty much all of those days at the pool and beach. S absolutely loved the slides and C enjoyed most of them through the week. S also liked the Tarzan swing and we all liked the lazy river area. S also joined a pool game of volleyball for a bit. 

We also enjoyed pizza and dinner at the hotel cafe a few days and also enjoyed the open air more casual dinner restaurant a few evenings. 

We found the closed kids club (boo covid) and played on some of their outdoor equipment for a bit.

All in all we loved our third visit to the Grand Wailea and can't wait to return. 

Hawaii - exploring Oahu

In addition to enjoying Aulani and the area nearby, we spent a full day exploring Oahu with a Tours by Local guide. We learned so much about the island, experienced so much natural beauty, and enjoyed our time with Yolanda, our guide.

We started our day with a drive through Waikiki and I admired the shopping district on our way to some yummy malasadas. 

Next up was a nice drive to a short hike - it was quite windy but the views were amazing.

We continued on to additional overlooks, including a unique blowhole. 

We stopped at Whole Foods and bought a picnic lunch before enjoying lunch on the beach while watching some kite surfers. 

 

After lunch, we had some more amazing beauty, a short walk through botanical gardens with fresh lychee that C really liked!

We drove to the North Shore and saw some of the major surfing beaches and then began our drive back towards the highway. There were some sea turtles basking in the sun that caused a small traffic jam so we got a quick peak at them as well.

All in all, this was an amazing day to appreciate the beauty of Oahu.