In April, we found cheap flights to Maui ($177 round trip, cheap!) and couldn't pass it up. Garner called me at work and we decided to be spontaneous and book it right then. We have always loved our subscription to Scott's Cheap Flights - there is both a free and premium version - and this was our first time to actually book some cheap flights! They were also on United for all the skeptics (hi, dad) who think you're going to be on a sketchy airline or be gypped at the last minute.
A few weeks later and we were off to Hawaii for five nights! We booked an Airbnb in Lahaina that ended up being the perfect location. It wasn't super fancy but it was close to everything we wanted to do/see and had a nice pool.
We enjoyed vacationing on a "flex schedge" which is an itinerary that's flexible (thanks for the term, Meredith!). We lounged by the pool and beautiful beaches some days, had the chance to catch up with some college friends (hi, Ashton and John!), loved having a spa relaxation day at the Hyatt and had some adventures thrown in too.
Maui was our second time scuba diving together and we LOVED it! We saw dozens of turtles and even a 6-foot reef shark (scary but also cool). Our two dives were at Turtle Cove and Mala Pier which are rated some of the top locations in the world.
We also visited a lavender farm and an organic vodka distillery. The lavender tea and scones were amazing. We chased them with Ocean vodka made from sugarcane (who knew that was a thing?!) and learned how it's made from super pure water on the ocean floor.
The food in Maui was amazing too. Our favorite restaurants were Fleetwood Mac's (live music!), Sensei and Mama's Fish House. We also couldn't get enough of the yummy shaved ice!
After five days of pure paradise, we headed back to reality. Huge thanks to Scott's Cheap Flights for flagging this amazing deal!
This post is dedicated to Katie Winter - my intelligent, encouraging, beautiful and kind supervisor who was also a mentor and dear friend to me. After battling stage four breast cancer the past four years, she sadly passed away last week. She was strong, positive and always put others before herself... even planning a bridal shower for me from her hospital bed. Katie was often my go-to person for advice, whether that was regarding my career, blog posts (she always supported and read this blog!) or travel plans. She loved Maui so much and encouraged Garner and I to take this spontaneous trip, even supplying us with dozens of fabulous recommendations. Thank you, Katie, for always being a light to everyone. You are dearly missed.