A Maui state of mind

My latest travels have taken me far west - to Hawaii.  This was my 3rd trip to Hawaii, so to say that it is my choice location for a vacation is an understatement.  In past trips I have gone to Oahu and stayed on Waikiki Beach.  While I've always enjoyed Oahu, there were a few things that tempted me to try out a new island.
Last time we were in Oahu, we rented a Jeep and traveled to the opposite side of the island.  We discovered a quiet, peaceful and lush countryside that does not exist at Waikiki Beach - it was really nice to not feel so crowded.  Also in 2010, we had considered going to Maui over Thanksgiving break to watch the OU basketball team play in a tournament - it never happened but the seed had been planted in my head.  So in the beginning of 2011 when I decided I wanted to run a marathon and was looking for the perfect one to run - it seemed fate that there was one on Maui in January.  Plan in action!  For the next year we planned and drooled over Maui waiting for the day to come.  I registered for the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in May and things were final.  Along the way, I ended up with a stress fracture in my foot and the marathon dream went up in smoke - but that is a story for another blog (see here if you are interested...).
So anyways - short story long, Maui was the dream vacation that came true.  For a whole week during the cold January winter (minus the cold since it has been an average 60* the last month) we spent time on the beach getting a tan and enjoying some whale watching.  I aim to share some great photography and stories in hopes of making you all jealous - or just to give those who can't get away right now something to get lost in.  Hopefully this will only take a couple of weeks to write, but no promises - I am on island time after all!

Maui Sunset