Merry Christmas to us! In December, my parents gave Erin, Steve, Branden and I airplane tickets to the fabulous island of Maui as a Christmas present. A big THANK YOU to Patty & John for being wonderful parents to Erin and I....for being an incredible "papa" and "gigi" to Raleigh...AND for opening your doors to the men in our lives, S & B. 
A little history...in March of 08', Steve popped the question to Erin at the top of Haleakala. They married three years ago. We hadn't been back since, and it was due time. This trip was Branden's first time to the Hawaiian Islands, and boy was he in for some fun. Eight WHOLE nights with the Coffey-Clan. Youuu betcha'! Read on for the adventures that ensued...
The family-time actually commenced on Saturday, April 28th, when we celebrated Raleigh's 1st Birthday (pictures to follow on a later post--hopefully?!) down in Kent, WA. The party was a success! Raleigh was blessed to have soo many friends and family to join in the fun. Thank you all for making the trek to the Rinabarger household.
On Sunday morning, my parents picked up Branden and I at 6:30am and headed to SeaTac. The suitcase that I had stayed up until 1:00am packing, ended up weighing 49.5lbs. The lady in line behind me offered her congratulations on such a packing achievement. Branden, on the other hand, carried on a backpack (that's it, that's all-nothing more to it). He is obviously NOT a Coffey.
The plane took off at 8:25am and we were in Maui at 11:30am (remember, the islands were 3 hours behind). Gaining hours and going to Hawaii is awesome. Losing hours and coming back home to Seattle - not as fun. The first step in the adventure was a trip to Costco. And yes, it was quite the ummm...adventure. When traveling to Hawaii (or anywhere for that matter), my parents prefer to stay in and cook...rather than spend crazy amounts of $$$ at "tourist trap-like" restaurants. Instead, we spent crazy amounts of $$$ at Costco, but at least we can say we were able to enjoy a lovely $1.25 lunch. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you've never lived. Advice on Costco: buy booze, water, mayonnaise (if your name is John Coffey), salsa and chips. Skip everything else. Safeway or the local farmers markets are just fine...and you aren't forced to throw away hamburger meat that has been defrosted for far too long because we decided to have fish taco's instead.
After Costco, we hopped back into our awesomely-cool white dodge minivan that we shared with Erin/Steve/baby. They wanted to show Branden the Olowalu Plantation House where Erin officially became a Rinabarger. Unfortunately, B (the baby of the bunch, besides Raleigh) was still in school and unable to attend that fabulous soiree. But I digress...We traveled along the Honoapiilani Hwy until we reached our much anticipated destination of the ever-so-windy Kaanapali area. My mom (a travel agent) scored an awesome deal in a 3-bedroom condo at Honua Kai Resort & Spa. Don't let the "spa" word fool you. As of May 2012, there wasn't an actual spa on the property :) We had to wait for a bit until the condo was ready for us. In the meantime, Raleigh almost dove head-first into this about 10x. He just learned to walk a few weeks prior, and the fish and the water were calling his name. This boy was on THE move.
Much to our relief, room 925 was finally ready for us. The condo was superb. We had 3 beds/3 baths, a beautiful view of the ocean and a great big veranda. Side note: Our neighbors in room 927 were leaving the same day we arrived. They left their door wide open for us and we pounced. They had massive amounts of leftover (and unopened) food & drink. I even stole a part of their fridge shelf, because our fridge shelf was missing. Yahtzee!! They totally allowed us to do this, I promise you. Even Patty was in on it, and she isn't even a "potluck" goer. What's trash to some, is a treasure to others.
Before I begin illustrating the trip via photo sharing, I should be upfront with my viewers/readers. My picture taking skills sucked (to put it lightly) during this trip. I don't know what it was, but I do know, my pictures are blurry, shadowy, and any additional negative adjectives that end with a letter "y." I took these pictures using both our inexpensive under-water camera, as well as the fancy schmancy camera. Unfortunately, I can't even tell the difference. UGH! Oh well, at least I have a few (HA!) of my favorites to post :) Also, please don't judge the lack of make-up on us gals, I mean it's Hawaii, who needs make-up, right?!
Pool time! We remained in the 4ft area so I could touch. The pool was warm, kid-filled and a tad hectic. One day some of the fun pools were closed because a swimmer decided to expel his lunch...in the pool. Lame. HEY puker, if your dad was John Coffey, he would have told you several times throughout your life "do not go swimming for ONE hour after eating lunch!" Side note: our lunches during any family vacation is always a tuna fish sandwich, a side of potato chips and a Pepsi...hence the above reference to buying mayonnaise at Costco. Who wants to puke that up in a community swimming pool?
There were other "types" of pools - a wannabee river pool, a sandy pool, and a slide pool. Unfortunately, Steve, Branden & I didn't tackle the slide until the last day. The three of us and 4-year old Kennedy were in a competition to see how many times we could go down the slide. Kennedy's mom finally started yelling for her that pool time was over! Kennedy's mom also looked to be my age. Kennedy's dad looked to be about 65. We won the slide pool competition, obviously...because our mom wasn't telling us that pool time was over. This brings me to explain a game we played on the beach....Is that her husband OR her dad? Is that the child's dad OR grandpa? It was fun to analyze the fellow vacationers. Kaanapali provided an ideal backdrop for such a game :)
Speaking of dads and grandpa's! Let me introduce you to J. Coff. He is a rock star. He got up most mornings at 4:00am, because he just couldn't sleep in (this is typical for Seattle too). He'd walk down to the lobby every morning to get the "digested" version of the New York Times that the hotel provided. He read me passages in the Hawaii Guidebook, telling me what to see and do. He fed Raleigh most meals, because he didn't like him eating Pirate's Booty all day. He slaved away in the kitchen making delicious meals including chicken burgers, fish tacos, stir fry and so on. If anyone knows my dad, they know what a great guy he is. My mom, Erin and I are soo lucky that he is in our lives. Thank GOD (oddly enough), that he didn't become a Catholic priest as planned and instead chose to marry P. Coff. Thank you dad for everything you do for the three ladies in your life. You made our vacation just that much more fantastic!
Thank you papa for feeding me healthy meals , changing my diapers, babysitting me, making me bottles and letting me pull your sunglasses off your face, Love Raleigh.
Beyond Makena! After a "fun-filled, wave jumping, beer drinking, naked-people watching" day at Makena Beach, we decided to keep on driving....on a narrow road through fields of volcanic rock. We passed beautiful mansions that were surrounded by scary fences with video cameras. And many signs that said "KEEP OUT!" Rather then setting off the house alarms, I decided to only take a picture of my dream house while the car was moving. I know it's not the most beautiful, elegant thing on the block, but that deck. OH man that deck was AMAZing. On the way back, we saw some pretty little animals...can you spot them above?
Raleigh John! You might think I'm addicted this to little guy. And there is total truth to that. I am. I love my nephew. Especially right after waking up in the morning...while dressed in his little onesie's...his curly blond (used to be red) hair is flopped all over the place. He has this sleepy eye look. It's too cute for words. See middle picture. This was his second, but longest airplane trip and he did fantastic. Raleigh was a little squirmy because he had just learned to "officially" walk a few weeks prior to Hawaii. He made a friend on the plane. A 6-month old named Brighton. He was taller/bigger than Raleigh. Pretty much dominated my baber. Remember, Raleigh just turned 1 the day before the flight! Steve, we know Erin hit on you at the LAX Airport because you're handsome, funny, energetic, friendly and TALL. With that said.... here's to hoping & praying! Raleigh, we'll love you just the same though, if you end up like your sissy and are only 4'11".
The Road to Hana! After much debate (literally, on Facebook)....we decided to do the Road to Hana. We departed at 5:30am in the good ole' minivan. I should preface the story by stating that this trip was Attempt # 2. The first attempt followed a night of heavy drinking. And by heavy, I mean....several Vodka/Crystal Light Smoothies for moi. And a lot of everything for Branden. The plus side: I beat Branden and Steve at 3-card poker that night on several occasions.
I'm glad we left that early on Attempt # 2. We were the ONLY people on the road. No joke. But, you have to realize....I had intentions of getting at least some sun-bathing time that afternoon. I'm not much of a dilly dally-er (unless I'm at Forever 21), so I was ready and willing to get up THAT early. It was a little rainy in the morning, but the drive was pretty and lush. I was also a tad loopy (according to B), because I had downed two Dramamines. Needless to say, it wasn't too twisty-turny for me. We bought the R2H Cd prior to the trip. Jamie was the narrator. Jamie had a nice and calming voice. I truly felt like he was in the minivan with us. However, if Jamie tried to convince me ONE MORE TIME to purchase a coffee, shaved ice, banana bread, cookies, and sandwiches from many of the road side attractions, I might have chucked the CD into the Seven Sacred Pools.
I also need to be clear here. B & I weren't very good at this tour. I was the DJ and (without fail) kept mixing up what mileage post we were at with what track we needed to be listening to. At one point (see picture of Branden walking over ledge) we thought we were on a special hike Jamie advised us to take. Ooops! THAT hike was actually another half mile from where we pulled off and we were simply "hiking" on a bamboo logging road. I mean, it was pretty...but I don't think we were supposed to be there.
E & S swore to us newbie Hana road-trippers that "there is no way to go allllll the way around the island." So along the way...I kept saying "oh we'll hit up that site on the way back" or "next time, I'll be on the other side of the road, so I can take better pictures of the coastline." We made it all the way to a Haleakala National Park service stop and asked the woman collecting money: Can we go all the way around? She said, and I quote "I can't tell you to go all the way around, but yes, it is doable." Naturally, we wanted to prove my big sister & Steve wrong :)
The Road from Hana! Insert happy dance! We proved them wrong. Mind you, they had done the trip three years prior and yes, it wasn't doable because a big old monster rock sat in the middle of the road. The coast was now clear...the above pictures were taken on the trek from the other side of Hana back to our safe & comfortable condo. As suspected, we bypassed pretty much everything that was site-seeing worthy. Like I said, we weren't good tourists. Literally, the only times were stopped the car were for the incorrect "hike" we went on, bathroom breaks on the side of the road (tmi?) and to stop at a perfectly edible (literally) organic farm.
Branden dumped me right then and there and stayed behind. He fell in love. Big time. The Laulima Farm is nestled in the hillside. The sign out front (see picture above) caught our attention. We toured a bit of the property, asked a few questions about the operations of the farm & purchased some homemade marmalade & a catnip toy - for our babies at home. Side note: the women who made the cat toy (who also worked/lived on the farm) was on her way to the midwife to have a baby. How could I resist buying that toy after hearing such a story. The cats do not play with the $8 toy, but it was worth every penny.
Branden didn't actually leave me at this point on the trip, however he was [this] close to. I fell in love with the landscape on the return. The roads were wonderful and easy....except at one point, when we almost tipped the van. Don't tell P & J. I'm glad I did the trip, but I don't think I'd ever do it again. How do you like that for an opinion?!
Landscape Pictures Round 1! The first full morning of being at the condo, we went on a long walk along Kaanapali - checking out rival hotels, stealing kitties, buying quicksilver hats, all while slowly getting burned on the feet (ahem Branden). Yes it's true. Branden got burned on day ONE, dangnabbit. This is what I feared. My Irish-Scottish-German-fair skinned boyf let the sun get the best of him. He managed the rest of the trip, taking breaks throughout the day, but his skin is no match for my Irish-French background. Thanks mama! Sorry Erin, you got daddy-o's skin....
B & I also went on a little road trip with my parents to Napili and to Honulua Bay (and many stops in between). Patty stayed in the car the whole time. At some of the lookouts, she would open up her door and stick her feet out, but for the most part..my dad played tour guide, B & I listened intently and Patty was just being.....Patty. We did score some HUGE avocado's at a little market along the way for only $1.99! I could hardly believe the size of these things. Apparently, we are paying an arm and leg here on the mainland.
My Seester & Steve, and of course the baber! I love my family, a lot. Not sure if it's obvious enough with my weekly Raleigh Wednesday pictures on Facebook, or the fact that these picture sessions are always followed up with a weekly dinner. Simply put - my family is my life. A little background on Erin & Steve. A few years back (while I was in college), Erin was traveling from LAX to Seattle. While in the security line, Erin hit on Steve because she was attracted to him. Oddly enough, Steve was also a graduate of WSU but a few years younger. They dinned in the moonlight at Denny's (or was it Shari's?) after landing in Seattle and it was love at first site. They dated, married, had a baby and I love all three of them.
Roommate! I can just picture him cringing right about NOW. I had to do it though. I kinda like the guy. Now... we've traveled together before, so you would think it'd be no big woop this time around. But again, let me remind you---it was a family trip. If you know my family, then you'd understand. We are a tight-knit bunch. We know everything about each other. We talk and do group emails every day. If you forget to give a birthday/Christmas/Halloween card, you might be ousted from the family. My sister and I still have sleepovers at my parents. My dad will make us pancakes and waffles the next morning. He'll even heat up a "real" maple syrup and a "fake" maple syrup to appeal to both Erin & I. This could go on and on....but the point is, Branden survived The Family Vacation. It's been five years, and thankfully he likes them AND they like him. I am pretty positive that my dad thoroughly appreciates having other men in the household to bond with (besides those that are 1 and younger).
Branden, I'm so glad you were able to experience your FIRST trip to Hawaii with the Coffey's. You know how excited we get about "showing the best places and things off" and this was just the opportunity for us. We hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did. Now, let's starting planning Hawaii 2013! Oh yea, umm after we go backpacking through Vietnam" a Branden-type of trip." Love you bub!
The Famous Blowhole! In all honesty, the only reason why I know it's famous was because of the news. I have a tendency to watch and read depressing stuff...then subsequently have nightmares about it later on. THEN I watch the news again the next day. Even last night at Raleigh Wednesday a.k.a family dinner, I brought up few depressing stories to my family a) the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. killed herself b) a plane crash that took the life of 3 in Kansas, but had one survivor. I mean the latter has a somewhat okay ending. I don't know why I do this, but I do. It's always been this way. Back to the point...I know the blowhole because of this guy. I didn't even know Maui had this "blow hole" and I've been here like six times. As you can see from my pictures above, I kept my distance. You should feel somewhat relieved to only see 3 photos of this Maui land mark. Between Branden & I, there were about 10x this amount of photos actually taken from this same angle. It was actually a really cool hike down to the blow hole, but I'd recommend tennis shoes, oh and to keep your distance. This blowhole is pretty darn powerful and an awesome site to see.
Landscapes....again! Not too much to say here, except I took more pictures...of...the....landscape!
And Finally...My Favorite Picture from the Week! I had to separate this picture from the rest of the Raleigh spread because I wanted to save the best for last. A little cheesy, I know. And I admit to blabbing earlier about how much I love my nephew, but he is too good to be true. His blue eyes, his nose, his big lips (which are non-existent in my family) are just darling. He had a wonderful time on the beach, in the ocean, on his floaty-thing in the pool and he even made friends that were five and six. He is definitely a cool dude. I think his favorite part of the whole trip was being able to run in the hotel hallways. Raleigh wanted to do this FORever. I think it was only like 20 minutes, but it felt like hours.
Disclaimer:
We do not allow Raleigh to drink Malibu Rum. He found this in our recycleables, and it became a toy to him :)
All in all, it was a fabulous trip had by all!
