Zack earned his third President’s Club trip in his career and this year, the trip brought us back to Hawaii! We feel so incredibly blessed to be given the opportunity to travel and are thankful for Zack’s provision for our family through his hard work and commitment to trusting God with each employment decision throughout his career. On Tuesday, we spent the whole day traveling from NC to GA and one big 9 hour flight across the country to Hawaii! We were excited to be given leis as soon as we got off the plane and then the resort promptly drove us to our home away from home for the next four days on the island of Maui!
The first night we had a welcome dinner! The sunsets in Maui do not disappoint! I think sunsets in Hawaii are my favorite!
On our first full day (Wednesday), we had a jeep rental…. We got to explore the island of Maui! We went back to the area we stayed at in 2023… enjoying a run on the trail we had frequented last time and grabbing a coffee drink from one of the local establishments in the western Maui area we enjoyed during our last stay on the island.
Southeastern Division Reception (Wednesday night)
On Thursday we had a kayak and snorkeling adventure! We got to swim with at least five sea turtles and saw some more turtles resting in the bay after we came back with our kayaks. I have always wanted to see sea turtles in the wild so this was definitely a highlight of the trip! Also, while we were kayaking, our guide spotted a pod of dolphins in front of us, making the excursion even more enjoyable as they moved in and out of the water! When we got back to the resort, we ate lunch al fresco at one of the restaurants on their property. It is so crazy to have everything paid for! Thursday evening, we celebrated all the President’s Club winners with a cocktail reception, dinner and an awards ceremony! I love my favorite President’s Club winner! He has won this award three different times and the last two have been consecutive years. He works so incredibly hard for our family and I’m thankful we can celebrate him!
On Friday, we enjoyed a leisurely day by the pool. We tried the various water slides on property and took advantage of the lazy river. I was able to read a book while sitting poolside (something that doesn’t happen when two cute boys are with me at the pool). That evening, we had dinner on our own. We got a reservation with a table on the water. It was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed time chatting with Zack after all the company events the last few days.
Snapped this picture below from the walking trail
Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa Restaurant
We finished out our time in Maui with a delicious breakfast and then headed to the airport to island hop, the next destination being the Garden Island, Kauai! Before our home rental was ready, we grabbed a bite to eat at Lava Lava Beach Club right on the water and walked around the little town where we were staying (Kapaa). After a quick change of clothes, we drove up north to see Secret Beach before the sunset on our first night in Kauai.
Our view from our lanai
For our first full day in Kauai, we headed to the west side of the island (we are staying on the east/southern side) to check out the Na Pali coast on a boat and snorkeling tour! We enjoyed snorkeling in a beautiful reef area, saw the incredible sights (including inside caves) on our speed boat and got to have up close encounters with spinner dolphins (at least 50 in the pod) and whales (4 in their pod)! Both aquatic mammals swam around or even under our boat as we snapped pictures and videos! It was incredible! It was late in the season to see whales so our captain and all of the passengers were quite pleased with this little detour off shore to see them up close!
About 10 minutes away from the harbor of our boat tour, we drove up to Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of Hawaii) and it did not disappoint with its breathtaking views! We enjoyed some local cuisine in between all our sightseeing.. tacos, traditional Hawaiian fare and shaved ice (I got the colada special… think pina colada shaved ice on top of a scoop of macadamia ice cream)…. Everything has been delicious!
For our final day in Kauai, we enjoyed a kayak on the Wailua River and a hike to a beautiful waterfall! Our guide prepared lunch for us while we took a dip in the very cold pool at the base of the waterfall. Zack and I made our way behind the waterfall to get the full effect. Then, we hiked back to our kayaks and made our way back to our destination by way of the river. It is absolutely beautiful here! It’s hard to believe we were in Hawaii for a week! We fit so much in and are incredibly grateful for the opportunity of this trip! A special shoutout to Grammy and Grandpa for getting the boys to and from school and to all their various extracurricular activities while we have been gone! Zander’s team came in as runner up at their soccer tournament while we were away. He was very excited to get a medal and the cousins came to cheer him on at the Saturday afternoon game!
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