a little interisland travel

the next morning was spent getting all of our stuff packed up for a quick half hour flight to maui, where we'd spend the next four days on the ka'anapali side of the island.  we still had some groceries left over, including a full bottle of champagne that the old lady and i shared as we packed.  i'd never found time to actually cook anything, and so these were last items that i tucked away in my suitcase:

we managed to get all five suitcases into the trunk of our rented chevy equinox and squeezed ourselves into the seats for the drive to the airport.

getting checked in was easy breezy, and then we had a little time to kill before boarding the plane.

and then it was time for our flight.

never mind how ridiculous i looked with my hair up like that.  oh, and i seem to have a ton of shots like this, snuck in by the bean every time i handed her my phone for a picture:

the flight was even quicker than flying to vegas.  i don't think there was even time for a drink.  and as we approached the island i looked out the window and noticed how different it was from o'ahu:

this time, the hub opted to upgrade our rental car to a ford explorer so that we'd all have more room and not have to use a shoehorn to get all of us seated.  the drive from the airport was about 40 minutes, and then we arrived at the papakea resort.  as soon as we opened the door we knew it was going to be a very different experience from the luxurious condo we'd enjoyed in ko'olina.  still spacious, but a little...dated.

this was our room:

the old lady and her special friend got this one:

and at the top of those stairs was a loft that the bean got to have all to herself.  as you can see, she was perfectly happy with her accommodations despite the fact that instead of central air, there was only a single wall unit that we all prayed would keep us all cool and comfortable (spoiler:  it didn't).

once we were all settled in, we decided to hop back into the car and drive around to get an idea of our surroundings.  we found a grocery store in nearby napili and picked up a bunch of drinks and snacks.  after we dropped everything off, it was time to take another quick drive to lahaina to meet up with some friends.  one of our girl scout troop families moved to maui last year, and we always said that if we ever made it out we'd make sure to hit them up for dinner.  we were happy to make good on that promise, meeting up at cheeseburger in paradise right on the beach.

what better way to chat and get caught up with old friends than over nachos and burgers?

after we'd gobbled down all of our grub, we headed down the street to grab some dessert in the form of "adult shave ice."  i never knew such a thing existed, but i'm so glad they introduced it to us because it was pretty damn delicious.  we went with the mudslide and the piña colada.

and then we headed down the street a bit and hit up the little ice cream shop for the girls.

it was a pretty awesome way to kick off the maui leg of our trip.  and so wonderful to reconnect with our friends!  gotta love hawaiian vacay.