As we on the East Coast continue to wait for spring, I’ve heard several friends mention that they are planning trips to Hawaii this year! That made me realize that I’m still sitting on some beautiful memories from our trip to Maui back in June, and there has never been a better time to reminisce about them than when we’re just waiting for snow to melt at the end of March. You may recognize one of these photos from our Christmas card, but here are the rest!
Caftan: Lilly circa 2010. Similar here and here.
Sailing holds a very special place in my heart. My grandpa has always loved to sail (and I believe his dad did too before that), and my dad and uncles have carried on that passion. When I was a little girl in early elementary school, my dad got me a Hobie Wave he named “The Lady Catherine” and taught me how to sail it. I flipped it several times, resulting in a few falls into some swampy ponds in Southeast Missouri, but when possible, we sailed it on Kentucky Lake for a much nicer experience. Taking a sailing lesson to brush up on my jibing and coming about is on my 30 before 30 list, and I still have my fingers crossed I can make it happen this year!
One evening, we booked the Lahaina Champagne Sunset and Performance Sail with Sail Maui kind of spur of the moment, and it ended up being my favorite thing we did in Hawaii. The crew was friendly, the scenery was obviously stunning, and the ride was exciting. It was a fairly small catamaran with a small group on it, so it reminded me of my Hobie Wave days. The best sailing for me is definitely on a smaller vessel so you can feel the waves and get splashed. Sometimes the boat can jump up in the air over a wave resulting in a huge splash over the hulls, and it’s exhilarating.
A note: this is NOT what I recommend you wear on a sailing cruise on a small boat. This caftan is silk and was stuck to me like glue for most of our ride. I knew this would probably happen, but I had been waiting six years to wear this thing in Hawaii, and I was running out of evenings. If you’re looking to be comfortable and have fun, wear a swimsuit and something waterproof or cotton, like Will did.
We had the best time out on the water watching all the other sailboats and stunning scenery go by. The route was north up the western coast of Maui, so we got to see all the fun evening excitement of the Ka’anapali area from the water. We ended up back in Lahaina at the dock where we started just as the sun was slipping completely away. It was pretty magical.
The surfers were getting a few more rides in at the very last moment. Those brave souls. I would be scared of sharks!
You can see all of our Maui adventures here!
