Maui's Roads Less Traveled: East Kapalua and Makena Point

There are those adventures that everyone hears about on Maui: Road to Hana, the Summit of Haleakala, and, of course, the beaches all over the island.  There are also a few that aren't as often talked about but are equally as fun and adventurous.  While we were in Maui, we took two of these drives: up through West Maui to Kapalua and down East Maui to Makena Point.

If you look at Maui on the map, there are roads that follow the northern shores of the west and east sides of the island.  Both roads start near the airport, in the central valley of Maui.  The eastern road is one of the most well-known adventures in Hawaii: the Road to Hana, but the west side is definitely a hidden gem.  For the first part of our trip, we stay up in Kapalua, so we decided to take that windy road to our hotel on the first day we got there.  There's almost nothing up there, but the views are amazing, and FYI, the road is not for the faint of heart stomach.  If you had trouble with the Road to Hana, I might not suggest this trip.  However, if you like one-lane roads with tons of switchbacks, blind curves, and no guard rails, make sure you (have a Jeep, a few full afternoon, and) take this drive!

We went at the perfect time of day to see an amazing sunset over the mountains!  Plus, we made friends with a whole herd of cattle. 

One of the days we stayed in Wailea, we continued driving south to Makena Point to walk along the lava fields.  It was the most amazing scenery!  The walk was pretty easy, and if you like snorkeling, this is definitely the place to do it. I would definitely suggest getting there early because there isn't much parking, and the spots fill up quickly!

Top 5 Macadamia Nut Lattes on Maui

We are really just going backwards in time on this blog! I still have a few more posts to share from our babymoon in February (here's where we stayed, all about the Road to Hana, and the road trip up Haleakala).  When we went to Oahu two years ago, I fell in love with everything macadamia nut, especially lattes.  The coffee is so good on Hawaii, and this time around, I made sure to save all of my caffeine consumption for these amazing lattes.  We went to a bunch of different coffee shops while we were on Maui, and these were my five favorites:

1. Sip Me, Kahului - When we got off the plane (and were severly jet lagged), our first stop was to Sip Me, right near the airport.  It was my absolute favorite of the trip (so much that we went back on the day we left), and it was Mike's favorite coffee, too.  This location used to be an old bank, so you can still order through the drive thru teller window or sit in the vault in the back!

2. Maui Coffee Roasters, Kahului - This was one of the more low-key spots we visited, but they had the best whole bean coffee.  We brought a bunch back for ourselves and friends.  It was also my favorite cold brew (aaaand we went to this one twice, too).

3. Akamai Coffee Co, Kihei - This shop is the Instagrammer's dream.  They have the cutest set up, and that white swing is just begging to be photographed.  Akamai has a few locations (that seems to be a theme on Maui!), but this one was my favorite - mostly for the decor.  Everyone was so friendly. too.

4. Island Vintage Coffee, Lahaina - This one was a repeat from Oahu.  Across the street from our hotel in Ko Olina there was an Island Vintage, so when I saw this one, I knew we had to stop.  It wasn't my absolute favorite latte, but the acai bowls and breakfast sandwiches make it worth the trip.  It's also in the cutest shopping area (complete with the island's Lilly Pulitzer store across the way). 

4. Kai Cafe, Kapalua - Kai is located in the Ritz-Carlton at Kapalua, where we stayed for the first five days.  It was super easy to grab a couple drinks and go, but my favorite item was the brown butter old fashioned donut.  It was amazing!  If you're road tripped around Kapalua and looking for a fuel up, this is the place to go. 

Charleston Maternity Photos

Now that I'm back from my blogging hiatus (here's my last post with all of our baby photos, if you missed it!), I figured I would go back and share all of the things that I skipped out on, not blogging regularly for the last few months of my pregnancy.  What better way to start than with our maternity photos!  Ashleigh from Following Seas Photography (who took our newborn photos and did a 3 year anniversary shoot with us a couple years ago), spent an afternoon around Charleston with us about a month and a half before Calvin was born.  Looking back on it, I have no idea how that belly kept growing for 6 more weeks after this - I look huge. 

One of the best pieces of advice I got from one of my friends in regard to photos while pregnant was to wear short or long sleeves.  I planned on wearing a sleeveless dress, and I'm so glad I didn't because I felt a little self-conscious of that specific weight gain - haha!  I absolutely loved this dress and felt so confident in it - totally necessary with thirty pounds of weight gain!  Here's a link to the dress I wore (they also have it in lilac here).  Old Navy was my go-to for maternity dresses when I was pregnant, and I got this one and this one, too.  One thing I will tell you is not to be afraid to order more than one size at a time.  Their dresses all fit differently (some have tags that say "fitted" on them, but that's not noted on the website, so you don't know until you get them).  Even though they don't carry the maternity line at their stores (except for a few items in the clearance section that are returns), you can return it there.  I hate the post office and returning online orders!  As for Mike, he wore a button down that he got when we went to the Masters the week prior. 

Welcome, Calvin Michael

Hello, friends!  It's been a hot minute, huh?  Well, if you've been following along on Instagram, you know why I've been so MIA - Calvin Michael arrived 6 weeks ago on May 22nd at 2:21am, weighing 8 lbs 6oz and measuring 22 inches long.  I was induced beginning on May 19th, and it took two and a half days for our little guy to decide he was ready to make his appearance. 

Mike, Calvin, and I have had the best 6 weeks at home, and we are loving our new normal.  I thought I would share a few of our newborn photos (knowing full well that I need to go back and share a bunch of posts, even including our maternity photos - haha).  I hope to get back into blogging over the next month or so, but it will probably be at a much slower pace.  If you want to see more photos of our Cal Pal and keep up with what we've been doing, I would definitely suggest following on Instagram - click here. 

Photos taken by Ashleigh at Following Seas Photography and name swaddle from Sugar House Swaddles.