On our second day in Maui we woke up at 3:30 AM to drive The Road to Hana. Justin was hoping to make it to this east coast town by 6 AM so that we would be able to watch the beautiful sunrise together. However, little did we understand at the time, this is a LONG road, which switches often from two lanes to one, and has continuous curves the entire way...oh and...the speed limit is 15 mph for most of the way! This is not for those, like me, with an ever so slightly off equilibrium!
As Justin was speeding along these continuous switchbacks to try to beat the sun...it slowly began to rise along the way. We were bummed but still determined to have a great day! We reached Wai'anapanapa State Park at about 6:45 AM only to find out that it doesn't even open until 7:30! By this time, we were starving hungry and decided to continue on into Hana and see what it was all about and more importantly grab a bite to eat.
Hana is a small town on the east coast of Maui. When I say small, I mean small! Every "city" building in Hana is green...and literally if you were to blink too long you would definitely miss it!
This is Hana... Just in one building, you had the real estate office, town bank, and post office side by side! Another building was a restaurant, and another a general store. There was one small gas station where we paid $3.90 for gas.
We could not find an open restaurant...or just a restaurant really for that matter... to save our hunger. We finally found a resort hotel as we were driving down the road, and the smell of breakfast food quickly consumed our convertible. They still didn't open for another 20 minutes but we patiently waited it out. Breakfast was soooooo yummy! I had pancakes with coconut syrup and a fresh cup of Kona Coffee. Justin had an omlet & potatoes. It was a bit spendy...but by this point we were so hungry, with such limited options, that we didn't really care.
Once we were done eating, we made our way back to Wai'anapanapa State Park. This park has the most beautiful black sand beach in all of Maui! We arrived shortly after 8 AM and had this small beach cove all to ourselves. It was absolutely gorgeous!
After sitting and admiring the beautiful landscape for some time, and taking a lot of pictures of course, I went to play and write some things in the sand. I would write and then snap pictures and was basically caught up in my own little world with a stick in one hand and a camera in the other.
I thought Justin asked me to go and get something out of my backpack...but he says I meandered back that way all on my own. As I was heading back towards our stuff, I began to notice something in the sand that I hadn't written. As I slowly approached the words, I looked hard to try to make out what they said. Once I realized what they said I started jumping up and down with a smile on my face from ear to ear! I turned around to see where Justin was and he was already down on one knee with the ring box out and a smile across his face. For being "unspontaneous" the proposal completely caught me off guard.
Of course I said YES!
This is my Hawaiian engagement ring. It is so pretty! We bought this ring while we were there, since my real engagment ring does not yet have the center diamond. How lucky am I?!?!
Shortly afterwards, people started showing up to the beach here and there...and within an hour or so...it was busting at the seams with tourists. We did some exploring in and around the lava rocks and lava tubes and then headed on our way south for some more adventures.
Now as "Snickerdoodle" put it... We will soon be JD2.
It is our hope to get married on this beach, one year from today, in the presence of immediate family.
Makena Cove, Maui, Hawaii
April 2, 2010
Anyways, this is my super hot fiancee...
and his soon to be bride.
We can't wait to share our lives together!
As Justin was speeding along these continuous switchbacks to try to beat the sun...it slowly began to rise along the way. We were bummed but still determined to have a great day! We reached Wai'anapanapa State Park at about 6:45 AM only to find out that it doesn't even open until 7:30! By this time, we were starving hungry and decided to continue on into Hana and see what it was all about and more importantly grab a bite to eat.
Hana is a small town on the east coast of Maui. When I say small, I mean small! Every "city" building in Hana is green...and literally if you were to blink too long you would definitely miss it!
This is Hana... Just in one building, you had the real estate office, town bank, and post office side by side! Another building was a restaurant, and another a general store. There was one small gas station where we paid $3.90 for gas.
We could not find an open restaurant...or just a restaurant really for that matter... to save our hunger. We finally found a resort hotel as we were driving down the road, and the smell of breakfast food quickly consumed our convertible. They still didn't open for another 20 minutes but we patiently waited it out. Breakfast was soooooo yummy! I had pancakes with coconut syrup and a fresh cup of Kona Coffee. Justin had an omlet & potatoes. It was a bit spendy...but by this point we were so hungry, with such limited options, that we didn't really care.
Once we were done eating, we made our way back to Wai'anapanapa State Park. This park has the most beautiful black sand beach in all of Maui! We arrived shortly after 8 AM and had this small beach cove all to ourselves. It was absolutely gorgeous!
After sitting and admiring the beautiful landscape for some time, and taking a lot of pictures of course, I went to play and write some things in the sand. I would write and then snap pictures and was basically caught up in my own little world with a stick in one hand and a camera in the other.
I thought Justin asked me to go and get something out of my backpack...but he says I meandered back that way all on my own. As I was heading back towards our stuff, I began to notice something in the sand that I hadn't written. As I slowly approached the words, I looked hard to try to make out what they said. Once I realized what they said I started jumping up and down with a smile on my face from ear to ear! I turned around to see where Justin was and he was already down on one knee with the ring box out and a smile across his face. For being "unspontaneous" the proposal completely caught me off guard.
Of course I said YES!
This is my Hawaiian engagement ring. It is so pretty! We bought this ring while we were there, since my real engagment ring does not yet have the center diamond. How lucky am I?!?!
Shortly afterwards, people started showing up to the beach here and there...and within an hour or so...it was busting at the seams with tourists. We did some exploring in and around the lava rocks and lava tubes and then headed on our way south for some more adventures.
Now as "Snickerdoodle" put it... We will soon be JD2.
It is our hope to get married on this beach, one year from today, in the presence of immediate family.
Makena Cove, Maui, Hawaii
April 2, 2010
Anyways, this is my super hot fiancee...
and his soon to be bride.
We can't wait to share our lives together!
3 comments:
Congratulations Jami and Justin~ We are so excited for you and love you very much! Can't wait to see how this year unfolds, and to be part of your special day, as you share your vows with each other on the beach of Maui, 364 days from today! Love, Mom and Bill
What a beautiful story for two very special people. We are so excited for the both of you. May your relationship always be filled with love, trust and honesty. Congrats!
The Gustavson's
Congrats...even if it isn't with my Justin.
Jess, Nathan and Justin Cook
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