Bitten by the Bug

I think I have just been bitten by the travel bug!
All I can think about is "Where to go next?" It doesn't help the matter that I just got my raise and bonus, so when I returned from Maui I actually had more money in my bank account then I left with! (So in my mind, travelling MAKES you money ;) hehe!)

I'm surfing Flickr viewing other people's vacation photos, and WOW, our world is a beautiful place! Everywhere you go, has something beautiful to offer, seriously... you just have to LOOK to find it!
Like example, check out this picture I found today:
WOW! The water is so brilliant, it almost looks FAKE!

I think I want to do an African Safari someday... Oh my... that's a pretty BIG vacation compared to Maui!! Dream BIG :)

(and for more on my Maui trip, read my UPDATED post here!)
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Back, in full GLOW!

I am back from my week in paradise (Maui) and it was absolutely fantastic! *Please check out my FLICKR page, as I am uploading more pics of Maui every night.* I had over 5GB of data(photos and videos) from my short 8 day vacation... can't even imagine what it would be like after a 2 week trip! ;)

Here's a little itinerary and commentary of what we spent out time doing for those 8 days:
Day 0 - Left Calgary and flew to Maui on Air Canada.. arrived in Maui at ~8pm loca time, got our rental car (convvertible Jeep with GPS navigation) and headed to our Hotel. Had a bit of an "Amazing Race" moment, when we couldn't find our room key (due to our late check in)... but in the end, my inquiring mind prevailed and we finally got into our room, plopped down our bags, and fell fast alsleep!
Day 1 - West Maui Drive/sight seeing - We decided to start our vacation off rather tame, with a drive around West Maui. Such cool sights, and a very interesting road also.
Day 2 - South Maui Hike - We drove south through Makena to the Makena State Park and to the Ahini-Kinau Natural Area Reserve. It was a scortching hot day, and we actually wanted to get to the Kings Highway, but only managed to complete half of the hike, due to the heat!
Day3 - Hana Highway - By far the BEST part of the trip for me!!! I loved this road, so narrow and curvy! I loved the scenery, so green and tropical! I loved the vendors on the side of the road (banana bread and fresh pinapple, YUM!) And when you actually get to Hana... you're in for a treat! Awesome day!
Day 4 - Haleakala Crater - We decided to hike into the crater... wow, what an impressive geological feature! This hike nearly killed us... the hitch-hiking at the end back to our Jeep was priceless!
Day 5 - Beach day and shopping - True relaxation and vacationing... we burnt ourselves pretty bad, was it worth it? Heck yes!
Day 6 - Lahaina and Iao Valley - This was another highlight of Maui for me... too bad Collin wasn't in the mood for any more walking around sight seeing, so I had to explore the valley on my lonesome. Very lush greenery, obviously one of the wetter areas of Maui. A must see!
Day 7 - Fly home to Calgary (Approximately 10 hours flight time). We sat in the airport lounge waiting for our 9:00pm flight, and wow, the Kahului airport has the WORST food avalible on the Island, hands down!!! I couldn't even drink my concerns away, because their Tropical drinks were equally as horrible!!! I DO NOT recommend spending any time at the airport pre-flight (also souveniers/duty free goods were lame there too... way better shopping at the markets around the Island!)

Hiking and MAUI!

Click on the map for more a better view of the hiking trails in Maui...
I am getting REALLY excited now! Only 1 FULL week left before we leave!
:-D
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Snow Day!

I took a snow day today, I just don't think it's worth attempting to fight the snow drifts and freezing temperatures (-32oCelcius, but -44oC with the windchill!!!)
I don't have too much pressing work to do at work anyways... But I will check my email from home! (Working??)

I was given a book from my friend called "Maui Revealed" which is a guide book of the island of Maui written by the locals. It's great, and chock full of so much useful information (and maps!) This will be a great resource for planning our days activities!!!

(And trust me, with these temperatures I am SO ready to sit on a beach!!!)
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Everyone's doing it, why can't we?

So, I found out that an old friend of mine from Edmonton is going to be in Maui the same time as I am!?! And we are staying on the same side of the island!?!?! Seriously WEIRD!

I asked her what her plans were for her holiday... (they are going to be there for 2 weeks though... we are only going for 1!) It turns out we have very different itineraries for our holidays, but hopefully we can meet up one evening for a bite and drinks! (or maybe the Luau!)

Back to planning!.....

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Holiday! Celebrate!

I am FREAKING OUT right now! Collin confirmed to me that he's allowed to take a week off of his holidays (paid) in February! So, we're going to MAUI!!! I'm so excited!!!
(OK, I thought we were going to Maui until I found out how much Maui costs! Holy crapola! The flight alone would be around $1700 per person! WTF? I had no idea Hawaii cost so much to get to! )

Currently, we have about a month to get all our shizz in order, so hopefully we figure out where we want to go and what we want to do by then... I'm thinking a Travel Agent is required for this trip, especially since neither Collin nor I has ever gone on an over-seas trip yet.
Anyone got any advice on travel agents?

Where ever we end up going, I know this is going to be a Bon Voyage!!!! :)
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