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!)

Vacation is over :(

I'm back from my glorious 11 days off! However, I think I'm more stressed out now then I was before I left though! LOL
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I think I've got some sort of hyper-tension or high blood presure going on... because before I go to sleep every night (while I was on vacation also) I have to take a lot of big deep breaths before my body feels settled. I am making a doctors appointment today because this issue has been worrying me for some time now. Considering I'm a reasonably active and healthy person, it concerns me that I'm having heart issues. (Is it a heart issue, or a breathing issue??? I don't get it completely!) My sister warned me that my Dad and my Grandmother on my Mom's side both have high blood pressure (as does my Brother!) so she said it might just be that... Genetics! Booo!

Back to work today, feels weird to have to get up so early. I'm sure I'll be back to the old routine in no time!

(PS... I already miss my niece and nephew and Sister and Brother-in-law!!!