My 2nd home - Maui

Since 2010, I've been lucky enough to make a name for my business in the Maui area.  I absolutely love everything about Maui.  Well, except for the part that it's so darn expensive!  I've definitely found my own ways to do Maui on a budget as well!

I get asked every few months for my recommendations in Maui.  I wrote this up for a friend and decided to post it here!  I'll definitely be expanding on this post and adding photos in the future, but here is my list of To Dos on the gorgeous island!

Star Noodle - if you do nothing else on this list, please promise me you will eat here!  Our favorite restaurant of all times.  It's in Lahaina, in a weird industrial park - there will be a wait but YUM.  I recommend the Pad Thai and the Asian Pear drink.  Lunchtime/mid-day is best - otherwise expect to wait an hour at least!  You can also get it to go!

The Gazebo - Another do not miss!  Best breakfast ever!  We recommend the pancakes & fried rice.  It's a small restaurant at the back of Napili Shores hotel.  There is an actual line (not just reservations) you have to wait in.  We found that going around 10-11am you miss most of the morning crowd - we still waited 45min.  Wear sunscreen, the wait has no shade (although they do provide umbrellas).  Closes at 2pm.  Take a walk down to the tide pools below after.

Maui Brewing Company - The main brewery is brand new and in Kihei. It's a gorgeous facility and usually has food trucks. I think there is going to a be a restaurant someday. The taphouse is still in Napili and open later. Good food and more good beer.

Trilogy - This is a boating company that does snorkel/scuba tours.  So fun, they take you out all day to two spots and provide lunch and gear.  Pricey.  I recommend the Molokini/Turtle town tour.

Banyan Tree Park - Front Street (the main touristy street in Lahaina) See the largest Banyan tree in the US.

Road to Hana - I highly recommend the guide book Maui Revealed.  It's the best one out there.  Road to Hana is great but will take all day.  I love the Red Sand Beach in Hana the best. (bring your hiking shoes) ***side note: red sand beach is known for is lax attitude, so don't be shocked if you come across full nude sunbathing and smoking of illegal substances.

Coconuts Fish Cafe - in Kihei - best fish tacos! It's also BYOB so stop by the ABC store for a 6 pack of Maui Brewing cans :)

Lava Fields - Head out towards Wailea and keep going...you will eventually hit a one way road (at parts) and in to this massive lava field. At the end is a great spot to see spinner dolphins.  Along the road is a few cool beaches including Big Beach (Makena beach) and Little Beach (a nude beach accessible from Big Beach).  Secret Beach is also over there..small and not so secret but good place to spy on weddings!

Ziplining - Tons of fun but pricey. We did the one at Haleakala. There is also a so-so winery up there you can taste at as well as a pretty Lavender Farm.

Blowhole or Olivine Pools - a decent hike (real shoes, no flip flops) and cool but don't get too close!

Snorkeling - if you want to just snorkel on your own, you can park at the Sheraton in Kaanapali for $8 and its a great place to see fish and turtles. It can get crowded though!

Hula Grill/Barefoot Bar - a but touristy, at the end of Whalers Village (an outdoor mall) but they have killer happy hour, live music and hula dancing.  We loved spending hours here, drinking with our feet in the sand!

Merriman's - if you want a nice romantic dinner, check this place out!  Great view & happy hour

Leoda's Pie Shop - you'll pass it on your way to the West, its in Olowalu.  Delicious pies, great sandwiches/burgers/salads.

Aloha Mixed Plate - down to earth (cheaper) local food, tasty.

Old Lahaina Luau - best one I've been to, very upscale, strong drinks, entertaining.  They are more traditional, so just dancing and no fire shows.

Sansei - Best sushi (popular and $$)

Oregon Coast

June 21-24, 2012
Gearhart, OR

My dad grew up on the Oregon Coast in a small town called Gearhart.  It's very close to Seaside and just a little jaunt from Astoria.  Jason, Alyssa and I took a long weekend to spend with my extended family in the exact house my dad and his siblings grew up in!  A few years ago, we tracked down the owners so this was the 2nd time we rented the home.

It was incredibly rainy the whole weekend - Alyssa was in Heaven!  We flew in to Portland and my parents picked us up to drive the few hours to the coast.  As soon as we arrived, we took the walk out to the chilly beach.

You can see the house in the background

On Friday we checked out the brand new Seaside brewery and I had a yummy crab roll!  They were out of their own beers but had a good selection of other local ones.  After dinner, we walked around cute little Seaside and saw the office building/apartments my Grandparents used to own.  We went back to the house and we relaxed at the house and watched The Goonies & chatted.

On Saturday, we drove all over until we ended up in Astoria.  We went to visit the house where Goonie's was filmed!  It was pretty cool since we just watched it (my first time) the night before.  It was on a small hill and you have to park at the bottom and walk up.  We also drove by the Kindergarten Cop school.

Just missing a pirate ship

After the movie tour, we went to Fort George Brewery and had some great beers and yummy french fries. 

We had to get back to the house because the family was cooking up the food they got that morning - clams and mussels!  It's a family tradition.  What a tasty meal!

After dinner, I photographed each family and we set up the tripod for a group photo!

Cousin Bryan took this one!

My fam - some are missing :)

Our last day, Sunday was quite lazy.  Jason and Alyssa were both addicted to their Hunger Games book.  We said goodbye to everyone and headed back to PDX.  Our plane didn't leave until late so we had time to hit up Hair of the Dog brewery. 

reading buddies

It was nice and relaxing - and rainy!  So glad to catch up with my family :)

Baltimore/DC - Day 4

Monday May 28, 2012

Happy Memorial Day!  We had originally planned to drive over to Alexandria but opted to stay closer and headed to Annapolis for the afternoon.  I had never been!  But first, we had to drop Jason's fed-ex box off in Glen Burnie.

Then we were off!  The drive was short and it was lunch time when we got there.  We ate at Rams Head (which took forever and I wasn't a huge fan of their service) and had more beer. 

This was definitely the hottest day...and even more crowded.  We walked down to the water but couldn't stay in the area too long!  Just too dang hot!

We had to get back to pack for our trip home anyways.  Our flight left at 6pm.  AM dropped us off at the airport and I got a little teary.  Next time I see her in August she will have sprouted an extra human!

We weren't able to sit together on either of the flights which was a total bummer.  It sucked not being able to talk to him!  When we landed in San Diego, a guy accidentally took our black carryon instead of his.  I had to chase him down to baggage claim.  Luckily he was apologetic and we got our bag back!  I'll be keeping a closer eye on that stuff in the future!

Jason's mom and step dad picked us up and we were so exhausted we fell right asleep!

DC/Baltimore - Day 3

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Today was the day we explore Baltimore!  I had been there with AM a few years back but Jason had never been.  Again, we woke up a little later and headed to Btown in the car.   Of course, we had to hit up another brewery!  We went to Pratt Street Ale House where we drank Oliver Brewing beers.  Our waitress was hilarious and I had a yummy Crab mac & cheese (Baltimore is known for their crab)!

After lunch, we took some maternity photos of Ann Marie, specifically at our Blue Door that we shot at years ago :)

 We walked around the Inner Harbor, trying to stay cool.  It was crowded and humid.  We found an It's Sugar store which had hilarious items and tons of candy.  We spent a lot of time in there! 




I had an engagement shoot scheduled for that evening and we had a few hours to waste, so we found a place to have another beer.  The Leinenkugels Beer Garden!  We don't get berryweiss beer in Cali (my college fav) so I had that on tap for the first time in 6 years-ish!  I went to meet my couple at 6:30 while Jason and AM went back to the house.

My shoot went great, we walked around Baltimore and then headed over to Odenton to shoot at the MARC station where their relationship began!  We ended at dark and then a crazy storm came in for a few hours!

They dropped me off at AM's house for the evening where we relaxed for the rest of the night!

Baltimore/DC - Day 2

Saturday May 26, 2012


We slept in a little bit, trying to not get to used to the time change ;-)  We decided to check out Washington DC that day.  Both of us had been there before (me, obviously more times) but there were a few things that Jason didn't see up close when he went.  We opted to do those things.  We grabbed lunch at Jimmy Johns (duh) and AM drove us to the metro station at Greenbelt.  Unfortunately the station was down so we took a shuttle to Ft Trotten and finally boarded the metro to downtown DC.

First stop was the White House. Barack didn't come say hi but we still had to take pics in front of it.

Me, AM and little A

 It was scorching so we stopped for some ice cream bars!  They were yummy until they started dripping everywhere! 

 

We walked over to check out the Monument.  We had hoped it would be open to go up, but I guess it's been closed for a long time now :(  We sat on the grass in the shade of the building and relaxed.

 

We needed to cool down a ton so we stopped at Capitol Brewing.  The beers were just okay. 

Chinatown

 Inside the metro station

We headed back in the Metro after that.   We were all exhausted from the heat (and me from the beer).  AM wanted to show Jason her liquor store which happened to be a rad craft beer place!  He was stoked and bought a ton of beer to ship back. He was happy.

We relaxed the rest of the evening, eating 5 Guys (Jason's first time) and watching TV.

DC/Baltimore Trip - Day 1

Friday, May 25, 2012

Jason and I took a quick Memorial weekend trip to visit my best friend Ann Marie this past weekend.  I can describe the trip in one word: HUMID.  But really, it was fantastic getting to spend time with AM and her preggo glory and see some East Coast sites (and of course, drink some East Coast beer).

We took an11am flight out of San Diego and it took all day to cross the country (short stop in Charlotte).  We arrived around 8:30pm in Baltimore.

Us on the plane

We were starving so AM took us to a brewery near her house called Duclaw.  They go there often and it's actually attached to the local mall.  It was quite crowded!   I got their sampler which included quite a few beers (Below).  I didn't even finish them and I was tipsy.  They had some good ones though!

We went back to AM's house and chatted until 1am before crashing out for the night!

NYC - Day 2

Sunday October 30th, 2011

Day two was soooo much better!  The major snow storm had passed.  There was still snow on the ground and it was chilly but much easier to get around.  We slept in a little and took the hotel shuttle to the train.  Turns out there was still planned work going on so we had a little maze to figure out where we were going.

Our first stop was Times Square.  It was almost lunch time by the time we got there so we wandered around until we found an Irish Pub called The Playwright.  It was okay.  Pricey since it was Times Square!  After, we walked many blocks over to Central Park to meet up with Natalie and David.  I had met Natalie at the wedding I shot on my birthday, she was a bridesmaid.  Turns out she is getting married and lives in NYC!  Small world, so we decided to do an impromptu engagement session while we were here.

We had a blast wandering around Central Park with them.  The snow knocked down a ton of branches so alot of the park was closed off.  We had to be by the Plaza hotel by 2:45 for the Sex and the City tour and they made sure we were there in time!

The SATC tour was fun!  The tour guide was a comedienne and super funny!  They took us to spots they hit up in the show and movie.  We stopped at the sex toy store (where Charlotte bought her rabbit vibrator), Buddaken restaurant (where Big & Carrie had their rehearsal dinner), Bleeker St (Where Magnolia Bakery is, another scene in the show) and finally ended up at Aiden and Steve's bar Scout (which is actually O'Niells)  Lots to take in and they played the scenes from the show to help us remember.  Jason didn't die of boredom. ;-)

After the tour it was starting to get dark and we wandered around Bryant Park.  We stopped for a slice of real NY pizza and came across Rockafeller Center.  So pretty at night all lit up!  We went to Justin Timberlake's restaurant Southern Hospitality and had a drink and appetizer.  We happened upon the restaurant while looking for a beer bar called the Pony Bar. We sat there for awhile enjoying some yummy beer!  It was about 11pm when we left so we went to the Empire State Building.  It was pretty cold and crowded up there but the view was amazing!!

We made our way back to the warm hotel room and passed out for the night!