Vacationing is oftentimes thought of as a relaxing time away from home during summer, but is taking a trip during school completely different? My week long trip to Maui the first week of September was great, but the stress of school made it a bit different.

Of course the beautiful island of Maui was not a disappointment, but my vacation in K’aanapali would have been much more enjoyable if the school work load would have been left at home.

It was my first time doing travel study during school, especially at the start of my junior year, and it was a challenge.

This was also the first vacation my family has taken with my grandparents, and it was definitely a new experience as well.

Having them tag along was definitely fun, it was just different for all of us. Traveling with friends and family can really make you find out a lot about people.

The only hard part about it was having their schedule fit into ours. If my parents wanted to make a dinner reservation, we wanted it at 7:30 or 8, while my grandparents did not want to eat past 5:30.

They were easy-going when it came to where we wanted to go such as restaurants and sights to see, but the time schedule was just a bit off.

Maui is definitely an amazing island to visit though. The views are breathtaking and the attractions are endless.

The selection of restaurants and seafood are immense, along with shopping, waterfalls, beaches, and small tourist spots.

Some of our days included relaxing by the pool or shopping at a luxury shopping center nearby, while others included hiking down to waterfalls and cliff diving into the ocean.

All of these activities were incredible, but getting to go parasailing was by far my favorite.

There’s something about being 1200 feet in the air that is really thrilling. It was an unforgettable experience, from hopping on a small boat going into the parasailing boat, and practically flying off the edge into the sky.

Besides fun activities, Maui is also home to some of the greatest restaurants out there. Restaurants my family and I ate at included Pacific’O, Roy’s, Leilani’s, Aloha Mixed Grill, Maui Fish and Pasta, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

The ambiance of Pacific’O was definitely incredible, but the food at Roy’s was much more enjoyable.

For extremely authentic Hawaiian food, but not looking to burn a hole in your pocket, Aloha Mixed Grill was the perfect place to go after a nice hike and being in messy clothes. It was still right on the beach, and the Kalua pork and potato-mac were the most authentic Hawaiian dishes I have eaten.

Hawaii is also known for their shave ice. After trying a few different places, my sister and I decided the best place for shave ice was Breakwall on Front Street. Of course, we had to go four times before leaving!

Now being home for almost four weeks, I really do miss Maui and I reminisce much throughout the day about going back someday.

The sunsets in Maui are unbeatable, and the people there are so relaxed. It’s a great lifestyle.

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Blake Lazar

K'aanapali Beach near the Honua Kai Resort in Maui