Maui The End

 Sunrise Haleakala June 2011

First peek of color

 Gorgeous color on the clouds below in the crater

 Two very old churches along the road to Hana

 This one only holds services if there is a 5th Sunday in the month, it was very very old.

 The power of the sea. Along the coast in a small village off the Hana Hwy.

 View from the Hana Hwy. looking out to sea.

 The three bears falls, Hana Hwy

 Sunset from the condo laini, one of the more colorful ones we had.

 A funky little wayside stop on the Hana Hwy, good fish tacos. No beer.

 Harry and the tattoo lady.

 The turtle tat on the back of the head.

 Tyler's shark tattoo.

 Heather's dolphin tat.

 Last dinner in Maui at 3's

Harry and I at dinner.

I was unable to post a blog entry to cover the last 3 days so I will take the time while it is all still fresh in my mind to finish up the trip now that I am home :( The last 3 days were eventful and filled with long days trying to get in the things that we wanted to do and had waited to get to. The first thing on the list was the sunrise visit to Haleakala. Harry and I were the only ones willing or wanting to get up at 3am to drive up there for sunrise. We had been told by many that it was not to be missed even tho' it could turn out to be a total dud if there wasn't a low cloud cover. Since we had been up there previously during the day, we knew how windy and cold it could be. We dressed accordingly. Luckily it was not very windy and it was about 44* not too bad since we live in Oregon and so far summer has averaged just above that LOL. Anyway 3am comes EARLY. We were hoping we would be there in plenty of time and maybe be ahead of the crowd. We got one of the last parking spaces in the lot. People were everywhere. We were also lucky to find a place to set up tripods for a view, not in ideal places since Harry had wanted to be at the rail. I was happy, I could see what I wanted to see. There was a nice cloud cover below and the sky was just starting to show color when we arrived. It was another 30 to 40 mins. before the actual sunrise. I must say it was a sight to see, but not quite as amazing as I had imagined. Looking at the photos I think it looks more colorful that it seemed to the naked eye. Something I can say I have done, but probably wouldn't do again. Ok...........so on to the next day, Tuesday. We decided it was our only chance to drive the road to Hana, another thing you are told not to miss in Maui. To tell you the truth I could of lived without it but had committed to do it. Waterfalls are kind of an Oregon thing for me, pretty hard to beat what we have here. There are other sights on the way but the falls are what people go to see. So up again early, not so early only 5 am this time. The road itself was much better that I had expected and tho it is very curvy 600 hairpin turns is what the book says, I believe it. I will not elaborate on the trip, except to say, next time I have a hair brained idea to follow the road all the way back to civilization, I will be DAMN sure I know exactly what the road is like. To explain, instead of going back up the road out of Hana you can continue on around the end of the island and go back up to the road to Kehei where we were staying. OMG, what a mistake. Harry called it the road to misery, but he really enjoyed it. It was like a cow trail thru the pasture only you have cars coming both ways and it is more windy and curvy than the Hana Hwy. and it is on the side of the volcano and the ocean on the other side. Paved, sort of in places and dirt and gravel mostly. By this time I had a major headache my stomach burned and I was just done with it. So Harry wanted to stop and take photos since he found it so enchanting but I told him he better just get me out of there before dark or else!!! After, god only knows, miles on this road to hell, we hit pavement and actual civilization. Back home for a lovely dinner? that also turned out to be awful. Live and learn. That brings us to our last day, all I cared about was relaxing and doing nothing but we had to pack and get things taken care of for leaving. We did take some time out to make one last trip to the shopping place for souvenirs and such. Harry had decided to get one of those temporary henna type tattoos, then Heather and Tyler wanted one so they got all that done. I made reservations for a VERY nice dinner at the one place there that we had wanted to try call 3's restaurant, for our last dinner in Maui. It was excellent and a very nice end to a wonderful vacation. Even tho' I feel I had to come home to get some rest and relaxation. Too much to do and too much to see. I think every one had a great time. I know I did. 

Maui Day 11, Makena Beach

                                            Brandon at Makena Beach

                                          Heather soaking up some sun

Tyler at Makena Beach

                                                The shirt Harry will need if he keeps eating spam!!

                                            Big dark cloud today, just drifted apart as the day wore on.

                                            Sunset at Kaanapali, the night before.

Swap Meet

This was probably the clearest morning we have had, we could actually see the top of Haleakala. Most days it is covered with clouds. At the swap meet yesterday we met some fantastic photographers and some of the photos were of this great beach with sea turtles. Harry asked her where it was and how to get there. After looking it up on the internet he found information that suggested that further down the beach where she told us might be better. Well, this being the islands, nothing is named the same in any book you look at, including the internet. So after a bit of confusion and ending up at the Big Beach with the killer surf we went back and followed the original instructions and found a magnificent beach. Makena beach part was a long sandy beach with lots of snorkelers in the water. Not crowded at all and a bit of shade to get out of the sun part of the day. The snorkeling wasn't great at our end of the beach so I sat with the stuff and everyone else headed to the other end. That paid off with the sighting of one very large sea turtle. Harry got his wish and got to swim with the turtles. As the afternoon wore on, the surf became a bit more rough, much to the delight of the kids, Carl and Harry. I got rolled in it pretty bad and stayed out of it after that. The water was so warm and beautiful, it was just nice to sit and watch. Had lunch at the beach and just lounged most of the day. Back to the condo for margaritas, since we didn't make them last night. Great dinner last night, beef kabobs with fresh veggies and pineapple. YUM. Hot dogs tonight.  Decided it is way too expensive to eat out all the time. Even tho' groceries are spendy, still cheaper than the restaurants. The boys had spam,the national food of Hawaii, for breakfast along with their eggs. GROSS. As far as I am concerned it is not a food!! Hope I don't offend anyone with that. LOL

Maui Days 8,9,10 Catching up.

                                          Blooms on a gorgeous tropical tree

Petroglyphs

Petroglyph cinder cone

Blow Hole

Lunar landscape at the blow hole

North Maui Coast

Snorkling beach

Weird Lava Rock

Wow, it is easy to get behind, the last few days have been so busy that we have had dinner and dragged our selves to bed exhausted. I thought this was a v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n? That is the problem with going somewhere with so much to see that you can't see at home, you just can't sit by the pool or the beach and do nothing. Thursday we had seen in the guide book, a place not too far, that you could hike in and see ancient petroglyphs, it was a short hike and it was on the way to the other area we were headed so we took the time to do it. By this time of day, all of 10am, it was well into the 80's temperature wise, so we grabbed water and camera gear and headed up the road which was the trail. Thank goodness it was a trail with no incline or I am sure I would of died of heat stroke. Very little breeze, dusty dry and very hot. 1/4 mile never seemed so far. At the end of the trail we came to the petroglyph wall and were glad to find a picnic table in the shade to sit. Sad to say that over the years vandals have defaced the stone, so it is difficult to tell what was real and what wasn't. So much history here but not a lot of information at the site. So back we go after getting some photos. A slight breeze kept us a little cooler on the hike back. At the little store, we enjoyed our first Shave Ice, an Hawiaan version of a snow cone. So refreshing and cold.
Our next destination was up to the North coast area of Maui, the road is paved only so far and then you hit a dirt road that you can't take rentals on, too windy and narrow. We were stopping at a spot before the end of the road anyway. This site is called the Blow Hole. It is a hole in the lava where the surf comes spewing thru with the surge of the waves. It is a hike down the hill thru lava rock, not too difficult, if you are a billy goat!! I persisted even when my knee protested. It was worth it, talk about an area that looks like the moon. Really strange lava formations and the blow hole did not disappoint. The hike back up..............not so easy, pretty steep and picking your way thru the lava rock is tricky, not to mention it is HOT. We did find a fantastic looking snorkel beach on the way up there so that was to be our trip for the next day. We came home and told the kids about it and decided to get an early start the next morning. Parking was limited where the beach was and we wanted to get a spot. Perfect for snorkeling, nice and calm but I discovered that snorkel is not for me. Kept getting a mouth full of salt water, so I sat on the beach and tanned. After everyone had enough snorkeling we headed to Kaanapali to let the kids,plus me, play in the surf again. Needless to say we all came home sunburned but happy. Off to a very nice dinner in Kaanapali at the Whaler village, then to Lahina for ice cream and to walk off dinner. Back home exhausted after a VERY full day. So today, day 10 was supposed to be a resting day except for the swap meet. Harry and I headed there to search for fresh veggies and to see if there were any bargains on souvenirs to take home. Veggies are cheap, souvenirs are CHEAP, meaning of course crap!! Harry did find some very nice, not cheap necklaces for his daughters. BBQ tonight and Carl will be making some mean margaritas soon.

Maui Day 7, Week One

How can it be a week already? The time flies by so fast when you are having so much fun in the sun. It has been a great week and I am not even going to think about the time slipping by. I am going to lose myself in denial and just dream that I will be here in paradise forever. Sigh.
We have had a great week, seen many amazing sights and plan on seeing more. Having the fresh tropical fruits is amazing too.

                                           Big Beach

                                             Surf at Big Beach

                                           One big wave

                                            Surfer

                                            Mokapu and Ulua beach

Carl arrives today, I know the kids will be happy to see him. Heather will be happy to turn the driving over to him. We have yet to drive the road to Hana, see sunrise on Haleakala, do the zip line and take a snorkel trip. Looks to be a busy week ahead. Yesterday we tried to find a snorkeling beach that was a bit calmer than Kaanapali. According to the guide book there was one just south of where we are staying, so we loaded all the gear in the two cars and headed out. The book said Big Beach was one of the best and what many describe as the perfect Hawaiian beach. Well, we get all the gear to the beach and see the surf, it must be 10'. We asked the lifeguard if this was Big Beach the snorkeling beach cuz we had heard it was great for snorkeling. He said did you see that on the internet or read it in a guide book? We said guide book, he happened to mention the one that we have been using. He said yeah, that one gets a lot of people in trouble. He said pretty much only locals were going in this water today, it was breaking right on the shore so the waves were very powerful. Harry posted a great shot with a surfer in the pic to show a bit of perspective. It is on his facebook page. I only had the iPhone for pic again, not taking the camera in the sand, but he has a new small waterproof camera to take in snorkeling. We did find a beach up closer to home that was pretty good, once again the surf is a little rough, I was able to get in the water but still too rough for me to feel comfy snorkeling. Waiting for Molikini for my snorkeling. Spent the day in the sun, all of us are sunburned from head to toe, but loving every minute of it. Had bbq hot dogs and fresh corn for dinner and relaxed in the warm Hawaiian breeze. Would say I missed you all, and I do but watching the OR weather I can say I don't miss that at all. Aloha. Off on a new adventure today, heading to the North end of the island to the end of the road, at the least as far as the rental co. will let us go.

Maui Day 6, Snorkeling

A perfect paradise day dawned today, so far that is how they have all been. Glorious!! First day of summer, had we been home I am sure we would of been wondering if summer was ever coming, but here we have been enjoying it every day. Heather and the kids arrived on time on Monday, we got them settled in and acquainted with the condo then it was off to eat. Two growing boys are ALWAYS hungry. We took them to an open air place we had found and liked called Lulu's. Spent some time in the water and exploring then of course it was time to eat again. In Kona, our last trip to Hawaii we all loved Bubba Gumps so we headed there for dinner, not the one in Kona but the one in Lahina. Filled ourselves with shrimp, then stopped at the ice cream shop and got ice cream. Not, me I had too much dinner.
The next day we decided to attempt snorkeling again at Black Rock beach, the spot of the key incident!! Everything went well, we kept the keys in a bag and one person stayed at the beach with the stuff, no one lost keys. LOL. The water is gorgeous, turquoise blue and so clear it is unbelievable. I went in the water but the surge is pretty strong and it is hard to stand when the water rushes back out and not being a great swimmer I decided I would wait for a calmer place to snorkel but everyone else saw beautiful fish, Tyler saw a sea turtle swim right by him.
Tyler and Brandon played in the surf and were having a great time letting the waves wash them in and out. I tried but my knee took a beating and I opted to just stay on my feet as best I could. Brandon said to me, as he is laughing with joy, "Grams, this is the best time I have ever had in my life." Oh, be still my heart, what great words for a grammy to hear. Love you all so much, and am so happy you are here to share this with us. Not sure what is on tap for today. Mornings start a bit slowly, Maui time ya know, no rush.

                                            Kid first wade in the ocean by the condo.

                                          Tyler at Kaanapali, Black Rock Beach snorkeling spot.

                                     The gorgeous turquoise water at Kaanapali

                                                   Tyler at Tiki Lounge

                                                   Brandon at Tiki Lounge

                                         Heather, Harry and I

                                              Margaritas at the Tiki Lounge

                                                     Parrots Beak flower.

After all the exercise in the water of course it is time to eat again, we came back and got cleaned up and headed into Keihi to the Tiki Lounge for pizza, well the kids and Heather had pizza, I opted for grilled shrimp and Harry had some amazing fish tacos. Then off to the grocery store to fill the cupboards and try not to have to take out a loan. Food is very expensive. Spent what was left of the evening relaxing with a glass of wine and tv. Kids wanted to swim, so they all went to the pool and took a walk before bedtime. Carl will be here tomorrow, I am sure they are all anxious for daddy to get here.
I have only taken photos with the iPhone, so these are snapshots of the first two days the kids are here.