Hawaii

Guess where we went in the middle of the winter/spring?  Maui!! Yes it is hard to believe, but we went and now we are back to cold winds, a hail storm, and our lovely children.  It was fantastic!  So to start things off, I am telling some details because I want remember them.  Feel free to tune out now.  I won't mind.  Here goes. We traveled with our favorite travel companions Janet and Jamie. We left IF Thursday morning and got to Hawaii at about 10:30pm Hawaii time and 2:30am Idaho time.  We did not really see Hawaii then.  We got our cars, checked in, got into our beds and slept in.   

We ate breakfast at the buffet in the resort every morning and it was delicious with tons of fruit, including tropical fruit which was a nice treat for me.  The fun thing about the restaurants and Hawaii itself is how open things are.  It was not uncommon to have birds flying through a restaurant.  I can think of 4 different restaurants that it happened in.  The last day I left my plate and Jeff came back to find a bird on it.  It was part of the fun.  Yes the server did apologize and get me a new plate.

Here is our view from the restaurant.

 We even had a special treat delivered to our room with a pineapple cut like the canned pineapple only fresh.

The first day the resort offered complimentary bikes which we did try.  It was pretty hot and they only allowed you to go on the streets, not the paths.  It was still fun and hilly, and the bikes were really nice, not like the ones at our house where 1/2 of them have flat tires.











  We decided that we wanted to snorkel and boogie board, so Snorkel Bob's rented equipment for the week.  Jeff had never done it and was dreaming about it, so after lunch we gave it a try on the resort beach. Little did we know that right down the shore by the rocks their was a  spot where about 150 sea turtles slept at night.  We did not know this when we first snorkeled, so we were seriously taken aback when that first sea turtle showed up right in front of us.  I have to say that 2 more sea turtles later, I was getting used to them.  They were still the biggest, coolest sea creature that we saw snorkeling.  Jeff absolutely loved it and we went almost every day after that.  It was very relaxing when you weren't picturing a shark coming around the corner.  We probably saw about 25-30 different varieties of fish throughout the week.  Jeff boogie boarded a little and we were done.
This is us snorkeling right in the middle.

One of my favorite things was what the Hawaiian humidity did for my hair. I mostly went au naturel because we were in and out of the water so much.  Now you won't be surprised at how interesting I look with no makeup and wild hair.

Here is a sea turtle we saw right off the beach.

Janet, Our amazing photographer.

I had to take a picture of my curly ponytail.  Why couldn't I keep that.















Janet really wanted to go watch the sunrise on the highest point of the island in Haleakala National Park.  at the Kalahaku Overlook.  So we got up at 2:45am which is 6:45am Idaho time and drove for about 2 1/2 hours to the top, waited for about an hour and a half and it finally came up.  It was beautiful  and super cold.  I didn't bring a jacket, so the resort gave us some blankets.  We were above the clouds.  Just for anyone who would like to do this.  I got nauseous on the way up and Janet on the way back.  It was pretty windy road.  The sickness didn't last and it was very cool. 

Next we heard about the Swap Meet at the University.  It opened at 7am and since that was about the time we got down from the mountain, it was perfect timing.  It was a great place for souvenirs.
By the time we were done with that, we went to a crepe place recommended by Jamie's brother.  When we first got there we were wondering if this was it?  It's a very old building with old everything.  We were at the table right by the side door.  We were served warm water in our cups because the carafe was an antique bottle with a small spout.  So when we got these amazingly, delectable crepes we were pleasantly surprised.  Jeff had a crepe with bacon, Bree cheese, avocado and apples.  Janet had a chicken, ranch, avocado, and Jamie the strawberry.  We all wanted to plan to return before the end of the trip. It is in Pa'ia

Since we didn't want to go all the way back to Wailea, we took a shortcut and drove to the top of the island  to Honolua Bay.  I got this tip from a surf instructor we met on the plane.  She told us her favorite snorkeling spots and this was one of them.  Some other locals also recommended the other bays near this one which were also on the Northern part of the island.  They were Kapalua, Napili, Oneloa and Mokuleia Bays. These are just for your information and for my own if I ever go back.  Honolua was so beautiful!  It was this little hidden bay that you had to hike into.  Sadly it was hard to find signs, so you have to ask on this one.  We parked on the side of the road and walked through a beautiful forest jungle. It had a lot of great snorkeling without the rushing waves. 

 Here we go!

It's sad how pasty white we are in these pictures.  We kept putting on sunscreen and it was really working. 

Next, we went to the blow hole that was just past Honolua Bay.  This was a little hard to find because like Honolua Bay, there were no signs, just cars.  On the third place where cars were parked  we found someone who knew where it was and directed us to hike down a little ways to get to it. It is called Nakelele Point and blowhole.

We also found the famous heart in the rock, which is by the blow hole. 

This is the blow hole and my eyes are closed, but you can see the hole. 

That day was packed with activities.  We thought we had a reservation to meet Rich and Jackie at a restaurant in Lahaina which was about 40 minutes from our resort.  So we tried to fill our time until the reservation at 6pm.  This is where we learned a few things.  Jeff and I went to Boogie board at a beach that had great waves and we saw people surfing, but it ended up having tons of rocks.  Needless to say, I cut my foot, Jeff cut his leg and his foot and ended up with a bunch of scratches, so we were a little more selective about beaches after that. 

We ended up going to our restaurant and telling them that we had a reservation for 6 under Jones.  They seated us no problem.  Then Rich called to ask where we were sitting because he couldn't see us.  Jamie told him we were in the back part.  Rich said that he was there and he couldn't see us. Then we realized that they were in Wailea by our resort and we were 40 miles away.  We didn't even know that Wailea had a restaurant at all.  So we thought about each other and ate where we were.  We had a good laugh about it. We also learned that if you say 6 for Jones, they will seat you even if you don't have a reservation haha. That night we dropped into our beds.

Next was Sunday.  It was one of my favorite days because we could take a break and we could get to know some real Hawaiians, instead of tourists.  So we went to church at 9:00am which is 1:00am Idaho time.  We actually kind of stayed on Idaho time most of the week going to bed early and getting up early.  It was a good way to have the beach to ourselves.  So we went to church and guess who we ran into, Elaine Dalton from the old Young Women General Presidency.  She was as sweet as she seems.  Her husband was a doll too and talked to us for a while.  Then we went to Sunday School and combined 5th Sunday.  It was very inspiring and we loved meeting some of the people. 

Next we went out on the grass and sat on chaise lounges in the shade and talked for 3 hours or so.  It was so fun to feel the breeze and watch the ocean.  The breeze did get pretty windy by the end, but it felt so good and I was with my favorite person, so why wouldn't I love it.

Our next adventure on Monday was riding a boat to Lanai, another island.  While on the boat we kept spotting whales from afar.  It was pretty incredible to have so many whale sightings having never seen a whale in my life.  When we got to Lanai, we rented jeeps to look at the island.  

Janet, Jamie, Cherlyn, Jeff and I.

The look of this island was a lot like Arizona with more green.  The roads were red where we drove.

First stop was "Shipwreck beach."  There is actually a ship wrecked there.  We found plenty of dried, dead crabs along the way.

Then we found a real one and Jeff turned into a kid.  He had so much fun chasing it and was so tempted to pick it up with his hands.  He avoided the temptation. 

We wanted to give a message to our missionary.

Next was a drive to the Garden of the Gods, which were little rock formations that maybe I wouldn't go to next time.  It was fun how you could see the  island Molikai, depending on how much time you had.  I do love a beach. 

We rode our boat back to Maui, ate a delicious meal at the resort on Lanai, got home jumped into the hot tub and went to bed.

The next day, Tuesday was our "Whale Watch Day."

We heard that you can get pretty wet because you are on a raft, so we dressed accordingly. 

Here's the big cruise ship that was anchored  for a day. 

Cherlyn and Dave

The coolest thing happened when we were on this watch.  The mom and the baby were swimming around, then these two male whales came along and were causing all kinds of trouble.  I think here where her fin was up, she kept slapping it down.  I think she was saying go away. You can't tell, but it was really long.

Our boat is supposed to stay a football field away, but we couldn't help it if they came closer.

This one was so close we couldn't believe it.

Same with this one. 

The male whale went under our boat three times. 

I think this is the underside of their belly.  The guide turned a microphone on under the boat so we heard them communicating.  He said the males all sing the same song and that the female whales are not necessarily attracted to the song.

We had lunch at the Shark Pit, which I would recommend.  It is in Lahaina in a parking lot looking place from a trailer with a lemonade stand that was delicious as well. 

We finally got a sunburn, so we got to be white and red.  We had to get in one more snorkel and boogie board before dinner.

If you are wondering how to say the name of this restaurant, think of High School Musical 2.  Sharpay trying to get Troy to do a number with her.

We thought that we better start taking pictures of the food that we may never see again.  Edible flowers, which I did eat.  I also ordered fish because it is so fresh.

Wednesday, we got up early to snorkel before anyone else was awake.  It wasn't that early, 6:30am which is 10:30am Idaho time. We ate from the breakfast buffet and then we went to Lahaina, which is where a lot of the excursions are.  We were scheduled for a Zip line Through Skyline Eco adventures.  It had three Zips with the longest being 1000 ft. Then it ended in water.  So a van drove us up to our first spot, then picked us up and took us to the next one and on like that.  We didn't really hike, which I expected.  It was so fun and not scary, if you are thinking about doing it.  I think it's because it is so thick with foliage, that you can't tell how far down it really is.  I would have loved to do more. 

Our first zip was together and it was so fun.

We ended at this little man made little lake.  When my kids saw the picture they said I looked like I was in Island Park.  It was sort of surreal thinking that I am swimming in a lake on a mountain in Maui.  So we zip lined off of a platform and dropped when we wanted to. 

We tried to catch a football as we dropped.  Jeff got close once. 

This is one of our funny guides, that we called Kevin.

I was excited that they had paddle boards.  I wanted to rent them, but were afraid that it wouldn't be that fun.  I liked it, but was glad that we hadn't rented them. 

Our play time was up, so we did one last jump off the platform together.

Goodbye mountain lake.

Goodbye Chris and Kevin.

What a great day!  Since we were having dinner in Kapalua we decided to look for a good boogie boarding beach.  our guides recommended Fleming, which was incredible.  When we finally started taking picture, the waves had died down a little, but while they were good, they were awesome.

I recorded Jeff, but don't know how to put them on my blog.

Hi Kids


While we were at the beach the group texted us and said that the reservation had been moved up.  So were hurried and changed in the beach bathroom and I went for the natural look again. 

We were tickled when Rich surprised us with Leis.  They were so beautiful and fragrant.  Mine was mixed with plumeria, which is my favorite Hawaiin flower. 

Our last day we went with Dave and Cherlyn to the Big Beach.  It was so sunny and the sand was different, almost like ground down shells.  We boogie boarded even thought the waves were pretty small.  It was a blast.  Then I got under a wave and pretty much with my face against the sand the wave flipped  my body over and crunched my neck in a way that should not be crunched.  At that moment I thought, "  I yeah, I'm old what am I doing. "  Luckily it was just sore the next day, no broken necks.  So I took it a little easier for a few minutes.

We went from Big Beach to our last activity which was snorkeling at The Dumps.  It is a little more rocky and the waves rush in, so you have to be careful getting in and out.  I think it is a more advanced spot.  We didn't know if we were advanced, but we went anyway.  We saw more interesting fish that we had not seen.  Even though snorkeling seems relaxing, we were always exhausted after ward. We went back to our resort and relaxed.  I think I washed my hair three times to get the sand out from our boogie board adventure.
We checked out and drove to our last meal closer to where the airport was.  It was called Mama's Fish House.  I think it was my favorite place when it comes to ambiance and deliciousness.  It was very old Hawaii and right on the beach.  It was open and you could see the surfers and sailboarders.

 Shrimp, Calimari, crab eggrolls, etc. as appetizers.  Lobster Mahi Mahi for the entree and chocolate pie for dessert.  It was divine. 

 After our meal we hurried to the airport where they had moved our flight up and we ran to the gate.  Luckily a lot of people were hurrying and they waited. Good bye Maui, we will miss you.