Maui with Nonni

Nonni came to visit a couple of days after Christmas to stay for almost 2 weeks. On the morning of New Year's Eve, we flew to Maui for 5 nights.


We started the trip with a drive out to 'Iao Needle. We had read about it in some guidebooks and decided to check it out. It was a beautiful valley with some nice walking trails around a native plant garden. Nonni was a real trouper as we dragged her along the trails!



Afterward, we headed to the condo in Kihei where we would be staying for the next 3 nights. It was a cute place just a block from the beach. So, after a little unpacking we headed down to enjoy some sand and sun! That evening, Danielle and I were able to go out for a New Year's drink. Many thanks to Nonni!!

Gabbi posing in front of the masks that decorated the condo...

On New Year's Day, I went scuba diving in the morning. We met at 5:45 a.m. and after all of the paperwork, etc. We headed out to Molokini Crater for the sunrise and a back wall dive. The most incredible part of the dive was hearing the whale songs underwater!! It was unreal. We had great views of Kaho'olawe, Lana'i, and Maui from the boat.

The view of Haleakala as we headed to Molokini.

Two dives later, I was done by about 10 a.m. We spent the afternoon at the beach and rode some waves, played soccer, and hung out.




On the following day, Nonni and the girls hung out by the pool for the day so that Danielle and I could take a long hike in Haleakala Crater. It was a great time for us to hike at our own pace and have some time to reconnect. We covered about 13.5 miles and it went by unbelievably quickly!!

We took the Sliding Sands Trail. With its loose sandy soil, we found ourselves stopping to empty out our shoes every so often...

Close up of an 'ahinahina (silversword) in Haleakala.

The clouds seemed to flow from Kaupo Gap up into the crater while we were eating lunch.



On Sunday, it was time for us to pack up and head for Hana. We decided to take the south road and then take the Road to Hana back out on Tuesday. Either way...it is a long drive. Bumpy, winding roads lead to carsickness which makes the trip even longer. We stopped an Ulupalakua winery to sample some of their red and pineapple wines. We bought a few bottles to take with us for the rest of our trip.

We stopped at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge boardwalk to get some energy out before the long ride!

Then, we had a long stretch before our next stop at Oheo Gulch (aka the 7 sacred pools). The lowest pool was pretty crowded, but Danielle and Gabbi braved the jump and took a swim. Then we all walked up to the second pool, which was much less crowded (there were 2 other people in the water). We made another couple of stops for waterfall, but it was so dry that one was completely dry and others were barely a trickle.






Then we stopped for one of the highlights of the trip. Maui Revealed calls it the Venus Pool. A short hike along a cow pasture brings you to a brackish water pool that is gorgeous and incredibly refreshing. To top it off, there are ledges at various heights for you to jump off! Gabbi, especially, loved jumping from a few heights (getting more daring with each jump)! We liked it so much we went back the next morning (and dragged Nonni with use too!)







We had to dodge a little barbed wire on the way out...

After a stop at the Venus Pool (we dragged Nonni there this time), we went to the beach. It is listed as one of the best bodysurfing beaches on Maui...we must not have hit it on its best day. It was however a beautiful beach to relax, dig holes, etc. We had one more stop at another beautiful beach with a view of a sea arch and some nice cliffs.




OK, then came the truly last stop to see a red sand beach on Hana Bay. It was a short hike to a tiny stretch of red sand. We checked it out quickly, then headed back to the cottage for dinner.



The view of Haleakala from Hana.

The view from our cottage (Hale Popolana) in Hana.
The cottage that we stayed in was nice. Right on Hana Bay, cool lava to explore, rustic, lots of coconuts around.

On Tuesday, we got up and went to explore a state park just to the north for the morning. There was a cool black sand beach, lava tube, sea caves. It was a great place to explore.







Then, it was time to pack up, drive the Road (from) Hana, check out Pa'ia, and fly back to O'ahu. We stopped to see some waterfalls along the way. It was a great trip and lots of good quality time with Nonni!!

African Dance in Haleakala

Danielle has been taking an African dance class on and off for the past six months on the North Shore and downtown. Now Gabbi and Jacqui have been taking a class at the local elementary school. They have been having a blast and Gabbi really wanted to show off her talents for the camera!

Haleakala (Maui Part 2)

For our first night in Haleakala National Park, we camped in a Park Service campsite called Hosmer Grove. It was at elevation 7,000 feet and quite a bit colder than we've experienced in quite a while! Even the nights at elevation in Kaua'i weren't this cold! We saw a group of 6 i'iwi, which is an endangered forest bird.
Fleece pajamas, hats, and gloves!!

We woke up really early to make the half hour drive to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise over the crater. Then we had to drive back down, pick up our gear, and get our permit to spend the night in the crater.
Brrrr.....

But the sunrise was definitely worth the cold, early rise!


We hit the trail by about 10 a.m. and started down the Sliding Sands trail. We had 7.5 miles ahead of us to our campsite. The trail was like hiking on the thicker sand of a beach. Gabbi and Jacqui did great! They each carried a backpack with their clothes. We passed a group that was taking a horse tour into the crater. Then they passed us while we ate lunch when we were getting close to the bottom. Getting ready for sliding sands!

Some parts of the hike really felt like we were on the moon.

The silversword plants were absolutely beautiful! They had an almost iridescent shine and the ones that were in bloom smelled wonderful. It produces its huge flowering spike only once after growing for about 20 years. They are endemic to Hawai'i and are only present at high altitudes.

Maybe they wouldn't mind if we just borrowed one....

Very interesting lava formations.


When we got to the campsite, we set up camp then went down to the water source (a spigot) to filter water. A couple of very friendly nene (hawaiian goose) visited us and drank from our pot.
There's always time and energy for gymnastics!

The quiet and stillness of being in the crater, was like no other experience we've had in Hawai'i yet. Part of the crater was considered a cloud forest and the clouds were level with the inside of the crater, so for a while, we were totally in the clouds.


The view of the stars from in the crater was absolutely breathtaking. I really wish that I had a tripod to attempt a reasonable picture, but it wouldn't have done it justice. I had a hard time picking out the constellations that I did know because all of the stars were so bright! On Friday (Danielle's birthday!), we took our time getting started and were treated to African dance in the crater. The hike out was about 4 miles and almost all uphill. We made it and I caught a ride to pick up our car. I was actually pretty surprised that even though I was in the Park at a designated hiker pick-up/hitch-hiking spot, the first 13 cars that I saw went right by. But, a friendly couple from Oregon finally picked me up and I completed the trip for the car!

We are so done with this hike!

After a stop at the Visitor Center for the girls to pick up their Junior Ranger badges, we started back down toward sea level.