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!!

Underwater Shots

Danielle and the girls got me an underwater camera for my birthday. So, over the past 6 months we've remembered to bring it on some snorkeling trips (and forgotten it on more...) Still getting the hang of exactly where to point. I seem to be shooting high on many.

We finally got a roll of film developed from the camera (when was the last time you dropped off and picked up film??!?)

I think I see it!


There it is!!

The not so elusive, but slightly blurry humuhumunukunukuapua'a


It's always exciting to see and swim with a honu (Pacific green turtle)


That is a red pencil sea urchin in the upper left corner.

Some of our favorite places to snorkel are Hanauma Bay, Shark's Cove, Molokini Crater, and Lana'i.

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!

Maui Beaches and Snorkeling (Part 3)

After coming back down to sea level, we found the campground that we were planning to stay at. They don't take reservations, so we weren't sure how busy they would be. It turned out to be a fine place to stay. The sites were a little small and the outdoor showers were closed in by bamboo that did not really provide privacy and didn't have doors on them...

There were all kinds of critters around the campsite as well. Danielle and Ruth found a whole bunch of cockroaches near the port-a-potties on the first night. This is one of 2 scorpions that we saw. This one was under our tent when we were taking it down.

On Saturday morning, we decided to explore the south shore of Maui. We looked through our guidebook and found a couple of beaches that looked promising and headed out. Our first stop was Kalepolepo which was a little off the beaten path, but well worth it! There was this crazy thing going on where there was enough time between waves for a wave going out was able to form. At some point that wave would run into the wave coming in. The wave would double in size and come crashing to shore! It was a lot of fun!

Playing in the sand at Kalepolepo Beach

Body surfing!

We were really keeping a close eye on the girls here! They really love the waves though!

When it was close to lunch time we headed to Big Beach and the waves were really coming in! We found a slightly protected spot to swim with the girls and had a great swim and walk on the beach. After a while, I wanted to go to Kihei to check out an education center run by NOAA that has recently opened. Turned out they were closed at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, which was pretty disappointing. So, we decided to head south again to a black sand beach that we read about. The roads must have changed quite a bit since the guidebook description was written, so we ended up walking quite a way. It was another beautiful beach and the sand was a neat mix of red, black, yellow, and white grains (we've got some for you Petra!!).

Big Beach! It stretched for three-quarters of a mile or so.

At the end of Big Beach, a nice somewhat protected area with fun swimming!

Black sand

The view from the Black Sand beach back over to West Maui.


Sunday was a trip that we were really looking forward to! We were doing a full day snorkel trip to Molokini Crater off of Maui and to a bay off of Lana'i. We went with the Pacific Whale Foundation. The captain and crew did a great job! The water was crystal clear. We saw a ton of fish, beautiful coral and even got to see all 3 dolphin species when we were traveling from Molokini to Lana'i (spotted, bottlenose, and spinner). The food was good and the drinks on the return from Lana'i to Maui really capped off the day! We had a couple of hours to kill, so we headed to the town of Pa'ia. We walked the beach, then did a little window shopping (Danielle found a very cute hat, that I'll have to get a picture of), and finally got a nice dinner from a little hole in the wall place. The trip back to O'ahu on the superferry was much less rocky and we even managed to catch a couple of minutes of sleep.


Starting the day!

Our first stop...Molokini Crater! Clear water, red pencil urchins, lots of species of fish!

I think that this is a bottlenose.

And a spinner riding our bow!

Watching for dolphins and hanging out! Between Molokini and Lana'i.

A last look at Lana'i before heading back after a long, fun filled day!

But not before a virgin pina colado for the kids!

and something a little stronger for the adults!