{April 24th - 28th}
We flew into Maui super early on Tuesday morning.
We had breakfast and then decided to drive all around the northwest coast line on our way to our condo since we didn't have big plans that day and it was cloudy and kind of rainy out.
The drive is crazy... a 2 lane road right on the edge of a cliff that goes straight down to the ocean.
But it is so green and gorgeous!
(definitely a one time thing... nothing to repeat if we ever go back)
We specifically drove it to check out the Olivine Pools and the Nakalehe Blowhole.
The pools were cool- but it was super windy and started raining on us on our walk down.
Cathey and I opted to stop half way and check it out from a distance but the boys went all the way down.
We checked out the blowhole too but didn't think it was anything too amazing.
We ended up around our condo near Kaanapali, had some açaí bowls for lunch and then checked into our condo.
Our unit was part of the Honua Kai resort, but we booked our unit individually through VRBO.
It was an amazing 2 bed/2 bath condo with a full kitchen and living room plus one whole wall of windows that opened up to our ocean view balcony with an outdoor kitchen.
That afternoon we went up to Kapalua beach and were finally able to snorkel and swim with sea turtles! My first time in 3 visits to Hawaii, ha!
It was amazing... we probably saw/swam with at least 10-15 turtles... Some smaller and some huge!
Of course my waterproof camera crapped out our last day on Oahu so we didn't get any pics or videos.
We went back, got ready for dinner and had an awesome meal at Fleetwoods down in Lahaina!
Our second day on Maui we did the Road to Hana.
We lucked out and had great weather the whole day- a good mix of some clouds and sun but it never really rained on us.
We left our hotel around 6:30am and didn't get back until 8:30pm, so it was a really long day! Basically a 14 hr road trip.
Our first stop after Paia was Mile Marker 2: Twin Falls.
Maui had recently gotten a lot of rain so some of the waterfalls were flowing really fast and ones that you would normally be able to get in and swim were rushing faster/higher than normal.
This one had a lot more water than normal so it didn't look like any advertised pics, but still pretty cool.
We stopped at MM 9 next: Waikamoi Nature Trail.
We hiked about half way up but didn't think it was worth the extra time so ended up turning around and going back down. Super pretty but felt like we wanted to spend more time at other stops.
Our third stop was MM 17: we stopped at Aunty Sandy's snack shop for some of the best banana bread (!!) and then checked out the Ke'anae Peninsula. A quick stop, but was super pretty!
MM 19: Upper Waikani Falls (also known as 3 Bears Falls)
This waterfall was right off the road and super cool!
Brian and Brent were more adventurous and hiked down first and then Cat and I headed down too. The falls were too fast and heavy to swim in the pool but we got up pretty close.
MM 22.5: Pua'a Ka'a Park
Another super pretty waterfall with a short walk just up from the parking spots. Brian was again the most adventurous and was the first one in the pool under the falls to swim around. The rest of us joined after that for a super chilly but really awesome swim.
MM 32.3: Wai'anapanapa State Park... Maui's most famous black sand beach.
This is our second black sand beach (we saw our first one on the Big Island) but something about perfect jet black sand is so cool! Brian got in to swim a little but didn't last long. He said it really threw him off with the black sand cause you couldn't really see/tell where the bottom was or if you'd hit it in the waves.
MM 45: Wailua Falls
This was an amazing 200 ft waterfall right off the highway again!
MM 42: Haleakala National Park - Ohe'o Gulch (7 sacred pools), Pipwai Stream Trail and Bamboo Forrest
This was really the culmination of the day.
The hike is about 4 miles round trip and I think it took us about 3 hours.
The end of the muddy 2 mile trail is the this... the 400' Waimoku Falls.
We could barely get a picture that showed how massive it was
Instead of turning around re-driving the same road all the way back home, we continued on the road and drove the southern coast of the island. It was completely different landscape than the northern or eastern side (Road to Hana)... big open beautiful fields, rolling hills, and lots of cattle. It was really pretty but at this point in the drive we were ready to get back.
The third day on Maui we took surf lesson in the morning at Mike's Surf Clinic.
It was a good morning, and all 3 of us got up on several waves.
We surfed right at Lahaina Bay, which was a shallow but rocky area- much different than our surfing experience on Kauai, but still fun.
Lunch afterwards at Prison Street Pizza was also awesome.
We hung out for the afternoon at Kaanapali beach and then picked up steaks and grilled dinner back at the condo.
On Thursday we drove down to the Kihei/Wailea area of the island cause we have never been.
We grabbed breakfast at Slappy Cakes and then spent the morning at Big Beach.
We picked up the most amazing lemonade at Wow Wow Lemonade on our way back up after lunch.
We had dinner that night at Mama's Fish House over in Paia.
This was the one restaurant that was recommended to us by several people and it did not disappoint!
The whole atmosphere outside of the restaurant was so cool- it had its only little beach right on the ocean. Dinner was pricey but everyone had amazing food!!
Our last day on the island was kind of a bust.
We had plans to just lay low at our hotel pool and beach all day before our flight out that night, but it was a cloudy, windy and somewhat rainy day.
We had lunch at Duke's at our hotel and after freezing at the pool for a little while, ended up just walking around old town Lahaina and shopped some.
We got dinner at Paia Fish Market and then headed back to the airport.
We really had the most awesome week!
I know its hard to watch all 3 of the boys for 8 days but my parents were so awesome to watch them for us!
We lucked out and had great weather the whole day- a good mix of some clouds and sun but it never really rained on us.
We left our hotel around 6:30am and didn't get back until 8:30pm, so it was a really long day! Basically a 14 hr road trip.
Our first stop after Paia was Mile Marker 2: Twin Falls.
Maui had recently gotten a lot of rain so some of the waterfalls were flowing really fast and ones that you would normally be able to get in and swim were rushing faster/higher than normal.
This one had a lot more water than normal so it didn't look like any advertised pics, but still pretty cool.
We stopped at MM 9 next: Waikamoi Nature Trail.
We hiked about half way up but didn't think it was worth the extra time so ended up turning around and going back down. Super pretty but felt like we wanted to spend more time at other stops.
Our third stop was MM 17: we stopped at Aunty Sandy's snack shop for some of the best banana bread (!!) and then checked out the Ke'anae Peninsula. A quick stop, but was super pretty!
MM 19: Upper Waikani Falls (also known as 3 Bears Falls)
This waterfall was right off the road and super cool!
Brian and Brent were more adventurous and hiked down first and then Cat and I headed down too. The falls were too fast and heavy to swim in the pool but we got up pretty close.
MM 22.5: Pua'a Ka'a Park
Another super pretty waterfall with a short walk just up from the parking spots. Brian was again the most adventurous and was the first one in the pool under the falls to swim around. The rest of us joined after that for a super chilly but really awesome swim.
MM 32.3: Wai'anapanapa State Park... Maui's most famous black sand beach.
This is our second black sand beach (we saw our first one on the Big Island) but something about perfect jet black sand is so cool! Brian got in to swim a little but didn't last long. He said it really threw him off with the black sand cause you couldn't really see/tell where the bottom was or if you'd hit it in the waves.
MM 45: Wailua Falls
This was an amazing 200 ft waterfall right off the highway again!
MM 42: Haleakala National Park - Ohe'o Gulch (7 sacred pools), Pipwai Stream Trail and Bamboo Forrest
This was really the culmination of the day.
The hike is about 4 miles round trip and I think it took us about 3 hours.
Part of the 7 sacred falls.... so incredible!
On our hike up the trail there was also this huge banyan tree
The start of the bamboo forrest... another incredible part of the trail to see!
Pictures don't even do it justice
The end of the muddy 2 mile trail is the this... the 400' Waimoku Falls.
We could barely get a picture that showed how massive it was
Back down near the trailhead... more views of the sacred pools
Instead of turning around re-driving the same road all the way back home, we continued on the road and drove the southern coast of the island. It was completely different landscape than the northern or eastern side (Road to Hana)... big open beautiful fields, rolling hills, and lots of cattle. It was really pretty but at this point in the drive we were ready to get back.
The third day on Maui we took surf lesson in the morning at Mike's Surf Clinic.
It was a good morning, and all 3 of us got up on several waves.
We surfed right at Lahaina Bay, which was a shallow but rocky area- much different than our surfing experience on Kauai, but still fun.
Lunch afterwards at Prison Street Pizza was also awesome.
We hung out for the afternoon at Kaanapali beach and then picked up steaks and grilled dinner back at the condo.
On Thursday we drove down to the Kihei/Wailea area of the island cause we have never been.
We grabbed breakfast at Slappy Cakes and then spent the morning at Big Beach.
We picked up the most amazing lemonade at Wow Wow Lemonade on our way back up after lunch.
We had dinner that night at Mama's Fish House over in Paia.
This was the one restaurant that was recommended to us by several people and it did not disappoint!
The whole atmosphere outside of the restaurant was so cool- it had its only little beach right on the ocean. Dinner was pricey but everyone had amazing food!!
Our last day on the island was kind of a bust.
We had plans to just lay low at our hotel pool and beach all day before our flight out that night, but it was a cloudy, windy and somewhat rainy day.
We had lunch at Duke's at our hotel and after freezing at the pool for a little while, ended up just walking around old town Lahaina and shopped some.
We got dinner at Paia Fish Market and then headed back to the airport.
We really had the most awesome week!
I know its hard to watch all 3 of the boys for 8 days but my parents were so awesome to watch them for us!
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