Our two child things (5 and 2) are currently in Hawaii, but we are a military family, and we live where the Army tells us. This blog is designed to keep us in touch with our family and the friends we have made along the way, to offer insight into our turbulent military lifestyle, and to share our experiences as we try out "homing school." So glad you stopped by!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Maui Vacation


Maui in the morning
 We made it to Maui and back with the child things, and we had a really good time on our little vacation! For some reason, my darling husband scheduled us to leave Oahu at 5 in the morning, so the vacation started very early. I am tempted to complain about having to wake up at 3 a.m., but it was kinda cool to see the sunrise from the airplane. We arrived in Maui just after the sun did, and then the fun began!

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. If anyone is looking for a place to stay in Maui, here's what we thought of it: the grounds were beautiful, the room was very nice, the staff was oh-so-friendly and helpful (almost indulgent), the pool was great, the food was delicious, the spa was AWESOME, and the golf course also got rave reviews from my other half. The only downsides: it was pricey, and the beach (though it looked like lots of adults and teenagers were having tons of fun boogie boarding) wasn't the most kid-friendly beach we've been to. It was always windy, and the waves weren't the coddling waves we're used to.

Overlooking the resort grounds
Personally, my favorite touristy thing we did was take a boat ride out to a small offshore island called Molokini to snorkel. Definitely the best snorkeling I've ever done! I guess that's not saying a lot since I had never snorkeled until 2 years ago when I moved to Hawaii. But it really was pretty spectacular! I finally got to see the two fish I always look for, but never find: the Moorish Idol and the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Hawaiian state fish).

We also drove the Hana Highway, and I'm sure we did not experience it to its fullest, but it was still amazingly beautiful. There are dozens of stops to make a long the way, but we wanted the child things to enjoy it as much as possible, so we did not do any of the hikes or swim to any waterfalls or pull over at every scenic overlook. Even so...it was awesome! Here are some of the things we did stop and see:
Keopuka Rock, which was filmed in the opening scene of Jurassic Park.


Beautiful coastline scenery
 
Child Thing #1 at Waikani Falls (The Three Bears Waterfall)

Child Thing #2 at Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach. The kids had a good time at this place...it had CAVES!

The Child Things at a red sand beach in Hana
More beautiful coastline scenery
A fresh coconut and coconut ice cream.
Child Thing #1 had a fresh coconut before we left Hawaii and loved it, so the whole 9 months we were living in Texas, she kept asking me when she could get another one. We saw this stand, Coconut Glen's, on the side of the Hana Highway and thought it was the perfect opportunity. We bought a coconut and some ice cream made from coconut milk (which was actually really good), and of course, she did not like the coconut at all. Scott tried it (his first taste of fresh coconut milk) and didn't like it either, so I drank some and then we threw it away. The first time I tried drinking a coconut, I didn't care for it much either. It just wasn't what I expected. You'd think it would be very sweet and creamy, but it's more like water. But it has grown on me.

We all loved the ice cream, though, and I also loved what a hippie/environmentalist Coconut Glen was. No plastic spoons. He gave us a sliver of a coconut shell to eat our ice cream. And when the Child Thing asked him if he had any straws to use to drink the coconut, he stepped outside his stand, pulled a leaf off of a papaya tree, used his machete to chop off its hollow stem, and stuck it in the coconut for a straw. It didn't taste very good, though...

What else did we do in Maui? We went to the Maui Ocean Center, an aquarium that we all enjoyed. Child Thing #1 is now positively fascinated with hammerhead sharks. We spent a good deal of time hanging around the pool at our hotel. And we visited the very quaint downtown Lahaina. It was a wonderful vacation. So much fun! And there is much more fun to come! At the end of the week, we will have visitors arriving!

2 comments:

Bag Blog said...

It sounds like a lovely vacation. My daughter said that Hawaii reminded of her of Taos, NM - lots of hippie-types.

When I was little, my dad went to FL. on a business trip. He picked up a coconut and brought it home to us. We had a heck of a time getting the outer shell off. I do remember my brothers and I taking turns drinking out of the coconut. Thanks for the reminder.

Law said...

Sounds like you guys had a great time there. We're heading there this summer and was wondering.. Was it difficult going to the red sand beach with the kids?