day 14

we started today by making lei crowns and bracelets after signing up for this free activity offered by the resort.  the crown were woven from palm leaves and basically flat braids.  we were allowed to pick out flowers from an assortment and design the color scheme to wanted.  daddy, little sister, & i chose to make the crowns.  big sister and her grandparents worked on flower bracelets.  those proved to be a bit trickier as they wrap had to remain very tight from start to finish or else all the blooms fell out.  after a few tries, big sister got the hang of it.

the girls visited a bit with the exotic birds that were on display.

we headed north of the resort, in search of beach scenery and a popular blowhole.  we would drive for a bit, park where possible, and get out to see the views. 

in the area with signage for the blowhole, we parked and walked a bit towards the ocean, but since we were up so high above the water, we really did not see anything and were not interested in hiking down closer to the water to further investigate, even though we could see other people doing just that.  daddy spoke with a local selling banana bread at this popular stop and he said this in the wrong time of year to see the full beauty of the blowhole.  with the low tide, it is mostly just a spurt or not there at all most times.  so, i guess we made the right decision not to explore further.  regardless, it was beautiful scenery all around us.

having gone as far north as we wanted, we made a spontaneous lunch stop at maui tacos, which was a pleasant surprise of tex-mex-like mexican food.  to say little sister was pleased with this choice is an understatement!  

back at the resort, daddy & the girls did more boogie-boarding and then tried out the waterslides in the family pool area. i was content to lounge by the pool and “watch our stuff.”

we were able to participate in another palm-frond weaving activity in the lobby and together the girls wove a bowl from coconut leaves.

we met up for dinner at the outdoor bar of the resort, partly for convenience and partly to use up some of our room credits. daddy & little sister twinned in the sunny seats of our table.

after people watching on the beach we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

we eventually wandered back towards the lobby, where there was a lovely firepit lounge area.  the girls thought that was really pretty.

today's step count: 7,613

day 13

today we had another snorkeling excursion off the shore in the nearby town of lahaina.  it was a short drive from the hotel and parking was tricky, but we found space in a public lot, locked up our valuables, and walked over to our guide shop.

we were asked to select a life vest and we were fitted for fins, then we put our goggles and fins in mesh bags to carry with us. 

after one last restroom stop, our group (us 6 plus 4 other adults) headed down to the beach.  we left our shoes in a grassy area and proceeded to select a kayak. (this is not my photo, just one i found online, because we did not bring any phones for fear of dropping them into the ocean.  we were given the option to carry the phone with us in a water-tight bag…..but none of us wanted to chance it.)

our guide briefed us on what we needed to do.  he was going to be the lead kayak, and we were to follow along in a single-file line along the shoreline once we paddled out to where the waves were starting to break. i am not sure the actual distance but it seemed pretty far for this first-time kayaker! little sister and i paired up, she in the front and i in the back.  daddy and big sister did the same as well as grandma & grandpa.  once we had paddled out far enough along the shore, our guide had us make a sharp right turn and we headed out to where the waves were breaking.  too strong to get out past this point, he anchored his kayak and one by one had us paddle over to him so we could link together and “park” our kayak so it would stay with us once we got out of it and into the water. then we were free to put on our fins and goggles, and jump in.  the waves were breaking around us due to the coral reef being right below us, so we were basically right on top of the coral field, which was a little disturbing for me.  i did not enjoy getting tossed around by the waves when there were rock-like obstacles jutting up here and there all below me.  i actually did not realize that the rock-looking formations directly below us were the coral.  by contrast to where we had just snorkeled a few days ago in hawai’i, this coral was grey (in full sunshine) and cloudy and looked dead.  we later were told that human touch and a parasite was attacking this area, thus the sad appearance.  however, we were warned about the possibility of seeing some other wildlife in this area – namely sharks (umm, what??) and turtles.  at one point i was directly over a large turtle but did not realize it.  when someone pointed it out to me, i wanted to be anywhere than in that spot at that particular moment!

somewhat disappointed and tired of fighting all the waves and current, i ended up making my way back to my kayak before our time was over in hopes of just waiting out the time from the calmer safety on top of the water.  i did as instructed earlier, and was able to maneuver myself up and face down over the kayak, perpendicular to it.  i then rolled over and rotated myself into my seat.  hey, this was nice and calmer. calmer until i decided to try to shift my position in my chair to get a better seat and soon found myself flipping the kayak and going headfirst into the water.  oops!!  our guide jetted his way over in his own kayak, maneuvering it like he does this for a living or something, and arrived at me to see if i needed help just as i had hoisted myself back up onto my boat.  disoriented but mostly embarrassed, i sat there and played it off like i was fine and waited for everyone else to finish up.

of course, we had to have a little more fun before we headed in for the day.  we learned how to “surf” in our kayak and ride the waves for some effortless speed.  surfing is no different whether using a board or kayak – you are at the mercy of the ocean, waiting to spot a nice wave and timing yourself perfectly to take advantage of it.  semi-successfully surfing, and knowing the girls got to see those huge turtles, were the highlights of my day.
once we had paddled back to our starting spot, parked the kayaks, collected our shoes and rinsed off all the sand from our feet, we headed back to the shop and put away gear.  fairly exhausted, both by the physical activity of kayaking and feeling zapped by the sun, we piled back into the car and found a spot for lunch.  when we returned to the resort, we showered and rested some.  we spotted a beautiful rainbow from our balcony.we made a quick grocery store run and also picked up burgers for dinner, then met up with grandma & grandpa by the pool to eat, and we enjoyed a nice sunset from the beach behind the resort.

today's step count: 2,238

day 12

our first day on maui did not disappoint!  since we had arrived in the dark, we were excited to see just where we had ended up.  the view from our room was spectacular!

we explored the hotel in search of breakfast.  there were beautiful plant at every turn.

we chose to share two large grab-n-go offerings from the market: 

an acai bowl and a breakfast tray.

rather than rent boogie boards every day the girls wanted to play in the ocean, daddy decided to purchase one for $23 from the gift shop.  the girls took turns sharing.  they were surprised at how much sand they ended up with in the suits from all this ocean fun!

after showering, we opted for a quick lunch at the same spot we pick up breakfast (pizza & a sandwich) and then walked to the shopping area next to the resort and looked at all there was to see.  we could not pass up the chance to try some authentic shave ice - the hawaiian rainbow. it was yummy, minus the moochi chunks that were garnishing the presentation.

we wandered back to the resort just to relax & explore.

we met up for dinner at the fanciest restaurant at the resort - waicoco.  unable to secure a table, we opted to sit at the bar with the ocean to our right.  the food was fabulous and we took turns trying what everyone else had ordered.  we watched the sunset from the beach and it was very relaxing and peaceful.

today's step count: 7,715