Hawaii details

We had a wonderful vacation in Maui, and as promised I am adding more pictures and info here. We arrived Friday night and just enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant after getting settled. It's a gorgeous resort at the southwest part of Maui in Makena, Makena Beach and Golf resort.

Saturday we did a little shopping, playing in the waves and then went to a luau at the nearby Mariott. The luau had a special performance of the finals of the first annual Maui fire knife competition. That was a really nice treat for the boys. Tristan fell asleep during the luau, but woke up and really enjoyed the fire knife dancing. We also saw a spectacular performance by an 11 year old fire knife dancer who started when he was 10 months old. Amazing.

Playing in the waves

The only time Tristan was happy playing in the water

Dinner at the luau

The show

JR and the torches

On Sunday we went snorkling so we headed out early to pick up our snorkling gear which got complicated because they didn't have all the equipment at one store. We wanted to get a boogie board with a window so Tristan could come out with us and look through the window and see the fish, but they only carry that at their Kehie store so we had to make a longer trek. By the time we got to the beach there was no parking so we had a longer trek walking down the beach to the snorkling spot. We finally found it and it also had some great tide pools where we found lots of coral, shells, little fish, and other creatures. This turned out to be a life saver. We got our snorkle stuff on and tried to get Tristan out in the water but he slipped off the boogie board into the water. He had a life vest on, but it freaked him out and he refused to go near the water after that. So I went out snorkling with JR for a while and James stayed with Tristan playing in the sand. It was nice holding JR's hand and swimming around looking at the fish. Then I took Tristan over to the tide pools while JR and James played in the waves. After going out for lunch and going back to the hotel, James took JR out snorkling and saw some huge turtles while Tristan and I hit the pool.

Heading off to the pool

Have the pool all to ourselves

Monday through Thursday James had the conference so it was just me and the boys. On Monday I took the boys to the Maui Ocean center and then out to lunch. We got to see the feeding of the turtles and the feeding of the sharks. It was a good day.

It's a pineapple plant

Petting the sea star

Taking pictures of the turtles

Tuesday James had a half day so I just took the boys down south to see the lava rocks and check out some tide pools. JR really wanted to play in the waves some more so we headed to a nearby beach for a little bit. After lunch Tristan and I did some more hanging out at the pool and James took JR boogie boarding.







On Wednesday we headed out to a really nice restaurant by the beach for breakfast before driving up to Iao Valley. It was cold, windy, and rainy up at Iao Valley, but we managed. It was a really nice walking trail with bridges and creeks and guava plants and gorgeous scenery. We also headed to the nearby Japanese gardens and nature center. Tristan was sick and had a little fever. We stopped for a little bite for lunch and to the store for children's tylenol and headed back to the hotel. Even with Tristan sick, it was a nice day which ended with a surf and turf dinner provided by the conference.

Breakfast by the beach

Iao Valley

A map of the walking paths at Iao Valley

Bamboo at Japanese garden

Nature center at Iao Valley

On Thursday I wanted to take the boys to the great tide pool area I remembered taking JR to 5 years ago. It was a great area with two huge tide pools where the boys would be able to play in water that was only a foot or so deep and had fish and such. I was able to find the place, but it was really crowded because of a second grade field trip and it was so windy we kept getting sand blown in our face. We were able to get a break in the wind for a bit after the second graders moved on and saw some sea urchins, crabs, hermit crabs with beautiful shells, and lots of little fish. We also found a coconut on the beach. But then the wind picked up and the kids wouldn't have anymore. That's when Tristan swore off both the ocean and the sand. Luckily it was our last day because he was not going back to the beach. James had a short day on Thursday too so he took JR to play at the beach while Tristan and I again hung out at the pool. He took a nap waiting for it to stop raining and I had a drink. It was a nice relaxing afternoon and a great way to end the vacation.