Well now that you've read all about our vacation in Hawaii, I thought I'd fill you in on what's been going on since we returned.
-I finished teaching for the school year and had an performance evaluation. I've said it before, but I really do love what I do and it shows : ) My evaluation was great!!!
-Dan ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. We both did it last year, and Dan was nice enough to stay with me. This year he was able to run and was much happier
-Dan stripped wallpaper in our dining room and painted it. We also stripped and painted the downstairs bath. Then we finished up by painting the kitchen and living room, which had been white since we moved in nearly 5 years ago.
-We got our vegetable garden planted. Lots of small green tomatoes right now.
-We are leaving on Tuesday to visit Mr.Steen in Maryland
-And the most exciting news of all.....We are expecting!!!! I found out the week we came home from Hawaii and my due date is December 3oth.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Day 11 - Last Day
Last day in Hawaii, and only a half day at that. Our flight out of Maui was for 8:30PM so we had some time to do stuff in the morning, but then we had to pack and get ready to go.
We decided to try a new beach that was supposed to have tons of sea turtles in the morning, Maluaka Beach. We got there and the waves were the highest that we had seen them and there wasn’t really a good place to enter the water. We got out there (partially because we thought that we saw turtles playing…. Stupid rocks) and were kind of disappointed. I don’t know if we didn’t go far enough left or far enough out, but we didn’t see much of anything.
We decided that we couldn’t end our trip with that disappointing snorkeling, so we headed back to our old stand by of Black Sand beach. We got in from the shore this time which was kind of difficult due to the higher waves. We hadn’t really wanted to climb over the rocks to the private beach, but I think it would have been just about as easy. We again saw plenty of fish and corral.
As we were getting ready to head back to shore, Shawnna was adjusting her mask above water and I was exploring a little further from shore. When I came back towards her, there was a huge sea turtle swimming right by Shawnna. Shawnna was just barely able to see him as he swam away.
Then, as we were heading back to shore, we found another turtle snoozing under a rock. We waited him out and he finally came to the surface and then swam right between us. We got some great pictures and a perfect end to the snorkeling. Dan really wanted to go in, but I convinced him to be patient. And out patience paid off. He came so close to me that I had to move to keep him from touching me. It was such an amazing moment for me. We spent a little time back at Po’olenalena and got to catch some waves on the boogie board. Shawnna even caught a couple. Then, unfortunately, it was time to go back and pack. This beach was by far my favorite beach to hang out and swim in the ocean. The sand was so light and beautiful. The water was crystal clear with no rocks or anything to step on. I really didn't think I wanted to boogie board. But Dan made it look like so much fun!! Honestly, the first time it happened was by accident. : ) We were out in the water, I was lounging on the board and Dan said "there's a big one coming, hang on" He wasn't kidding!! It took me all the way to the beach!! And it was so much fun!!!
We got packed, ate lunch at Pupu grill – excellent fish and chips. Spearfish (hebi) was excellent. This meal completely made up for last night. I wanted to stop buy LuLu's to get another haupia (coconut) shake, but I forgot : ( We got our water camera’s developed at Costco so we wouldn’t have to carry them home ( cheap at only $4.00 per roll) stopped at K-Mart to buy some souvenirs and then got to the airport.
We really didn’t have much luck with flights on this trip, and it continued on the way home. We checked our bags all the way through to Milwaukee from Maui, this was nice, we thought we were going to have to pick them up in Honolulu and check them again. But the ticket agent said that they couldn’t print our boarding passes for Portland to Chicago, which we didn’t really think too much of.
Maui to Honolulu to Portland, no problem. Got off the plane after flying all night and found out that our flight to Chicago had been cancelled. We go all the way to the United check-in area, wait for like 35 minutes and are told that we have been rebooked for a flight at 1:00PM (current time 7:30AM) to get into Milwaukee at 10:30PM. We had noticed a Northwest flight leaving at 8:30AM to Milwaukee and asked about that. We were told they had seats available, but that they could only give us a voucher. So we went to Northwest, got boarding passes, but no seat assignments, we had to go to the gate to get those. By this time, it was almost 8:10 and we needed to get to the gate. Got to Security, surprise surprise, special security. Everything taken out of our bags, air puff machine, swiped all electronics with special cloth etc. As we are finally heading to the gate we see that they are almost done boarding. We do manage to get two (last two?) seats, begged the gate attendant to let us grab two muffins since we hadn’t eaten in like 18 hours and board the plane seconds after the last call announcement.
Turns out that our Portland to Milwaukee flight actually stops in Minneapolis (airport number 7 for the trip) and then on to Milwaukee where we arrive only 15 minutes after we were scheduled to arrive from Chicago. And with that the vacation is officially over.
We decided to try a new beach that was supposed to have tons of sea turtles in the morning, Maluaka Beach. We got there and the waves were the highest that we had seen them and there wasn’t really a good place to enter the water. We got out there (partially because we thought that we saw turtles playing…. Stupid rocks) and were kind of disappointed. I don’t know if we didn’t go far enough left or far enough out, but we didn’t see much of anything.
We decided that we couldn’t end our trip with that disappointing snorkeling, so we headed back to our old stand by of Black Sand beach. We got in from the shore this time which was kind of difficult due to the higher waves. We hadn’t really wanted to climb over the rocks to the private beach, but I think it would have been just about as easy. We again saw plenty of fish and corral.
As we were getting ready to head back to shore, Shawnna was adjusting her mask above water and I was exploring a little further from shore. When I came back towards her, there was a huge sea turtle swimming right by Shawnna. Shawnna was just barely able to see him as he swam away.
Then, as we were heading back to shore, we found another turtle snoozing under a rock. We waited him out and he finally came to the surface and then swam right between us. We got some great pictures and a perfect end to the snorkeling. Dan really wanted to go in, but I convinced him to be patient. And out patience paid off. He came so close to me that I had to move to keep him from touching me. It was such an amazing moment for me. We spent a little time back at Po’olenalena and got to catch some waves on the boogie board. Shawnna even caught a couple. Then, unfortunately, it was time to go back and pack. This beach was by far my favorite beach to hang out and swim in the ocean. The sand was so light and beautiful. The water was crystal clear with no rocks or anything to step on. I really didn't think I wanted to boogie board. But Dan made it look like so much fun!! Honestly, the first time it happened was by accident. : ) We were out in the water, I was lounging on the board and Dan said "there's a big one coming, hang on" He wasn't kidding!! It took me all the way to the beach!! And it was so much fun!!!
We got packed, ate lunch at Pupu grill – excellent fish and chips. Spearfish (hebi) was excellent. This meal completely made up for last night. I wanted to stop buy LuLu's to get another haupia (coconut) shake, but I forgot : ( We got our water camera’s developed at Costco so we wouldn’t have to carry them home ( cheap at only $4.00 per roll) stopped at K-Mart to buy some souvenirs and then got to the airport.
We really didn’t have much luck with flights on this trip, and it continued on the way home. We checked our bags all the way through to Milwaukee from Maui, this was nice, we thought we were going to have to pick them up in Honolulu and check them again. But the ticket agent said that they couldn’t print our boarding passes for Portland to Chicago, which we didn’t really think too much of.
Maui to Honolulu to Portland, no problem. Got off the plane after flying all night and found out that our flight to Chicago had been cancelled. We go all the way to the United check-in area, wait for like 35 minutes and are told that we have been rebooked for a flight at 1:00PM (current time 7:30AM) to get into Milwaukee at 10:30PM. We had noticed a Northwest flight leaving at 8:30AM to Milwaukee and asked about that. We were told they had seats available, but that they could only give us a voucher. So we went to Northwest, got boarding passes, but no seat assignments, we had to go to the gate to get those. By this time, it was almost 8:10 and we needed to get to the gate. Got to Security, surprise surprise, special security. Everything taken out of our bags, air puff machine, swiped all electronics with special cloth etc. As we are finally heading to the gate we see that they are almost done boarding. We do manage to get two (last two?) seats, begged the gate attendant to let us grab two muffins since we hadn’t eaten in like 18 hours and board the plane seconds after the last call announcement.
Turns out that our Portland to Milwaukee flight actually stops in Minneapolis (airport number 7 for the trip) and then on to Milwaukee where we arrive only 15 minutes after we were scheduled to arrive from Chicago. And with that the vacation is officially over.
Day 10 - North/West Maui
Almost our last day. We had decided to spend the last full day on the north side of the island. We had intended to drive the loop around the West Maui section of the island but after the Road to Hana we were tired of driving. So, instead we were going to snorkel, go to the Whaler’s Village in Kaanapali, and then to see the torch lighting at Black Rock before going home.
As we were driving that morning we realized we had forgotten the Maui Revealed book. So we sort of remembered where the first place (Honoloa Bay) to snorkel was. We finally found it and there were a ton of cars there. Once we got into the water it felt a little more crowded than some of the other places, but not bad at all. We started on the left side and it wasn’t bad, ( I don’t think that we went far enough) but then we decided to swim across the bay. As we did, we saw a small stingray. He got away pretty fast but we were able to get a decent picture before he was gone. He was only a foot or so across, but had a 5 foot long tail. Seeing a sting ray was freakin' awesome!! He was small, but holy cow.. a sting ray!!!
When we got across the bay we ended up in the middle of a school of fish. This was really cool. The completely surrounded us and then all of a sudden two large tuna type fish came flying through and the school of fish went crazy. They were swimming in a circles and darting around us as they were chased. It was like swimming in a Discovery channel show. The rest of the snorkeling was very good and the corral just kept getting better as you went further up the right side.
After a couple of hours of snorkeling, we went to the Whaler’s Village (it's a mall on the beach)and looked around for awhile, had lunch at Leilani’s on the Beach. The food there was excellent. I got the fish tacos and Shawnna got fish and chips. Both were great, the fish tacos were huge for the price. A great bargain and great food.
Next we went up the road to Kahekili Beach Park. I did some quick snorkeling but there was a strong current and breeze that made it a little more difficult. Otherwise, we just relaxed on the beach. The beach had some nice facilities so we were able to change before we headed back to the Whaler’s Village to watch the torch lighting at sunset. It is pretty cool as he walks out to the Black Rock point, lights the torch, throws the fire into the ocean and then dives from the 25 ft high rock. After this we had the kind of long drive back to Kihei.
We ate dinner at Fred’s Mexican Café after everyone in the condo guest book raved about it. But, we weren’t really that impressed with either the food, or the service. By this time it was late and time for bed before our last day in Hawaii. This place was packed every single night we were there. We thought it must be good if it draws that much of a crowd. It was terrible. We waited forever for water. Had it not been so late, we would have left right then. Waited forever for food. We've been to plenty of packed mexican restaurants and have never had to wait so long or had food that bad. I honestly didn't know you could mess up a burrito that badly. A pretty disappointing last dinner.
As we were driving that morning we realized we had forgotten the Maui Revealed book. So we sort of remembered where the first place (Honoloa Bay) to snorkel was. We finally found it and there were a ton of cars there. Once we got into the water it felt a little more crowded than some of the other places, but not bad at all. We started on the left side and it wasn’t bad, ( I don’t think that we went far enough) but then we decided to swim across the bay. As we did, we saw a small stingray. He got away pretty fast but we were able to get a decent picture before he was gone. He was only a foot or so across, but had a 5 foot long tail. Seeing a sting ray was freakin' awesome!! He was small, but holy cow.. a sting ray!!!
When we got across the bay we ended up in the middle of a school of fish. This was really cool. The completely surrounded us and then all of a sudden two large tuna type fish came flying through and the school of fish went crazy. They were swimming in a circles and darting around us as they were chased. It was like swimming in a Discovery channel show. The rest of the snorkeling was very good and the corral just kept getting better as you went further up the right side.
After a couple of hours of snorkeling, we went to the Whaler’s Village (it's a mall on the beach)and looked around for awhile, had lunch at Leilani’s on the Beach. The food there was excellent. I got the fish tacos and Shawnna got fish and chips. Both were great, the fish tacos were huge for the price. A great bargain and great food.
Next we went up the road to Kahekili Beach Park. I did some quick snorkeling but there was a strong current and breeze that made it a little more difficult. Otherwise, we just relaxed on the beach. The beach had some nice facilities so we were able to change before we headed back to the Whaler’s Village to watch the torch lighting at sunset. It is pretty cool as he walks out to the Black Rock point, lights the torch, throws the fire into the ocean and then dives from the 25 ft high rock. After this we had the kind of long drive back to Kihei.
We ate dinner at Fred’s Mexican Café after everyone in the condo guest book raved about it. But, we weren’t really that impressed with either the food, or the service. By this time it was late and time for bed before our last day in Hawaii. This place was packed every single night we were there. We thought it must be good if it draws that much of a crowd. It was terrible. We waited forever for water. Had it not been so late, we would have left right then. Waited forever for food. We've been to plenty of packed mexican restaurants and have never had to wait so long or had food that bad. I honestly didn't know you could mess up a burrito that badly. A pretty disappointing last dinner.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 9 - Relax and Luau
Ready for another day of relaxation on our Southside beaches. We started our day off at the black sand beach and Shawnna and I hiked to our “private” beach over the rocks and started our snorkeling. Again we saw a wide variety fish and coral, but the highlight was Shawnna finding a sea turtle. He was taking a nap underneath a rock. He had tucked himself under a rock and was just laying there. We watched him for a little while until he came out, went up to the surface, and then went back under his rock. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures because as we had been taking pictures, I noticed the camera had filled with water. Evidently, dropping an underwater camera is bad. This was the first sea turtle I was able to see while snorkeling. It was amazing. Especially since I was the one that spotted him. I fell in love with sea turtles today.
We went back to Ahihi Cove. Nothing really new and exciting there. Then by this time, it was about time to head back to get ready to go to Lahina and our luau at Feast at Lele.
We wandered around Lahina for a while before the luau. Shawnna got her picture taken under the huge Banyan tree and we browsed around the shops downtown. When it was finally time to be seated, we were surprised to be seated at a table for two within 3 ft of the stage. We also go a fresh flower lei and a mai tai as we walked in.
Feast at Lele is a little different than the typical luau. It is a four course dinner representing four different Pacific ethnicities, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa. They would serve a course and then do a small show, such as a hula or other native dance. Our seats were awesome since the show was right in front of us. Shawnna discovered her new favorite drink, a Lava Flow, which is a pina colada with bananas and strawberry puree’. The food was excellent and we had a great time. We got some great pictures of the fire dancer which was the last performance of the night. All in all, it was an excellent time.
I am so happy we chose Feast at Lele for our luau. It was so nice to have our own table and to be served instead of having to go through a buffet line. The cost is a little more than some other luaus, but worth every cent!
We went back to Ahihi Cove. Nothing really new and exciting there. Then by this time, it was about time to head back to get ready to go to Lahina and our luau at Feast at Lele.
We wandered around Lahina for a while before the luau. Shawnna got her picture taken under the huge Banyan tree and we browsed around the shops downtown. When it was finally time to be seated, we were surprised to be seated at a table for two within 3 ft of the stage. We also go a fresh flower lei and a mai tai as we walked in.
Feast at Lele is a little different than the typical luau. It is a four course dinner representing four different Pacific ethnicities, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa. They would serve a course and then do a small show, such as a hula or other native dance. Our seats were awesome since the show was right in front of us. Shawnna discovered her new favorite drink, a Lava Flow, which is a pina colada with bananas and strawberry puree’. The food was excellent and we had a great time. We got some great pictures of the fire dancer which was the last performance of the night. All in all, it was an excellent time.
I am so happy we chose Feast at Lele for our luau. It was so nice to have our own table and to be served instead of having to go through a buffet line. The cost is a little more than some other luaus, but worth every cent!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day 8 - Road to Hana
Road to Hana. We tried to get an early start today to try to beat the crowds but we weren’t real successful. We started the approximately 60 mile (from Kahului) drive to Hana and at first it wasn’t too bad, but eventually we started getting to the real curves. We stopped along the way, first at a small farmer’s stand for banana bread and my favorite, raw sugar cane sticks. The Road to Hana is a road that follows the eastward (windward) coast of Maui, and when I say follows, I mean follows. The road is known for having approximately 620 curves and 46 one lane bridges.
After this our first real stop was at Pulalau Falls. This is back off of the highway a little ways and we got to hike on a pretty nice boulder stream bed. Unfortunately, we got back to the falls, there wasn’t much of anything flowing from the waterfall.
Next was Upper Waikani Falls, aka Three Bears Falls, which was very pretty, though it was only flowing a little. This turned out to be the theme of the trip. Lots of green, lots of curves, but very little water. The next two falls were Hanawi and Makipipi Falls.
Then we drove down to the ocean via Nahiku Road. It was even greener than the road to Hana. The views of the raw coast line of this side of the island are amazing. Black lava rock getting pounded by the surf. It really made the couple mile drive down well worth it. We ate lunch down by the shore, which was supposed to be normally pretty deserted but there were quite a few people there. One of the issues with following guidebooks.
We then made our way to Wai’anapanapa Black Sand beach. The beach itself is actually smaller than the name, but it is a true black sand beach, made from pounded lava rock. From the beach, you could also see a sea arch of lava and walk into a lava tube cave.
Next was the actual town of Hana, which doesn’t really have a whole lot of anything. But, we did take a quick hike down to a Red Sand beach, but just as we got there, it started to rain.
I should tell you that you can't move real quick on the "trail". There's a reason that there is a "No Trespassing" sign. But that didn't stop us LOL. So we didn’t get all the way down to the beach, but it is pretty cool because there a small sheltered cove is formed by a red rock wave break.After Hana, the next stop was Kipahulu State Park with the 7 Sacred Pools. This is a series of waterfalls and pools that are supposed to have healing powers if you bath in each one in series. Just as we started back, we saw a rainbow, very pretty.
Then, was the unfortunate drive back which took almost 4 hours to get back to the condo. By this time, we barely had time to grab some dinner at Da Kitchen. Good local Hawaiian food, good price and huge portions. Then time for bed.
OK, I have to come up with something positive to say about this..... well, the coast line was very beautiful. The true black sand beach was neat. I just didn't enjoy spending all day in the car. Folks say, "It's not about getting to Hana, it's about the drive there"...well the drive lasted ALL DAY. I would have rather been spent the day in the water. Dan agrees. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable had the water falls been flowing.
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After this our first real stop was at Pulalau Falls. This is back off of the highway a little ways and we got to hike on a pretty nice boulder stream bed. Unfortunately, we got back to the falls, there wasn’t much of anything flowing from the waterfall.
Next was Upper Waikani Falls, aka Three Bears Falls, which was very pretty, though it was only flowing a little. This turned out to be the theme of the trip. Lots of green, lots of curves, but very little water. The next two falls were Hanawi and Makipipi Falls.
Then we drove down to the ocean via Nahiku Road. It was even greener than the road to Hana. The views of the raw coast line of this side of the island are amazing. Black lava rock getting pounded by the surf. It really made the couple mile drive down well worth it. We ate lunch down by the shore, which was supposed to be normally pretty deserted but there were quite a few people there. One of the issues with following guidebooks.
We then made our way to Wai’anapanapa Black Sand beach. The beach itself is actually smaller than the name, but it is a true black sand beach, made from pounded lava rock. From the beach, you could also see a sea arch of lava and walk into a lava tube cave.
Next was the actual town of Hana, which doesn’t really have a whole lot of anything. But, we did take a quick hike down to a Red Sand beach, but just as we got there, it started to rain.
I should tell you that you can't move real quick on the "trail". There's a reason that there is a "No Trespassing" sign. But that didn't stop us LOL. So we didn’t get all the way down to the beach, but it is pretty cool because there a small sheltered cove is formed by a red rock wave break.After Hana, the next stop was Kipahulu State Park with the 7 Sacred Pools. This is a series of waterfalls and pools that are supposed to have healing powers if you bath in each one in series. Just as we started back, we saw a rainbow, very pretty.
Then, was the unfortunate drive back which took almost 4 hours to get back to the condo. By this time, we barely had time to grab some dinner at Da Kitchen. Good local Hawaiian food, good price and huge portions. Then time for bed.
OK, I have to come up with something positive to say about this..... well, the coast line was very beautiful. The true black sand beach was neat. I just didn't enjoy spending all day in the car. Folks say, "It's not about getting to Hana, it's about the drive there"...well the drive lasted ALL DAY. I would have rather been spent the day in the water. Dan agrees. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable had the water falls been flowing.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Day 7 - Relaxation in Maui
Relaxation day. We decided that since we didn’t know how Shawnna would be feeling, we would stay a little closer to home and go snorkeling/beach bumming in South Maui.
Our first stop of the day was to Ahihi Cove. This was in a fish preserve and was supposed to have some really impressive fish because fishing was not allowed. We geared up and got in the water. Within 15 feet we were already seeing all sorts of butterfly fish, trigger fish, and many others. Shawnna was still pretty apprehensive about snorkeling, so we only went out for about 30 minutes. Shawnna came back in to rest and I headed back out for a little while longer. The right side of the cove had a pretty impressive array of fish. I even saw a spotted eel hiding in the rocks pretty close to shore.
Next we headed for a black sand beach called Oneuli Beach. The black sand comes from a cinder cone hill that was formed during one of the last eruptions. The beach itself is tucked back on the terrible bumpy dirt road, but this makes it a little less crowded. As we were walking the beach, we noticed a lot of shells and soon we were finding a bunch of sea glass also. We collected a good amount of both shells and glass and then Shawnna decided to lay down under the umbrella and read for a while, while I went snorkeling.
I climbed over some rocks on the left side of the beach and found a sheltered little sand cove. It was pretty easy to enter from the little point and soon I was out snorkeling. The coral at this beach was amazing. Maybe not quite as many fish, but a good variety and the water was beautiful. As far as you could see in either direction, the coral stretched. As I was getting ready to come back in, I saw the first sea turtle of the trip. He was lazily swimming away from me and I was able to get a couple of pictures before he disappeared. Back at the little beach, I happened to look down and find a piece of light blue sea glass which is a really rare color since there is so little actual glass that is that color. Brown, green and white are the most popular. Because of beer bottles.
It was getting to be close to lunchtime, so we packed up and went to the next beach on our list, Po’olenalena Beach which has a convenient little parking lot near Makena Surf. We set up our umbrella and ate our packed lunch on an almost deserted beach. We went for a couple of quick swims and by that time Shawnna needed to lay down so we headed back to the condo.
Shawnna wanted a normal burger and fries for dinner so we tried Peggy Sue’s which had great burger and fries. But the highlight of the meal was the milkshakes. Shawnna got haupia, which basically is a coconut flavored milkshake and I got the Hula pie. Both were excellent and we were one of only a couple of people in the 50’s style diner. Oh my god that was the BEST milk shake I've ever had!!! Indescribably good!!! The best part was that it was a hand made milk shake and after they filled your glass, they brought you what was leftover too! Another relaxing sunset and then off to bed.
Our first stop of the day was to Ahihi Cove. This was in a fish preserve and was supposed to have some really impressive fish because fishing was not allowed. We geared up and got in the water. Within 15 feet we were already seeing all sorts of butterfly fish, trigger fish, and many others. Shawnna was still pretty apprehensive about snorkeling, so we only went out for about 30 minutes. Shawnna came back in to rest and I headed back out for a little while longer. The right side of the cove had a pretty impressive array of fish. I even saw a spotted eel hiding in the rocks pretty close to shore.
Next we headed for a black sand beach called Oneuli Beach. The black sand comes from a cinder cone hill that was formed during one of the last eruptions. The beach itself is tucked back on the terrible bumpy dirt road, but this makes it a little less crowded. As we were walking the beach, we noticed a lot of shells and soon we were finding a bunch of sea glass also. We collected a good amount of both shells and glass and then Shawnna decided to lay down under the umbrella and read for a while, while I went snorkeling.
I climbed over some rocks on the left side of the beach and found a sheltered little sand cove. It was pretty easy to enter from the little point and soon I was out snorkeling. The coral at this beach was amazing. Maybe not quite as many fish, but a good variety and the water was beautiful. As far as you could see in either direction, the coral stretched. As I was getting ready to come back in, I saw the first sea turtle of the trip. He was lazily swimming away from me and I was able to get a couple of pictures before he disappeared. Back at the little beach, I happened to look down and find a piece of light blue sea glass which is a really rare color since there is so little actual glass that is that color. Brown, green and white are the most popular. Because of beer bottles.
It was getting to be close to lunchtime, so we packed up and went to the next beach on our list, Po’olenalena Beach which has a convenient little parking lot near Makena Surf. We set up our umbrella and ate our packed lunch on an almost deserted beach. We went for a couple of quick swims and by that time Shawnna needed to lay down so we headed back to the condo.
Shawnna wanted a normal burger and fries for dinner so we tried Peggy Sue’s which had great burger and fries. But the highlight of the meal was the milkshakes. Shawnna got haupia, which basically is a coconut flavored milkshake and I got the Hula pie. Both were excellent and we were one of only a couple of people in the 50’s style diner. Oh my god that was the BEST milk shake I've ever had!!! Indescribably good!!! The best part was that it was a hand made milk shake and after they filled your glass, they brought you what was leftover too! Another relaxing sunset and then off to bed.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Day 6 - Haleakala Crater
I had called the weather service and found that the sunrise on the top of Haleakala was scheduled for 6:48AM. I didn’t really think twice about the time and that this sounded kind of late. We planned for a two hour drive, plus 1 hour of extra time to make sure we found a parking spot. We also hoped to catch it go from pure black to the sunrise. We packed some coffee, tea, and some stuff for breakfast and got on the road by 4AM. It was a good thing we had planned on that extra time. I must have either misheard the time for the sunrise, or the weather service recorded it wrong because sunrise was closer to 5:45AM. The drive up was uneventful, other than just the general nature of the drive. The road to the top is the greatest elevation change in the shortest distance in the world. As we were getting close to the top we were commenting how light it was getting. We ended up only beating the sunrise by about 20 minutes. Shawnna wasn’t feeling real well and we didn’t have a great spot to watch the sunrise; nonetheless, it is still a pretty impressive sunrise as it the sun peaks over the top of the clouds. Because it is so high, the sun actually rises out of the clouds which are spread out below you. Even with the time issue and not having a great "view" it was still beautiful and amazing. It was very moving experience. Some folks who go to Maui skip the sunrise completely. Saying "It's tooo early" But it is worth it!! Worth the early wake up call, the car sickness, and braving the cold. Besides, if you go early enough in your vacation your body will be ready to get up anyway. Pack a breakfast and take a nap on the beach when you get back : )
After the sunrise, we relaxed and ate some breakfast and then bundled up to hike inside of the crater on the Sliding Sands trail. We had jackets and pants and it was a good thing since it was about 38 deg F at the top of the crater. The inside of the crater is just amazing. It is completely desolate except for a couple of spindly shrubs. And the inside is untouched except for a small trail that winds its way through the crater. We took the trail for about a mile and a half and then walked back which is only a small portion of the trail. The most amazing part is the absolute utter quiet while we were hiking. We stopped for a little while and just sat there and listened to the absolute silence (I know, how do you listen to silence).
By the time that we finished hiking back to the car, Shawnna was really not feeling well and her ear and neck were really bothering her. We ended up at the Kahului Emergency Room on a Sunday afternoon. Very interesting to say the least. Also waiting were a homeless guy ranting and raving about someone hitting him on the head, a lady who looked high who had cut her hand and a little boy with an ankle injury. Needless to say it was decent people watching. After waiting about an hour, Shawnna was diagnosed with an inner ear infection which she was given prescriptions for some pain pills and a Z-pack to clear up the infection. Luckily, since it was an inner ear infection, the doctor said that she could continue to snorkel and swim as long as she didn’t notice it getting any worse.
I like how my husband says "ear and neck were really bothering her". I was in PAIN! The worst PAIN I have ever EXPERIENCED!! In so much pain that when the dr. touched the area around my ear I yelled and nearly smacked him! I was still in pain when we came home so I followed up with my doctor. Because I had a cold before we left and was still a little congested, the pressure and altitude changes during our flights over caused my Eustachian tube to not be able to regulate the pressure in my ear, causing a blockage. Because of the blockage and the congestion developed into an infection. The Z-pack sort-of worked, but because the infection hadn't drained out completely, the trip home was just as painful as the trip over. I continued antibiotics for 3 weeks. And no, the drive up and back from Haleakala didn't help things, but it was still worth it!!
We picked up her meds and came home. Watched another gorgeous sunset and called it a day.
Stay tuned......some awesome snorkeling stories coming up : )
After the sunrise, we relaxed and ate some breakfast and then bundled up to hike inside of the crater on the Sliding Sands trail. We had jackets and pants and it was a good thing since it was about 38 deg F at the top of the crater. The inside of the crater is just amazing. It is completely desolate except for a couple of spindly shrubs. And the inside is untouched except for a small trail that winds its way through the crater. We took the trail for about a mile and a half and then walked back which is only a small portion of the trail. The most amazing part is the absolute utter quiet while we were hiking. We stopped for a little while and just sat there and listened to the absolute silence (I know, how do you listen to silence).
By the time that we finished hiking back to the car, Shawnna was really not feeling well and her ear and neck were really bothering her. We ended up at the Kahului Emergency Room on a Sunday afternoon. Very interesting to say the least. Also waiting were a homeless guy ranting and raving about someone hitting him on the head, a lady who looked high who had cut her hand and a little boy with an ankle injury. Needless to say it was decent people watching. After waiting about an hour, Shawnna was diagnosed with an inner ear infection which she was given prescriptions for some pain pills and a Z-pack to clear up the infection. Luckily, since it was an inner ear infection, the doctor said that she could continue to snorkel and swim as long as she didn’t notice it getting any worse.
I like how my husband says "ear and neck were really bothering her". I was in PAIN! The worst PAIN I have ever EXPERIENCED!! In so much pain that when the dr. touched the area around my ear I yelled and nearly smacked him! I was still in pain when we came home so I followed up with my doctor. Because I had a cold before we left and was still a little congested, the pressure and altitude changes during our flights over caused my Eustachian tube to not be able to regulate the pressure in my ear, causing a blockage. Because of the blockage and the congestion developed into an infection. The Z-pack sort-of worked, but because the infection hadn't drained out completely, the trip home was just as painful as the trip over. I continued antibiotics for 3 weeks. And no, the drive up and back from Haleakala didn't help things, but it was still worth it!!
We picked up her meds and came home. Watched another gorgeous sunset and called it a day.
Stay tuned......some awesome snorkeling stories coming up : )
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Day 5 - Start of Maui
Started the day off with the Maui Swap meet in Kahalui. Not bad, but less handmade stuff than we were expecting. We did get some excellent mango and pineapple to eat for breakfast and then some papayas and tomatoes to take home. Our only other purchase was a turtle necklace for Shawnna and a pair of earrings for Jamie. The turtle necklace was white shell material, looked very nice and was handmade in Maui.
After the swap meet we got some various groceries and necessity shopping done and headed back to the condo so we could get ready to go to our massages. We had decided that our saved change for the past three years would go to a splurge. We thought that since this was supposed to be a relaxation vacation a massage would be the perfect thing.
We had the massage at Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea Resort. Gorgeous resort, ridiculously expensive, where like 7 nights there equals our entire vacation, but it sure was nice. Our massages included an hour of terme’ which included sauna’s, whirlpools, etc, which even I had to admit was quite enjoyable. This was done separately (men and women) and then we had our massages done together. Most relaxing 50 minutes of our life. After we were done, we both agreed that we felt amazingly relaxed.
We drove back to Kihei for dinner at Pupu’s Grill. We ordered our first drinks of vacation (Dream of Love – Shawnna, Mai Tai – Daniel) and then we had a satay sampler and the catch of day. The satay sampler came with beef, scallop, chicken and shrimp with the most delicious Thai sauce. The meat didn’t need any sauce, but we kept dipping it anyway because the sauce was so good. The catch of the day was walu and we had it macadamia nut crusted. It tasted great. Our server was hilarious and he was the one that recommended the catch of day. All in all, exactly the type of dinner that I had expected. After we got back and looked up the fish, we learned that it was actually called a “butterfish” because of the gastrointestinal problems that it tends to cause due to the high fat content. We were really glad that we had only shared a small portion.
Shawnna wasn’t feeling too well (pressure in her ear and the back of her neck) so we went to bed early. Tomorrow was Haleakala sunrise so we went to bed early since we were leaving by 3:30AM.
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