Hawaii, Day 4: Blowhole and Honolua Bay

Day four was the day Dave picked to relive. Like all the other days, it held quite the mix of remarkable sights. We started in the morning with our second big hike, "Acid War Zone to Blowhole." This trail name sounds strange, but it pretty well sums up the landscape we walked through. Along the northern coast there is about a mile of lava rock that has become so eroded from wind and saltwater, it looks like an alien land, like an acid war was fought there. Dave said it reminded him of the Badlands in South Dakota.

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We hiked through this for about an hour, astonished at the eerie shapes of weathered rocks on one side and the hungry ocean on the other.

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The destination for this hike was the Nakalele Blowhole. We had no idea what to expect from this blowhole. It was awesome! Every few seconds water from the violent sea got trapped in an underwater lava cave and was forced up through a perfectly round hole. The force of it sounded like thunder and shook the ground. Depending on the wave sizes and wind, the shoot could go as high as 70 feet! From some angles we got sprayed, from others we saw the rainbow that formed each time it errupted. All around the blowhole were tide pools just teeming with life, we saw crabs and lung fish and all sorts of cool things. Again, because we got there early and were a bit off the beaten path, we had the place to ourselves for the whole morning!

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Heading back, we found this too-perfect rock. It was eroded into an exact heart shape. This may be my favorite picture of the trip.

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Back at the hotel, we made lunch and changed into swimsuits. An afternoon of snorkeling and beaching awaited. Our first afternoon stop was at Honolua Bay, supposedly one of the best snorkel spots in all of Hawaii. Its giant reef and marine wildlife sanctuary house and protect a whole world of underwater tropical life. Dave and I paddled around the bay, holding hands and pointing out one Finding Nemo character after the next. We swam through schools of fish, saw huge blue ones that were "this big!" and even a large spotted blow fish.

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Next we drove up the road just a bit to relax at Maui's number one rated beach, the ritzy Kapalua. Here I did my tanning and reading, while Dave hopped right back into the water for more snorkeling. We had fun swimming and bobbing around in the waves too.

More than one person, as well as our all-knowing guidebook, told us we had to eat at Kimo's. What a neat restaurant! Our view was SO good, I could have jumped off our table right into the ocean. Our 6:30 reservation allowed us to see another sunset as we ate dinner. Day four was perfect.

Hawaii, Day 3: Pancakes, Sea Turtles and Hula Dancers

One thing I am so happy we did was some research. We knew our time in Hawaii would fly by so we wanted to waste none of it with things our guidebook did not label as "the best." We hiked the best trails, snorkeled the best beaches and ate at the best restaurants. One of these restaurants was a little hut on the beach called Gazebo. It was hailed as having the best view and best mac nut pancakes on the island. By staying on California time (going to bed shortly after sunset and waking shortly after sunrise) we were able to get there before it opened and didn't have to wait in the long line that had already formed when we were done. Check out my plate of banana macadamia nut pancakes and pineapple! Do I even need to go into extra detail about how delicious this breakfast was or how great the view was?

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After breakfast we pulled out the snorkel sets we had bought at Costo and drove to beach stop number one, Kaanapali Beach and Black Rock. This was how we did all our snorkeling-- read about the good spots, found them, parked the car and hiked to and hopped in the water. The highlight of this day was seeing 5 sea turtles swimming around with us. Dave was so close to one he could have touched it! Dave also saw an eagle ray and more colorful fish than we could even find in our "Fish of Hawaii" guide.

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Dave was happy to stay in the water all day swimming with the sea life. I snorkeled for a while, but also enjoyed laying on the beach and getting through my book.

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Our vacation package came with luau tickets. This night, we chose a luau at the Sheraton on Kaanapali Beach, the same one we had been swimming and snorkeling at all day. The food and drinks at the luau were excellent. The show was pretty cheesy, but exactly what we were expecting. A highlight was being invited up to the stage with all the other anniversary celebrators and honeymooners for a special serenade and slow dance.
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The main course of dinner was this pig that had been roasted in the ground all day. We were called to eat with a conch shell blow and then watched these Hawaiian men uncover our pig and get it ready for us.
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After dinner and before the show we watched our third sunset.

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This one was cool because at Black Rock a guy comes out each night to light tiki torches, toss a lei into the water, pray and then cliff dive into the ocean.

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Day three was packed with good food and unusual sightings. (Sea turtles! Cliff divers! Fire dancers!) This gorgeous sunset was a great addition to it. Day three was perfect.
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Hawaii, Day 2: Road to Hana and Pipiwai Trail

Each day was incredible, but when Dave asked which one I would relive, I said "Day Two" without hesitation. On our second day we woke up bright and early and hit the 3 hour twisty- turny Road to Hana. The drive was through lush rain forests and had waterfall and shore stops every few mile markers.
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My favorite stop on the Road to Hana was the black sand beach. As soon as we walked up, it took our breath away-- the black sand and blue water making such a sharp contrast. Walking on the beach was so cool. We found it wasn't really sand, but more like tiny ball bearings or large poppy seeds. We then discovered a lava tube cave that let out into the crashing ocean. Indescribable!





Another great stop on the Road to Hana was the 7 Sacred Pools. Here we were able to actually swim in waterfall pools! As the name implies, a huge cliff supports enough water runoff to make a chain of seven waterfalls with seven pools ending in the ocean. The water was invigorating and I even took a fancy jump off the cliff into it.

I am a bit prone to carsickness and the Road to Hana's 600 curves were no exception for me. If the drive alone was the point of this day, it may not have been fulfilling. We actually made the drive to hike the Pipiwai Trail. I had read that this was the best hike in Maui and we sure weren't disappointed!

We hiked past too many waterfalls to count. This was my favorite spot. On top of one waterfall cliff you could stand and gaze in awe at an infinity pool only God could create!

We were totally safe, but here I sit at the ledge of another waterfall.

We went swinging in the giant Banyan Tree.

Dave's most memorable part of this hike was the bamboo forest. This was fascinating. The bamboo grows so tall and so thick that no sunlight gets in. It was dark and damp in it and a game of hide-and-seek proved he could literally hide a few feet in and not be visible. When the wind blew, all the bamboo clacked together making a cool noise.

The dead bamboo was really light. This one is probably five times my length and I can lift it easily. We broke some fallen shoots down to make walking sticks.

The conclusion of the 4 mile hike was to traverse across a stream and find Waimoku Falls tumbling down 400 feet-- the tallest waterfall we've ever seen. We had to just sit and admire it for a while before beginning the long hike and drive back. Day two was perfect.

Hawaii, Day 1: The Resort

Home sweet home. Sigh. I close my eyes and I see a patch of green and blue ocean framed with black lava rocks and a blue sky with a few lazy white clouds floating around. This Hawaiian getaway has easily jumped into my "Number One Vacation of All Time" spot, and we've had some good vacations. Everything about it was completely perfect and I'm still a little mind-boggled about some of the things we saw and did! One thing perfect about it was its length. To be home and hug the girls and hear about their super fun time with Grandpa and Grandma is exactly what I want to be doing today. How to blog this week, though! How to share it? How to record these memories! It's daunting. I decided I'll write one post for each day and probably write one a day so as to not overwhelm. Some will be longer than others, but each entry, because each day, in this Hawaii journal will be spectacular, I promise!

. Obviously, day one included our flight out. Fun on this day was running into good friends Sara and Arend at the airport! (They snapped the picture.) What an exciting time to connect. Not fun on this day was the 2 hour delay we waited while mechanics fixed the hydraulics on our plane. I didn't care about the wait, I was sans kids and had a 500 page book and ipod I'd been dreaming about spending time with. I did care about flying an apparently broken airplane 5 hours across the Pacific Ocean. All was fine, however.

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We picked up our rental car and some groceries and checked into our hotel-- the Kaanapali Shores. This hotel went waaaay above my expectations. Our ocean view condo with full kitchen, living room and lanai was awesome! The grounds were tropically landscaped, the beach was steps away, the 2 pools and hot tubs were refreshing. We even found a bottle of wine in our condo as a congrats for our anniversary. We would completely recommend this place to anyone looking for a beautiful but reasonable place to stay in Maui.


Part of our package was $100 to spend in the resort's ocean front restaurant. We ate a gourmet meal, watched the sun set (this picture is taken from and shows the view from our lanai) and headed off to bed early. Day one was perfect.

Enter Grandpa and Grandma...Exit Mommy and Daddy

I just said goodbye to my girls. Surprisingly, I am not weeping. At 4:00 am tomorrow morning we will begin our journey to Hawaii. As happy-- no, more like thrilled and ecstatic-- as I am about this anniversary getaway, right now the gift I am most thankful for is the one Mom and Dad are giving us with their childcare. This weekend has already been wonderful. The girls are so excited to have them here. Even Delia, who's normally a bit of a clinger, keeps asking, "Where Grandma go?" whenever she can't see her or being a super-cuddle bug with Grandpa. Neither girl had any trouble saying goodbye to me tonight! So after giving a weekend crash-course in "Ella and Delia 101" and witnessing proof that Delia will, in fact, be just fine with out Mommy and Daddy, we feel all ready to go! See you next weekend with tons of pictures and stories!

Here We Go Again!

New shoes. Check

New folder. Check

New backpack. Check

Share bag labeled and filled. Check.

A dusted off and set-for-the-first-time-all-summer alarm clock. Check.

Fun first day of school snack. Check.

One excited little Star. Check!

Members' Nite

Last night we felt special and exclusive. We took Oakland Zoo up on their Members' Nite invite and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes peek at our zoo for 2 hours with other zoo members. It was a fantastic night with many highlights. One thing we all appreciated was the bay area's nice cool nighttime temps. Because of this we think the animals were much more active-- lions were roaring, monkeys were frolicking and the bats were awake and going crazy. As much as we do love seeing the animals in their habitats, this trip to the zoo was awesome for giving us a different look.

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There were a few stations where we could interact and get up close and personal with the animals. We stared at an owl perched on a zookeeper's arm, petted a ferret and a snake (!) and even chased a tortoise around.

Every half hour were special animal feedings. Here we observe the alligators gobble up their rat dinner. This is something that is always exciting to watch.

Some of the animal homes had open houses that let us walk through and see what the zookeepers see on the other side of the cages. At the tiger exhibit, we got to go in the night house and actually walk around in the tiger cages (don't worry the tigers were safely locked in the outdoor enclosure, obviously). We saw the balls they chew on, the brushes they scratch up against and even climbed around in their bed. Who can say they've been in a tiger's cage and put their fingers in holes that tigers have gnawed and clawed? Us now!

The veterinary clinic was open for tours and I found this completely fascinating. The vets showed us the x-ray equipment, dentist tools, shots for administering anesthesia and drugs, surgical suite and trachea tubes of various sizes (the elephant one was HUGE!). We saw the giant scales and nets for catching animals and pictures of animals being taken care of. It changes constantly, but once again, Ella has declared her intent to become a vet when she grows up.

Summer's Swan Song

It's been a busy summer. Not just for us, but for all our Swim Day friends. So while yesterday's Swim Day was only the second of the summer, it was also, sadly, the last one of the summer. And it was as splash-tastic, snack-stuffed and fellowship-with-friends-full as it always is. Delia was having the most fun going down the "wee slide!" over and over and over.

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Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the traditional Last Swim Day of Summer All VM Dinner because Ella had a back-to-school night last night. This reunion with Ella's teachers and friends at her preschool was neat too. She saw where her seat will be in the Star classroom and found her cubbie and played hard on the playground with school buddies Anna and Avery.

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Is summer really almost over?! With just one last grand finale-- Mom and Dad arrive in exactly one week and Dave and I make our romantic escape to Hawaii-- our crazy summer sure flew by!

Bye-Bye Butterflies

Today was the day we agreed to let our butterflies have their freedom. The excitement to set them free actually tempered any sadness the girls had about saying goodbye to them. We let them fly at the home of Gys, a sweet, Dutch-brogued, older gentlemen from our church. He has a major green thumb and grows extensive flower gardens all over his front and back yards. We thought our butterflies would like having a whole rainbow of flowers to choose from at his house. Hopefully they'll multiply and give Gys and his wife Pia even more beauty in their abundant flower beds.

. We opened the lid, but the butterflies did not exactly seize the opportunity to be free.

We had to gently scoop them out and help them see that there was a great, big, beautiful world outside their mesh home.

This guy didn't want to leave us!

For a good 20 minutes we watched our butterflies float all around the yard and hop from flower to flower. The girls pointed at them, chased them and left happy knowing that we were giving our butterflies a good home.

Like Mother Like Daughter?

Lately Ella has been playing school. Perhaps it's because she goes back to preschool next week Tuesday. She sets up her desk with the apple on it and some books. Then she lines up all the stuffed animals to be her class. She reads them stories and writes letters on the white board to teach her class the alphabet. Sometimes mischievous Delia will snag an animal and run away laughing. In turn, Ella yells, "My students! Delia's stealing my students!" It's very cute and very funny and makes her Mommy proud.

Pumped

And then again today we got to spend more time with Amy, Jonathan and Grace when they invited us on a MOPS outing with them. We went to Pump It Up, which is one of those inflatable bouncy house places. Ella went crazy on the 6 giant inflatables. She ran through obstacle courses, played basketball and king-of-the-mountain. She went down a giant slide about 100 times, climbed blow-up and rock walls and loved trying to scale this slope to grab flags. Delia was more leery of the humongous, noisy, brightly colored jump things, but still had fun watching all the other kids. She also got into climbing and dancing on the smaller playgrounds and driving the little cars around.
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With its reasonable price, hour and half time limits and weekday morning Preschool Play, we're pretty pumped about Pump It Up and will definitely have to check this place out again!