Spring Break on Maui

Tom and Jan were at it again, this time by air. It was a short flight to Seattle, then a long wait on the tarmac getting a parking place, causing us to rush through the airport to make our very long flight to Maui.

By the way, don’t think we’ll go with Budget Rent a Car next time – it was more than 90 minutes in line to get the car, and guess what – we were pooped!

But ohhhh, then we got to our Ma’alea Harbor condo and it felt soooo good. The view and the evening air made up for any hassles of the day.

Ma'alea Harbor from our living room

The view from the lanai.  Looking south toward Kehei

Friday morning we drove on the road to Hana.  Beautiful rainforest scenes, a little bit of rain, a few waterfalls and many twists, turns and lots of one-way bridges. One of the stops was Keanae Peninsula, a lovely place to get to the waves, find some coral and look up to the lush valley.

Keanea Peninsula on the road to Hana

Church grounds on the road to Hana

One of the many one way bridges.  Fun to drive in the worlds biggest SUV

On the way back, we stopped at Ho’okipa Beach to watch the surfers and kite boarders.

Yeah, yeah.  I can do that

Friday night, the Bagleys  flew in and we met them at the airport with leis for the girls. They were glad to be off the plane as we had been the day before.

Elizabeth, Sarah, and Glen being greeted by 75 degree weather at 9:00 pm

Leis for the girls.

Midday on Saturday, we drove to Lahaina – the boys tried to find a sports bar to watch the Timbers, the girls went to the beach. Hot sand and no shade, but the warm water was fantastic.

On Sunday, we took a snorkel boat tour. On the way out to Molokini, a mother whale and her babe were waving to us. As for snorkeling, we were otherwise occupied.

Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour

All smiles early in the trip

A humpback and her baby wave goodbye

Monday took us down the road to Kehei and we found a great place for lying on the beach and boogie boarding.

Sarah riding the shore-break at Mai Poina Oe La'u Park

Elizabeth getting the place wired

Paia on Tuesday morning was a fun and mellow place to be. We had a great breakfast at one of Willie Nelson’s favorite hangouts – Charlie’s. Lots of shops and a shave ice.

Paia, an old plantation town now full of hippies

Our family at Charlie's with Trigger (shown larger than actual size)

Getting Photo Bombed at Ho'okipa Beach

Heading back to the condo, we stopped in Wailuku at a great record shop – Glen was in his element.

That afternoon it was back to Kehei for more sun, beach, waves, and boogie boards.

More fun in the surf and sun

The Maui Ocean Center was a block from the condo, so in the afternoon we walked up there for a delightful couple of hours. It was just as if we had actually snorkeled!

Black tip shark at the Maui Ocean Center

Having fun in front of a green screen

One of the presenters said this little fellow is more dangerous than the sharks.  OK, fine.

That night, all of us enjoyed a terrific barbecue dinner at Beach Bums (Smoked Spam!), also a block away from our place. We loved being able to walk to shops, restaurants, etc.

Thursday morning, we said goodbye to the condo. Gee, the owners were wonderful people to work with and we highly recommend the place to anyone going to Maui.

Sad to go, but we were pretty happy to get rid of the Ford Explorer (Tom called it a land yacht).  Too many electronic gadgets and way too big to fit in any parking spaces, let alone the bridges on  the road to Hana.

Aloha and Mahalo Maui