Maui - Part 3

Day 5

On this day we got to go sailing to the little island of Molokini, a dormant volcano just off the coast of southern Maui.  We met up with our group at this shack on Makena Beach.

See Molokini off in the distance?

Here is the boat we took.

All geared up!

Our first time snorkeling!

I love this shot of Howie.  I like how I got his floatie ring.

Dolphins joined us on our sailing trip!

There aren't any sea turtles at Molokini so, the crew took us to a location where we were more likely to see some.  They are so neat to watch!

We loved the charter company we went with on this excursion.  They provided a snack on the way out to Molikini and lunch on the way to the turtles.  Very cool crew.  We loved it!

Day 6

  Well, due to our activity on day 5, on day 6 we did absolutely nothing.  I have one picture from day 6 and it isn't a pretty one.  I'm only going to show you a small portion of it though.

Please see below...

Yes, that is my back.

To the left you'll notice a much larger area of red than on the right.

That is my before and after.

We got absolutely fried.  I mean ultimate fried.  Fried beyond belief.  So fried that it affected the rest of our trip.  We tried aloe, we tried apple cider vinegar, and neosporin.

Nothing was soothing this burn.

On day 6 I could barely even wear clothes.

It hurt that bad.

I can't emphasize it enough.  It was Hell on my skin.

A few days later I had blisters on the back of my legs.

Second degree burn.

My legs and feet retained water trying to flush the toxins out.

It was awful!

Day 7

The final day in Maui we were somewhat back in business.  Howie was fine, but my body was still very sore.  I just tried to press on and not let it slow me down.

We visited beautiful Iao Valley.

It rained on our way there so there was this really cool mist of clouds everywhere.

Can I vent for a second?
Howie didn't want to hike up to see the Iao Needle so, I was left to go at it alone.  Which meant that once I got there I had to rely on other peoples picture taking skills for my sacred memories.

I have no tripod.

(subtle hint for a Christmas present right there.)

So, that should explain to you why there is a little girl in the photo next to me.
Some people are not natural-born photographers like myself.
(It was actually the daughter of the lady that I asked to take my picture.  And can I just add that this young girl surpassed the acceptable age for a binky about two years ago.)

At least she got the Iao Needle in the pic, which I cannot say for the first person I asked to take my picture

C'mon people.
If I am standing in front of a major landmark and asking you to take my picture...chances are I want that major landmark in the picture.
I'm just sayin'.
There were more beautiful views to see in the valley.

I really enjoyed it.

We decided to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe on Front Street before going to the highly anticipated magic show at Warren & Annabelle's.

These magicians were amazing!

They were absolutely hilarious!

This ended our time in Maui.  The next day we were off on a plane to Oahu!

Maui - Part 2

Day 4

This was my favorite day of our trip.  It's been hard for me to pin point my favorite day until I started going through all the pictures.  I can honestly say now that this was my favorite one.

The "Road to Hana" was a blast!  It was my definition of Hawaii and everything I expected it to be.
There are many things to stop and see on the way to Hana.
Plenty of beaches.

We went on a little nature trail called Waikamoi Nature Trail and saw tons of huge trees.

It was nice to stretch our legs and take in the scenery.

Our next stop was to The Garden of Eden.

This is an amazing botanical garden.  A must see!

Bamboo Alley

Neat views

See the rock down near the shoreline?

That was used in the filming of the opening sequence in Jurrasic Park.

Here you can see the road we were on the entire day.

It was a little nerve racking driving the road at first.  It's a very narrow highway and only one lane in some parts.  But there are many bridges, waterfalls, and beaches along the way.

Here's the first waterfall we stopped for.  It's called Haipua'ena Falls.

Not much to see there.

I opted not to swim in that waterfall because of all the rotting fruit.

Before you know it, you're halfway to Hana!

We heard this place had awesome banana bread so, we had to try it out.

Howie also treated himself to some fresh pineapple.

The banana bread was ok.  Not the best I've had.

The second waterfall we came to was so worth the stop and hike!

Just past the 21 mile marker is a hunters road called Wailua Iki.

Walk ten minutes directly uphill and turn right when it forks.

You will be rewarded with this

I wasted no time jumping in.

 I swam right up to the waterfall.

 I would've played longer, but Howie wasn't into swimming in waterfalls which was a shame.

He just sat by and got bitten by mosquitos.

Our next stop was to a black sand beach at Wai'anapanapa Park.

Gorgeous!

 Again the ocean bug had bitten me and I jumped right in.

 We came across a lava tube on the beach.

Pictures turned out a little dark.

Lava tubes are formed when lava from volcanic vents forms a river that crusts over on top.

We came across a cemetery in the park.

 And gorgeous view after gorgeous view...

 The Wai'anapanapa Caves have a sad story to them...

 People were swimming in the cave so, this is the only picture I got of it.

 We finally left Wai'anapanapa to seek out some food.

The Maui Revealed book says that a little food shack in Hana Bay called Tutu's was the best place to get some food so, we sought it out.

 We enjoyed a yummy cheeseburger and french fries and

 shave ice!!

After our lunch/dinner we headed back onto the road for Ohe'o Gulch to see the

 Seven Sacred Pools.

 Do you see the pattern?  Water = Tara

I swam up to the waterfall to get this shot.

 The view looking out to the ocean from Ohe'o Gulch.

It started getting pretty late once we got to the Ohe'o Pools so, we decided to take the road all the way around the volcano (much to our car rental companies dismay).  They prohibit it because the road gets a lot rougher on the other side of the volcano but, they were none the wiser when we returned the car.  Plus, the drive after Hana was so amazing.  I'm glad we did it.

We were graced with a beautiful sunset on the drive home.