Our Dream Vacation to Maui

Wow!  It's hard to believe we went to Hawaii!  Joel flies so much with his work he racks up the frequent flyer points.  We have saved his Delta points for years.  We knew we wanted to take the whole family on a great vacation before Coelton graduates, and the family dynamics change.  Finally Joel had half a million points...just enough for 6 plane tickets to Maui.  (a $3,600 savings)
4 years ago Joel and I went to Maui with some couples in our Pocatello ward.  The Truman's parents owned a condo there and we got to stay for free.  We loved it so much we knew that this was were we wanted to take the kids one day.
We decided to go during Spring Break.  The kids get a whole week and there wouldn't be any "summer chaos" to schedule around.
 We left on THURSDAY March 25 and flew to SLC that evening.  We stayed the night there and then flew to LA at 7am on FRIDAY morning.  We arrived in Maui at 11:00 a.m.  Maui is 4 hours ahead.
We drove to Costco, which is near the airport in Kahului.  The funny thing was watching us put a full cart from Costco in a van that allready had 6 people and 8 big pieces of luggage.  We managed okay, but the fudge bars melted on the drive to the condo.
Our neighbors parents own a timeshare and happened to have it during spring break.  They offered it to us because they weren't using it.  We were happy when we pulled up to our "5 star resort".  It was called the Sands of Kahana.  It was in West Maui near Ka'anapali (the best beaches in Hawaii).  We opened the door to our 6th floor condo and were shocked at the size!  2,000 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and an upstairs loft.  Each room had it's own lanai.  It had an amazing view of the ocean.  We were right on the beach!  It was peak whale season and we saw many humpbacks from our lanai. We all felt like we were dreaming.
We took off the tennis shoes, long pants and jackets, threw on the flip flops, shorts and tees and ran down to the beach.  We waded and splashed in the water.  The feel of the sand between your toes was amazing!  We walked along the beach for a while and then got the swim suits on and played in the waves.  The sun was setting and it was a beautiful site to see the family playing in the ocean against the pink sky, palm trees and turquoise blue water.   We played until dark then hopped over to the hot tub to soak. 

Saturday morning we all got up very early (jet lag) and watched the sun come up.  We threw on our running shorts and ran out for a run.  Joel and Coelton make a good pair and Caden is nice enough to stay back with me.  We headed up the coastline and enjoyed 70 degrees and light showers every so often.  An amazing rainbow over the ocean took our breath away.  We could see the whales blow their mist and breach from a distance.
We went to the Maui dive shop and got outfitted up with our snorkel gear and boogie boards.  We went to a beach in Lahaina called "baby beach".  It was a great place to start out.  We were worried about how Chloe would do.  She was very scared at first.  It took a good hour or so for her to get the hang of it.  We brought her life jacket which helped alot.  Once she realized she could actually relax and breath under water...she was hooked.  We saw lots of beautiful colorful fish.  However we all got pretty banged up by the coral and rocks.  We all had scrapes and cuts on our arms and legs.
We tried out another beach south of lahaina called Olowalu.  It wasn't that great.  We didn't see a lot there.  We jumped in the car and headed to Nakalele Blowhole.  This is a great hike down rocks to a spectacular site.  The ocean has undercut the shoreline, pounding underneath the lava shelf, where it spits through a man sized hole in the lava.  (much like old faithful)
Chloe fell on the rocks and Hailey tried to save her which gave her a big gash in her leg.  By the time Saturday was over we sure had lots of wounds!
Before we left I found a fabulous web site on Maui.  They recommended a guide book called Maui Revealed.  We bought it at Costco and it was our bible the entire week!  The book recommended driving to Kahakuloa to "Julia's" for the best banana bread in the world.  We were up for that, so away we went.  The road to this village was one lane.  One side was a mountain and the other was a drop off to the ocean.  SCARY!  We even met a few cars along the way.  Julias was closed when we got there, but did find a little shack that said their banana bread was just as good as Julia's.  We weren't impressed.  It was funny to see that "Julia's" was a lime green tree house in this old village. 

SUNDAY we had a lovely breakfast on the lanai and then got ready for church.  We were still waking up at 5-6 a.m. getting used to the time adjustment.  We were on time for the 9am sacrament meeting.  The hawaiin people all wear their native dress.  One man was passing the sacrament in a lava lava (skirt)  The bishopric all wear lei's and the women have on mu mu's with flowers in their hair.  The bishop greets everyone with "Aloha brothers and sisters"  everyone in the congregation says "Aloha!" back.  Even the speakers say "Aloha" and everyone says "aloha" back. 
I made everyone bring a white shirt so we could get some nice family pictures for the chirstmas card this year.  I asked some poor soul who was walking by to snap our photo.  I guess you can't expect much when you do that, cause we didn't get much:) 
We were talking about what to do on Sunday that would not be breaking the sabbath.  We decided the ocean was too tempting so we jumped in the car and drove to Haleakala, which is a volcano.  Actually it's a crater and is 10,000 feet above sea level.  We were above the clouds!!  It was not your ocean, palm trees kind of a site.  This part of the island has green rolling hills, switchback roads, cool mountain air. Two interesting things about the area is the silversword plants.  They live like salmon fish, they live up to 50 years but only flower or reproduce once then die.  They are one of the only "pretty" plants you will see at Haleakala.  Also the Ne Ne bird that looks like a goose lives here.  There aren't many birds that can live in 30mph winds and the cold.  They are endangered and are protected.  Unfortunately we didn't see the NeNe.
 Thanks to my sisters Heather and Shalean.  Heather for loaning the books to Shalean and Shalean for loaning them to me, we read part of  "The Hunger Games" on the way back.  Myself and Caden and Joel all read the book while on our trip.
When we arrived back at the condo, the temptation was too great and we found our way to the beautiful ocean that Heavely Father created for us to enjoy, even on Sunday.

Monday we started the day with a run on a beachside path.  It was really fun, and there were lots of other runners out.   We went to D.T. Flemming and tried the boogie boards.  The wind was particularly bad this day and the waves were screaming mad!  Which made for some scary, but fun play.  A few of us swollowed more than enough salt water.  After getting beat up by the huge waves we made our way to Black Rock and went snorkeling.  The water was clear and we saw lots of fish, glad we know "Finding Nemo" so well.  We saw Dori and Gill.  The best was 4 huge sea turtles.  We got right up next to them...head to head staring at eachother.  It was a wierd feeling, but, oh so cool!  It was just like talking to "Crush"...Totally righteous dude!

Tuesday  morning we went to eat breakfast at "the Gazeebo".  We enjoyed macadamia nut, white chocolate pancakes with creamy coconut syrup and guava juice.   Yum!!   The Gazeebo is a hut type of restaurant.  It's right on the ocean and there are no walls. 
We came back to the condo for a game of tennis.  I've decided that tennis is definetly harder than it looks.
After letting that settle we went for a run and then laid around the resort at the pool and beach.  We went on a "Whale Watching Cruise" that evening.  We were able to see some humpbacks up close.  The Whales come to Maui to give birth to their calves and to mate.  They arrive in December and leave in April when their calves are big enough to make the journey back to Alaska.  We saw several mama whales with their babies.  A really fun part was when they dropped the dopler in the ocean and let us listen to the sounds.  I couldn't believe how noisy it was with all the whales singing.  The whales don't eat much while in maui, and loose 25% of their body weight...Alaska is where they eat a lot and get really big weighing in at 40 tons.   An adult whale is the size of a school bus and the babies are the size of a small pick up truck.
After the cruise we walked around Lahaina and saw the Banyon tree which is one tree that covers an entire block.  It looks like something from the Tarzan.  It's the largest Banyon tree in the world. 

Wednesday we went out for more snorkeling at Honolua Bay.  We saw lots of fish and enjoyed the clear water.  The beach here is rocks instead of sand, but the snorkeling is some of the best.
We also went back for another beating at D.T. Flemming and more boogie boarding.  We discovered that with all the running and the sand rubbing in your crevisis we had some issues with chaffing.  Also we learned that wearing a shirt while boogie boarding was important for the men, the sand and board itself can rub you so raw your da kines will glow in the dark.
Maui had record high winds during the week.  At night we thought we were in a hurricane, as the windows shook and the wind howled through the screens.  We heard on the news the winds were 67 mph.  During the day we weren't bothered by the wind too much.  There were some spots to escape it.  With the salt water, sand and wind...looking good on Maui is next to impossible! 
We went to a farmer's market and tried lots of fruit and corn that tasted like candy.  We bought some pumpkin bread that was really good and also some pineapple and apple bananas.
That evening we made an awesome replica of Haleakala volcano.  Our own sand castle!

Thursday   was our big day to Hana.  When Joel and I came to Maui 4 years ago we did the road to Hana, but ended up turning around half way there.  Everyone was car sick and complaining so much.  I have always regreted that and really wanted to make it to Hana and swim in the 7 sacred pools under the water falls.  I was worried because myslef and Hailey get car sick so easily, but we had our trusty guide book and planned lots of stops along the way.  We left our condo at 6am and began the journey.  The road to hana is 50 miles from Kahalui and has 600 hairpin turns.  15 mph is about the top speed for the road.  It is without question the most beautiful and famous drive in all of Hawaii.  This day ended up to be my favorite day.  We pulled off the road a lot and took our time getting there.  We hiked into several waterfalls and swam in pools.  My very favorite was a little 2 mile drive into the village called Nahiku.  There we found a jaw dropping view of the ocean and a little path that lead to a artesian waterfall and pool right next to the ocean.  It was like our own private paradise. I don't think there was a more beautiful place in the world. There was every shade of green on the coastline and the sounds of the shore and the waterfall was amazing.  We ate our lunch here. 
Another favorite spot was the black sand beach at Wai'anapanapa Park.  The sand was really neat and didn't seem to stick to your wet feet as the other sand did.  There was a cave on the beach too that was fun to walk through.
We bought some coconut candy a native family was selling along the road.  It was devoured within seconds and then we found a banana bread place, the book said it was the best on the road to Hana, so we bought a loaf and WOW, was he right!  It was warm piece of heaven.
Hana is a small town that is very remote.  It is in it's own tropical rain forest.  The lush green everywhere is breath taking.  About 10 miles past hana is the 7 sacred pools.  Funny thing is there aren't 7 and there is nothing sacred about them.  I had invisioned laying along side a pool next to the water falls and being able to meditate my way into the next life.  Not so.
It was very beautiful, but was more like a play ground than anything.  come to find out the owner of the hotel Hana wanted desperately to attract people here. He had a choice to tell people they could visit the wonderful Ohe'o Gulch or the 7 sacred pools (which he made up)...it worked. 
The pools are right off the ocean and are a blast to swim in, they are fresh water and you can climb the rocks and dive or jump in. 
Many people turn around once they reach the pools and head back down the road to hana the same way they came.  We decided to break all the rules of the rental car agreement and drive the 5 mile of dirt road and one lane stretches of death defying driving back home!  It was new scenery and not so many turns.  We got back to the condo at around 6pm without any whinning or throw up.  It was a really great day.

Friday  we ate breakfast at the Honolua store cause we heard they had cheap food.  We cooked every meal in the condo except for 2.  Maui is the most expensive island in hawaii.  We wished we had found this little gem a lot sooner.  They had $4-5 breakfasts that were pretty good.  We even made our own ice cream blizzards and our own pina coladas in the condo.  They were so GOOD!
The girls and Joel and I went to a lei making class at the resort while the boys went on a run.  We got to cut our own leaves to go in our real orchid flower leis.  It was a blast and the guy teaching the class played his Ukelele while we worked.
We brought our scriptures with us and had a goal to finish the Book of Mormon while in Maui.  We TRY to read as a family one chapter a day.  I think this is the 3rd time we have read the Book of Mormon together as a family from cover to cover.  It takes us 2-3 years, but at least we do it.  We finished it after we had our lunch.
We went to our last beach before having to pack up.  Onealo beach was a gem!  It had great snorkeling and very clear water.  It was protected from the wind too.  We stayed here as long as we could, just ask my legs...they are red lobsters, but am glad to have brought some of the maui sunshine back to Idaho.
Our plane left at 9pm.  It's a 5 hour ride to LA.  Then 2 hours onto SLC and then 1 to Boise.  We arrived back in the cold and snow by 11a.m.

What a blessing to have had the opportunity to truly have our dream vacation.  The kids did so well, expecially little Chloe.  She snorkeled without her lifejacket on the last day, because we forgot it.  She was a trooper and kept up with everyone.  Hailey does what ever her big brothers do and can dive down deep while snorkeling.  The boys were a delight and made us all laugh a lot with thier funny sayings and stories.  Everyone got along great.  This trip definetly created memories and bonds that will last forever.

Aloha Maui and Mahalo.

Caden wins best pose award!

Blow Hole

cool heart shaped rock

Whale splashing!!

Banyon Tree

Pacific Whale Foundation Whale Watching Cruise

Photo from the lanai

The Grills we used

Beach volley ball

Our condo; top far left.

Me and Chloe

Joel and Hailey

Buying the best banana bread we found.

Our sweet van...only 4,000 miles on it.

We found a Geko climbing the wall in our condo

Some of the many fish to see while snorkeling

Finishing the B of M in the condo