August 12th

Aloha!

This is the last post while we are on Maui.

This morning was very cloudy and rainy so we cancelled the Kayaks. We will go tomorrow morning. After we finish the kayaks, we have to quickly pick up our luggage from Maui Sunset and switch to the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. We will probably be on Ka'anapali beach tomorrow afternoon. Tonight we go see Willie K at a local establishment. Tomorrow night, its dinner and the hula at Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. Friday will be a beach/snorkel day at Ka'anapali beach and then Dad and I leave for home Friday evening. See you soon!

We love you.

Take care of each other.

Aloha nui loa.

Mom

August 11th

This was the picture off our lanai this morning-anuenue. It was beautiful. It wasn't rainy here in Kihei so we went to Kama'ole II beach. We played some sea saucer (frisbee) and got in the water for awhile. We watched two lifeguards digging for Kona crabs. We ate at Maui Taco for lunch and hung out at Kama'ole III for a bit. Later in the afternoon we drove to Kahului where it was cloudy and rainy. We messed around until for dinner and ate at Paia Fish Market. There's just no better MahiMahi around!

Tomorrow may be the last post because we change to a hotel on Thursday and I'm not sure of the Internet situation.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be going on a Kayak trip down by Makena Landing. Tomorrow evening, we are going to listen to Willie K. He plays at a place in Wailea. That's all for now.

We love you boys.

Take care of each other.

Aloha nui loa.

Mom

August 10th

This morning, Maui Sunset was having the palm trees trimmed. This entailed climbing each tree with a machete and whacking off the lower "branches". Each tree within the condo area was trimmed. It was interesting to watch.

Mema, Grandad and Dad went to Kama'ole II this morning while I finished my final assignment for school-my final exam. It went well.

After lunching at the condo, we went to a new beach, Keawakapu Beach at the end of the Kihei road. It had some nice waves and Dad and Grandad played in the water for awhile. Mema and I sat on the beach and talked. A couple of waves almost got us, but we prevailed!

Dinner was at Shaka pizza with dessert at Cold Stone.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow so I'm not sure what's on the schedule.

Love you.

Take care of each other.

Aloha nui loa,

Mom

August 9th

Aloha, Boys!

This morning began with church at Hale Pule Keawala'i. We went to the 7:30 am service. It was very nice. The pastor spoke about forgiveness and how important it is that we not hold onto unforgiveness.

After church we went to Ahihi to snorkel. We saw lots of different kinds of fish. Butterfly, parrotfish, convict tangs, a huge sea turtle, and a whole school of pencil fish (trumpet fish). It was very beautiful.

We ate at Cheeseburger Island Style and walked around the mall for a bit.

We went to the Tropical Plantation to see about pineapples but missed the last tour so we just walked around a bit. I took some neat pictures here.

Next, we went to Kahana beach over by the airport to watch the kite surfers. They were amazing to watch. We never could figure out how they went toward shore and away from shore because they never changed body positions, just directions. We watched for quite a while. In and out, in and out, a few of them doing tricks every now and then. One guy kept slamming his kite against the surface of the ocean when he would wipe out and finally popped the air tube at the front of his kite. He had to swim in, dragging his board and kite behind him. He packed up and went home. It was fun to watch them. I have some video for you to see when we get home.

When we got back to the condo, Dad and I took chairs to the beach to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, yellows and oranges. One lone wind surfer was still surfing. It was lovely.

I don't know what's on the schedule for tomorrow. I have to take my final in the morning and that's all I know for sure.

Take care of each other.

We love you.

Aloha nui loa.

Mom

August 8th

Aloha boys!

Today Mema and I went to the swap meet and Dad and Grandad went to the beach. Mema and I bought soap, some flowers for our hair and some other goodies you'll find out about later.

Tonight, Dad and I took a walk on the beach and gazed at the stars. There are so many and they are so pretty. Tomorrow we go to Hale Pule Keawala'i, the House of Prayer at the Sheltered Harbor. This is where we went to church when you were with us. Do you remember it? We will probably go to Ahihi to snorkel after church.

We love you. Take care of each other.

Aloha nui loa.

Mom

August 7th

Aloha, Koki and Iukekini!

Today was a study day for me (I turned in my last written assignment, yeah!) so dad and Mema and Grandad went to the beach without me. They went to Wailea and dad and Grandad snorkeled. Dad will blog what he saw. This afternoon we went to Kama'ole III and played in the waves. After the sun went behind the clouds and it got cooler being in the water, we laid on the beach and just bummed.

Tonight we grilled steaks and Mahi Mahi on the grill. It was ono! Dad and I went to Cold Stone for dessert, banana ice cream with mac nuts in a chocolate covered waffle bowl. Yum! Tomorrow is a shopping day for Mema and me and Dad and Grandad will go to the beach-a new one Grandad hasn't been to before.

Here's Dad's post.

While we were snorkeling at Wailea, I saw a goat fish and an octopus having a disagreement. The little octopus was the winner after he chased the goat fish away. I also saw four eels. One of them was out swimming around. Grandad also pointed out a good size claim. I would of missed it if he hadn't pointed it for me. The last thing I saw was a huge Jack fish. I was talking to Grandad and stuck my head back in the water and he almost swam between the two of us.

We love you.

Aloha nui loa.

Take care of each other.

Mom

Hula Girl

Here's a close up of the Hula Girl. As you can see, she comes right up on Ka'anapali beach and that's how you board.

August 6th

Aloha!

As you requested Justin, here's a short clip of the dolphins. The first few seconds are a little jumpy but hang in there. Also, mostly all you hear is the wind so it may be more pleasant listening with the sound off. I have longer clips I'll show you when we get home.

Today was the Hula Girl trip. She's a 60 ft. catamaran. Very nice and comfortable. We motored up to Honolua Bay to snorkel. On the way, we saw several schools of flying fish (flying, of course), 3 turtles and this pod of dolphins. They were playing in the bay. They followed our boat around the point and some of the people on the Hula Girl got to swim with them. (They were the divers in the group, not the snorkelers.) The water was colder there than down in Kihei or Makena. We saw parrotfish, trigger fish, goat fish, cleaner wrasses, a snowflake eel, humuhumu 'ele 'ele, humuhumunukunukuapua'a and many others. We didn't see any turtles in the bay. We had a yummy lunch and sailed all the way back to Ka'anapali. I slept at the back of the boat, my preventative for seasickness. No feeding the fishes today for me. However, as I sit and write this, the floor won't stay still. Hopefully, this feeling will go away overnight. :)

Tomorrow is another school day for me and I'm not sure what the others are doing. Saturday Mema and I go to the swap meet and the 'boys' go to the beach.

Aloha nui loa,

Mom

"It is a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel." Proverbs 20:3

Take care of each other.

August 5th

Hey Boys,

Mema and Grandad are in front of the Jeep we rented for the day to go to Hana and around the back of the island. It was beautiful as usual. There were areas of construction along the way. A few times we had to stop on the road and wait about 20 minutes for our turn to go through the construction area. One time while we were stopped, Mema struck up a conversation with a local and she showed us the lilukoi (passion fruit) growing alongside the road. You harvest it when it turns yellow and falls to the ground. There is one kind that turns a rosy pink color and then falls. She found several of each kind and sent them with us. It was very interesting.

We turned of the main road and drove down to a beach along the way. It was very rocky and had a freshwater stream running into the ocean. It was beautiful.

For lunch, we went to the Hana Ranch House and had burgers and the famous cookie dough sundae. It was yummy!

After lunch we went to Hamoa beach. It wasn't as rough as the last time we were there (with the rogue wave) but still too much for snorkeling. Dad and Grandad played in the waves for awhile.

Around the back road, we stopped at the Kaupo Gap Store. I thought a lot about the picture of you both on the porch that Uncle John took 5 years ago. It made me miss you. We bought Aloha juice and a snack.

We stopped at a new place (for us) called Huakini. It has big (well, I think they're big) and medium sized rocks that roll and make that awesome sound in the surf. I tried to get some video, I hope we can hear the rocks roll. (This wasn't the same beach where you made the friendship stack, Justin but the same idea.) This beach was very long and all black rocks. This is where I took the picture of Mema and Grandad. The beach is in front of Mema and Grandad (behind me).

We ate dinner at a restaurant in Makawao called Cassanova's. We had some great pizza.

Tomorrow we go on the Hula Girl.

Love you bunches.

Remember, your attitude will color your day. You get to choose the hue!

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

There will always be an opportunity to be offended. That is the easy way. Look for the way out, find a way to not be offended. Let it go. :)

Take care of each other.

Mom

Tuesday, August 4th

Today was mostly uneventful. We did go snorkeling at a new beach (new for us but not Mema & Grandad). It is called Oneuli (o-nay-oo-lee) and it means Black Sand. There was a lot of beautiful coral and fish in the water. We found a turtle and watched him a bit. He was eating, not sitting and trying to hide so it was neat to see him. The biggest thing I learned today is not to pick a fight with a lava rock. It will always win. Luckily, Greg saw I was about to clash with the rock and shoved me over a bit or it might have been worse. As it was, the rock simply was reminding me who's in charge out there and it's definitely not me. I have a small patch of "reef rash" and a bruise to go with it.

This afternoon we spent at Big Beach. When we first got there, the waves were coming from many different directions and the wind was up so it was pretty choppy. I went in for just a bit. Your dad stayed in a little longer than I. Greg and I walked up and down the beach. There are two lifeguard stations at the beach now so it looks a little different.

Tomorrow we rent a Jeep and go to Hana for the day. We'll talk to you at some point.

We love you. Take care of each other. Cody, have a great first day at band!

Mom

Monday, August 3rd

Howdy Boys.

Today we drove around West Maui. We started in Wailuku and went west around to Lahaina. Parts of this road were very narrow with only room for one car. Thankfully, the narrowest part was only a couple of miles. We did have a little issue with a school bus (today was the first day of school for the year.) It was big, behind us, going fast, and wanted by. It was interesting to say the least. West Maui is beautiful with rocky shore lines and green meadows and even cattle! On the way, we stopped at Julia's Banana Bread stand. It was mentioned in our Maui guidebook. It is pretty good. While we were stopped, we watched two men work in their taro patch for a bit. They were harvesting and planting at the same time. The taro won't be ready to harvest for 9 months.

Our main destination was the Olivine Pools. They are basically tide pools but are up out of the water somewhat and are mostly protected from the surf. Some of them are shallow and a couple are deep. Several people were climbing on nearby rocks to jump and dive into the pool. Your dad climbed up and jumped off a few times. The hike to the pools is down a rocky slope. It's not too bad, you just have to watch where you step so you don't slide or lose your footing. Once you go down, the only way back is up! It was really neat. The pools are calm and just a little ways away, the sea and surf are simply churning. There's no beach nearby, just rocks and sea.

Continuing around West Maui, we drove by Kapalua Bay (where the Kapalua Kai takes us to snorkel) and down past all those great beaches. We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise. While waiting for our table, your dad and I watched the sand crabs on the beach. I discovered something new I hadn't noticed before. I had never seen a crab digging his hole. I always thought they dug out their hole like a dog, with the sand flying out behind them. What I noticed is that they pick a lump of sand up with the legs on one side of their body. They carry it out of the hole and throw it out of the way! It was amazing. Some crabs scurry farther from their hole to throw the sand than others. It was fun to watch. I have some video to show you.

Tomorrow is a snorkel day, I think. We love you. Until tomorrow.

Aloha nui loa.

"It is a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel." Proverbs 20:3

Moloka'i Two

Day Two on Moloka'i

Today we got up early and headed to the beach. The first beach of the day was Papohaku Beach, 3 miles long and the longest beach in the Hawaiian islands. We only saw 2 other people the whole time we were there. It was fun. Greg chased some of the crab that were digging holes in the sand. We played in the water a while. Mema got pounced by a wave and realized a few minutes later that she had lost her watch. Luckily, Greg started looking under the water and found it. We investigated more tide pools and watched the waves come in over the rocks. When the wind blew (as it seemed to do the whole time we were there), the sand hitting your legs really stung. We used the wash off and then changed beaches.

The second beach was Kepuhi Beach or "Kepuhi Slide" as Grandad likes to call it. It's the perfect beach for riding the waves in and out. I only got hammered once but that was enough to fill my swimsuit with sand. When I stood up out of the water, well, let's just say it wasn't a pretty picture. Think baby with a very full diaper. Boys, you would have loved this. I've got some fun video and pictures to show you. We played for a while and then went back to the room to get cleaned up so we could check out on time.

We ate lunch in Kualapu'u at the Kualapu'u Cookhouse. We had some great Teriyaki beef, rice, and macaroni salad. No banana smoothies today. :)

At the airport, while we were waiting for our plane, Greg was looking around being curious (as usual). He ended up in a restricted area (there weren't any signs up) and someone called security (just the lone security officer at the airport) and he came to tell Greg he couldn't be where he was. It was kind of weird. There were several airport employees near where Greg was but no one told him not to go to that area. They waited for security. Luckily, everyone was nice about the whole thing. No major trouble.

We left Moloka'i with clearer weather and took some great pictures of the sea cliffs. The ride back was very bumpy the last 10 minutes or so and I was glad I had a shoulder belt and lap belt to keep me in my seat.

After collecting our baggage, we drove out to Ho'okipa to watch the surfers for awhile. We ended the day with dinner at the condo and a little tv watching. Tomorrow morning is study time for me and everyone else is going snorkeling somewhere but I don't think they've decided where.

Until then,

take care of each other. We love you.

Mom

"When I called out to you, you answered me. You made me strong and courageous." Psalm 138:3

Moloka'i One

We are back from Moloka'i. Here's the scoop.

Saturday about 9am we flew in almost the smallest airplane I've ever been in. It seated only 9 people plus the pilot. It was very cloudy over West Maui, the channel between the islands and Moloka'i. The ride wasn't too bumpy but the clouds made it difficult to see much of the island. We missed seeing the world's tallest sea cliffs. After landing, we got the rental car and went to a beach (we haven't found the name yet). It was mostly murky and the surf was up a little so we just walked along the beach and explored a tide pool. Justin, this is the beach where we saw the lobster shell I told you about on the phone. The beach had quite a few kiawe branches around and all 4 of us got thorns in our feet at one time or another. The kiawe is a kind of mesquite tree. We ate the sandwiches we brought from Maui.

We decided to spend the rest of the day touring the island. We went to Purdy's Natural Macadamia Nut Farm. The proprietor was very kind to explain about the macadamia nut tree, showed us how to properly crack the nut and let us taste raw macadamias. Yum! He also let us taste some mac nut honey and mac nut honey-mustard. Next, we stopped at the Coffeehouse for a snack. Across the street was the coffee farm.

We drove up to the point where you can look down the sea cliffs and see Kalaupapa, the leper colony. It was still cloudy and rained lightly on us the whole time. Next, we drove down toward Kaunakakai. The whole south side shore of Moloka'i is shallow for quite a ways out. The waves break way out from the shore. This is usual but everything was so stirred up that what should have looked a light turquoise color looked brown and dirty. We passed King Kamehameha's personal coconut grove. There were rows and rows of coconut trees. On past Kaunakakai and the grove, the road takes you along the shore to the east side of the island. You can see West Maui from this part of the island. As we kept driving, the road reminded us of the road to Hana with its twists and turns. At times, it was right next to the ocean. We drove until we saw the waterfall in the Halawa valley and then turned around so we could get back to Hotel Moloka'i in time to listen to Lono while we ate. It was very pleasant eating and listening as the sun set. We were all tired, I almost fell asleep at the table so we headed to the room for the night. We stayed in Kaluakoi which is on the west side of the island.

July 31st

Hey boys,

After our late start today, we went to Ahihi first. It was good weather. The water felt cold as we first got in, then I promptly lost my footing and got acclimated to the water real quick! It wasn't too bad. We saw parrotfish, a turtle (Mema saw 2 turtles), the Humuhumu'ele'ele, goatfish, trumpet fish, and others I can't name at the moment. No eels today. Back on shore, several other people mentioned seeing some rays but we never saw any. There was some sun out on the bay so I took a few pictures with my underwater camera. I'm trying to take pictures only when the sun is shining into the water so they are good pictures.

After Ahihi, we drove down to La Perouse Bay. If you remember, we walked across the lava bed a little ways to a beach where you boys and Mema played for a bit. On the way to that beach, there's a place where the waves come up through the lava. A lady and her daughter were posing for a picture when a particularly big wave came through and drenched them both. They were laughing about it, thank goodness.

If you take the trail on past the beach, there's more to see. We followed the trail as it wound through trees and beach and rocks. There were a lot of goats wandering around that belonged to the big ranch on this side of the island. I can't remember the whole name, Ulu......something. When we got a ways around the bay, Dad and Grandad snorkeled for awhile. Mema and I stayed on shore in the shade and talked. As expected, the afternoon tradewinds got up quite a bit while we were out there. We have some good pictures and video to show you.

Next up was lunch at Cheeseburger-Island Style at Wailea. It was very good. Justin, I had a banana smoothie and you would have loved it!

We drove back down to Big Beach and played a little in the water. By this time, there was no wind at all, that was strange. It rained on us some at the beach.

After we came back to the condo and cleaned up, we went to Shaka Pizza for dinner. I couldn't believe it-we didn't see any geckos! Maybe next time.

Well, guys, I love you. It will be Sunday night (my time, you can read the post on Monday morning) before I get a chance to write again. I'm not taking the laptop to Molokai tomorrow but I'll have lots to tell you when we get back. Take care of each other.

Love, Mom

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

Maui Mobile

As promised Cody, here's a picture of the Maui Mobile. It's hard to get used to sitting so low after the trucks and the suburban. After one day, it already has the "sea" smell and there's sand in the floor. The air conditioner works well. :) You think anyone can tell we're tourists?

Ken's post

Aloha from Maui, the valley isle. The island is beautiful and inviting as always. Today was a new experience for Shari and Greg. We hiked the length of La Perouse Bay. We had the southern end all to ourselves. Tomorrow early we are flying on a small propeller plane to Moloka'i. New adventures await!

Ken