I haven’t been posting on the blog as often as normal, but it’s all for good reason! After the Glacier trip with the kids, Craig and I spent a week exploring and relaxing in Maui. We started the trip off with what ended up being our biggest adventure, which was renting a powerboat to drive to Molokini to snorkel as well as cruise along the coast of Maui. We had the freedom at Molokini (little bitty offshore island) to snorkel where and as long as we wanted, once we had figured out how to moor to the underwater buoys. The snorkeling at Molokini was amazing!
After boating we drove around the west side of Maui to check out a few viewpoints along the coast.
The next day we tackled Haleakala with some friends. The trail we did required us to drop Craig and Lee off at the top of the mountain, drive 6 miles back down the road and hitch a ride to the top. A Japanese tour bus had mercy on us after only a 5 minute wait.
Starting at the top of the mountain, the trail we took descended 3300 hundred feet into the crater and then climbing 1400 feet back up to the trailhead where the car was parked.
Climbing back up at the end of the trail seemed daunting, but the slope of the trail was easy and views were awesome!
The next day we drove around the east side of Maui through Hana, landing in my favorite spot of the whole day: a black sand beach.
I think what made it my favorite is that a rainstorm moved in as we were out poking around the coastline, and just before the rain hit, the clouds covered the sun creating the coolest lighting. The added bonus is that rain in Hawaii is not cold.
The next day we hopped onto a ferry out to Lanai. This beach turned out to be one of my favorites for a bunch of reasons: fun snorkeling, great facilities, it’s fun to get there, and I saw a bunch of families setting up camp for the weekend which made me homesick in a good way. I would love to take my kids to this place and campout!
The next day we drove around the west side of Maui, stopping to hike up a ridge.
Honolua Bay had great snorkeling too, not to mention a quick walk through the jungle to get there!
The last day we went on a sailboat charter near sunset. It stirred the sailing juices again (we used to live on a sailboat ), making us want to pursue other sailing vacations in the near future.
My favorite color: blue.
Ending the trip was a sailing by of a guy playing his ukulele at sunset.