We just came back from a week long trip to Maui, Hawaii. What a vacation!!! The weather was about 80 degrees and sunny the entire week. We had a great time playing in the pool and on the beach and exploring the island of Maui. We were able to fly direct to Maui and Jenna and Miranda were really good for the 6 hour flight.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
We stayed at the Four Seasons Maui and when we arrived we were greeted with flower leis and welcomed to the hotel with a glass of lemonade. When we arrived to our room, we had many surprises awaiting us. There were stuffed whales on the beds for Jenna and Miranda and they each had a whale tub toy set and special rice krispie treats and chocolate milk too! And in the bathroom around the big soaking tub were foam letters spelling out their names! There was also a box of special cookies and dried fruit for Ian and I. What a way to start a vacation!!
We were all anxious to start exploring the hotel and were hungry for dinner so we freshened up and headed out. We first stopped at the Lobby Lounge for the nightly hula dance and torch lighting ceremony. Then off to a nice dinner out on the patio and we also enjoyed our first Hawaiian sunset.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The girls woke up bright and early and were anxious to start swimming and playing on the beach. We were all set up in a pool side cabana by 8:30am and the girls hit the pool! The beach was just steps away from the pool. The girls enjoyed digging and getting covered in sand. Miranda needed to get rinsed off so Ian headed into the ocean carrying her. She was not very happy! Jenna was a little timid at first, but quickly became more comfortable. Miranda took a nice pool side nap and then it was time to get ready for a nice dinner at the Tommy Bahama restaurant. We were all a little tired from our full day in the sun so off to bed!
Here is Miranda's footprint in the sand. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it!!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
We visited the Maui Ocean Center. The girls both enjoyed seeing all the fish, the sea turtles and the sting rays. From there, we drove to Lahaina to see the famous banyan tree that encompasses an entire park. It was amazing! Miranda posed for some cute pictures with a wooden hand chair and a wooden fisherman. She kept saying, "Take my picture". The drive along the coast was very pretty and we were able to see whales out in the water while we were driving. We then headed back to the hotel for some beach and pool time. Ian explored the jetty and the tidepools while the girls played. There was a nice beach path that allowed you to walk to neighboring hotels so we walked next door to the Grand Wailea for a nice dinner at Humuhumunukunukuapua's (named for the Hawaiian state fish). The girls slept soundly once again from a full day!
This is the Banyan Tree. It is one tree that takes up an entire park. The other pictures show us in the various parts of the tree.
Ian came across this crab when he was exploring the jetty.
Jenna and Miranda decided to wash their hair in their buckets of ocean water.
This is a little chapel at the Grand Wailea Resort.
Friday, February 29, 2008
We decided to set out on an adventure today so we drove along the Hana Highway and visited Twin Falls. The Hana Highway is a windy road with many sites along the way, ultimately leading you to the town of Hana. The whole drive takes about 8 hours, which we figured was too much for Jenna and Miranda at this age, so that is why we only went just a little bit to get to the first waterfalls. We had a nice mile walk to the first waterfall and the girls really enjoyed it. It was their first real hike. Jenna was very proud of herself and of course we were proud of her too! We then hiked to the second waterfall. It was possible to see from a distance, but to get right up close you needed to wade through about a knee high stream. Ian carried Jenna across and Miranda and I stayed behind. As Ian and Jenna made there way back to us, I noticed that Jenna was only wearing her underwear! She decided to take her dress off and surprise me by walking through the stream herself! It was really cute!! We left the falls and headed back towards the hotel, but first we stopped at Ho'okipa Park, Maui's popular windsurfing and and surfing beach. The waves were crashing and we got to see many surfers. The girls loved the beach there because there were tons of neat shells and rocks to search for. Back at the hotel, Miranda became brave and decided she wanted to swim in the deeper side of the pool. She had been playing only in the kiddie side. She had her swimmies on and she looked so cute kicking her way around the pool. She looked very proud of herself too!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Today was spent relaxing by the pool. We had a lunch poolside and the girls took a nice long nap!!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
We went on a whale watch cruise today through Pacific Whale Foundation. About 60% of the population of the North Pacific Humpback whales migrates to Hawaii each winter to mate and to give birth. The greatest numbers of whales are in residence from December to May so we figured we would see some whales during our 2 hour cruise. We never got more than about a mile away from the harbor because whales were everywhere!! There is a federal law that says approaches by any means to within 100 yards of a humpback whale are prohibited in Hawaii. The majority of the time our boat was just idling because the whales were swimming so close to us. It was an unforgettable experience! We already want to visit Maui at the same time next year, just to see the whales! Of course I took a ton of pictures of the whales, but enjoy these few. We were even lucky to see a sea turtle swimming along. Afterwards, we enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool!
This picture is a little far away, but this whale is breaching out of the water.
A tail...
Another tail...
And another...
A tail and a pectoral fin...
Another tail...
The mama's pectoral fins and a baby's pectoral fin...
Another mama and baby...
A good view of a pectoral fin...
Sea turtle...
Monday, March 3, 2008
This was our last full day in paradise. We spent the day playing hard on the beach and swimming in the pool. We enjoyed dinner at one of the hotels restaurants, took an evening walk along the beach path and listened to a few songs in the Lobby Lounge. As you can see, Jenna fell asleep while she was sitting on Ian at the lounge. Another perfect day and night in Maui!!
Here is Miranda jumping into the baby pool!
Miranda's sandy piggies...
Jenna's sandy piggies...
It wasn't until our final day at the pool that Miranda was brave enough to go down the slide. After this, she decided it was fun and then went down by herself with her swimmies. Unfortunately, I needed to help her at the top and Ian needed to catch her at the bottom so we didn't get a picture of it.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Unfortunately, today is the day we are leaving Hawaii. We had a few hours before we needed to head to the airport so we walked along the beach path and Ian explored some more tide pools. Jenna also got her hair braided. We had a great vacation and made great memories together. See you soon, Maui!!!
Notice the barely visible road sign, hidden among all the snow!
After leaving the slopes, we drove to Leavenworth, where we spent the night. Miranda loved this huge bear sitting outside a Rocky Mountain Chocolate store. She kept hugging and kissing it and even blew kisses to it when we walked away! And believe it or not, Jenna was a little scared of it!
