Maui - Day Five

 Saturday was another laid back, no big agenda day. 

First up... Snorkeling at Olowalu Beach, right across the street from Leoda's Pie Shop and the farmer's market from our first day on Maui. 

It was a beautiful protected little beach. I loved that there were lots of families there with little kids playing and swimming. It was perfect for seeing fish with giant colorful corals and very little wave action..The only downside was that the water was a bit shallow and didn't leave much space for floating over the large coral. Definitely my favorite spot of the week! 

I also figured out my fins issue. I had grabbed a pair of kids' fins from the condo and gave them a try after another failed attempt at using the ones we bought at Costco. Much like my shoes, the kids' ones worked great! I guess grown-up ones are just too big for me... :/ 

After a bit of a scare of "losing" Chris, who had snorkeled to the far side of the spit, we were ready to go and get some lunch. So we went over to Leoda's. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. So we stopped at the convenience store next door and grabbed a drink and homemade butter mochi for a pre-lunch treat. Then we grabbed some food at the food trucks by the farm stand before heading back to clean up for some fancy shopping at Whaler's Villiage at Ka'anapali. 

We bought a few fun stickers and resisted buying a whole lot more. We also had a very tasty early dinner at MonkeyPod, along with some delicious fun cocktails...

Then it was back to the condo for a relaxing evening of games, tv and snacks... 

Maui - Day Four

 The Road To Hana... Dreaded and feared by many tourists. Forbidden by some rental car companies. The reason Zack got a Jeep. I think of all the things Zack and Tatum talked about the most, the Road to Hana tops the list. Knowing how car sick I get, they even let me sit in the front seat. Unfortunately, it was not enough. To be honest, the road wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated but I got pretty sick! But it shouldn't be surprising with 52 miles, over 600 curves/hairpins, 56 one-lane bridges over 3 hours. You just have to snap pics of all the scenery as you go by. What was surprising was that so many people live on that road! Even Packers' fans...

And I made it all the way to Hana but just couldn't go on...

Thankfully the kids were willing to stop and see Red Sand Beach/Kaihalulu so I could get some fresh air, walk around and take the two Dramamine Zack gave me. 

There weren't many people on the narrow trail (I guess it has a pretty nasty reputation with tourists as being dangerous) but it was a pretty little beach tucked away in a cove. It should have been called Red Little Rocks Beach but it was nice...

I felt much better on the last 14 miles to the trailhead. There was even enough space on the side of the road that we could stop to see this waterfall and do a picture swap with a young couple...

Our final destination was the Pipiwai Trail in the Kipahulu District of Haleakala National Park. Since we'd already been there, our pass was still valid and we got in for free. 

The trail goes by some pretty cool big trees...

some of the Seven Sacred Pools (which are now closed to the public)...

a house site (pa hale) dating back to the 1790s...

a little black sand beach...

a very impressive (and noisy) bamboo forest...

some more little waterfalls, steps, streams, mud, tree roots, rocks...

ending at Wailua Falls (173 feet)! 

After our hike, we drove back into Hana for some lunch at the local food trucks... 

All fueled up, we were ready to do a bit of spelunking. Knowing how cold lava tubes can be we were feeling a bit nervous about not bringing our warm weather gear. Like everything else in Hawaii (ocean, temperature, nights) the lava tubes hold at about 72 degrees all year long. They gave us each a flashlight and we headed down into the caves...

It was much easier and warmer than Ape Caves and had lots of interesting signs to read along the way...

Now it was getting late and we had to make some decisions about what we still had daylight yet to do. We decided to go swimming at the waterfall in Pua'a State Park. Unlike the lava tubes, this was very much like swimming in a waterfall at home... Brrrrr!!!

Now we were really hungry and our dinner at Paia Fish Market was absolutely fantastic, whether it was sauteed with garlic and lemon or blackened or rare. And surprisingly, rice and fried potatoes are so delicious together! 

About the time we had lunch, I started to get drowsy. By the time we finished dinner I realized that while I loved not being carsick, I should NOT have taken two Dramamine when Zack gave them to me. I could hardly stay awake long enough to take a shower before going straight to bed... 

But it was a super great day! The kids said it always rains on them at least once on their Hana day but God blessed us with the best weather ever!  I wish I had bought Zack this shirt. He did a super job driving and I think he was way more anxious than we felt!