Full picture album & video: http://picasaweb.google.com/aimee1shea/MauiJuly08Friday July 18th, we began our first two week stay in Maui at The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Villas North. The room met all our expectations with it's beautiful style and comfort. We arrive early afternoon and after making a stop at Costco we settled into our villa, unpacked, ate dinner and crashed.
Saturday July 19th, we were up with the birds and ready to go since we were still on California time. 
We decided our first day would be relaxing at the pool. The kids tried out their snorkel gear at the pool and we ran some errands.
We decided our first day would be relaxing at the pool. The kids tried out their snorkel gear at the pool and we ran some errands. Sunday, July 20th, we drove to the sunny south side of Maui in Makena for a hike on the ancient King's Trail which runs through historic ruins and jumbled lava fields to a remote bay. 
Along the way we stopped in Wailea for an ice cream and a potty break. We continued south on Hwy 31 until the road narrows and ends at the La perouse monument. The trail dates back about 
500 years. A wave of lava 3 miles wide swept down in 1790 which was the most recent lava flow of Maui's million years of volcanic activity. We were totally interested in combing the sea cliffs and lava rocks at the water's edge. White sand and coral among the black rocks were simply amazing. The views of the bay and the inland lava flows the tumbling of the lava rocks entertained us for hours. 
Girls said it was the best hike ever. On the way out we stopped an talked with local fisherman who had caught two octopus and several local fish with only a spear. 
Monday, July 21st, Greg and I walked about 6 miles along Ka'anapali Coast beach walk. The path along the beach and resorts has all types including walkers, joggers, pool boys, surfers, sun soakers making the people watching part of the fun. That afternoon we went to the beach and snorkeled until the sun set.
Tuesday, July 22nd, Greg played golf at Kaanapali and the girls went shopping in Lahina. Stopping at all the stores...the girls got cute little necklaces and earrings.
Wednesday, July 23rd, the family drove to the top of the Haleakala crater at 10,000 feet! The journey was like leaving the planet altogether and arriving on a volcanic planet, two miles in the sky in the middle of the Pacific. We stopped at the Hula lodge to fuel up our bodies since the park doesn't have any food or drinks available. As we climbed the car approached and then rose above the Kula clouds that hang our at about 5,000 feet giving us an airplane's view of these clouds. Fact: The Haleakala Highway has the most elevation gain per horizontal mile covered of any paved road on earth. At the top is the Visitor's Center and we hiked about a mile on the Sliding Sands Trail and back. Before leaving we toured the Red Hill Summit where we had a view of West Maui and the domes of Science City, a department of defense research center.
Thursday, July 24th,
after a relaxing morning we headed north on Hwy 30 past Kapalua with a destination to Nakalele blowhole. The sea geyser erupts from a multicolored shelp on the rugged coast. 
The blowhole is a 3-ft. circular opening in the roof of an underwater cave beneath a lava reef, where when waves compress air with a hollow whoosing sound, followed by towering blasts of white water. Some bursts we saw rose 20 ft, but the bursts have been said to go as high as 50ft or more. 
The hike was approximately 1.5 miles roundtrip on a trail that looks like the Nevada desert with gray, black, red lava rocks. Greg and Keely double dog dared each other to get close enough to get sprayed from the actual opening. Keely spotted a cool crab and Lauren found a baby starfish. Very cool hike. We found a local gal who claimed to have the best banana bread ever so of course we stopped to try. It was good in addition to her other treats like roasted macadamia nuts, and candied coconut.
Friday, July 25th, today we changed rooms so stayed close to the villas and lounge at the pool. For lunch we went into Lahinana for lunch at Cool Cats and enjoyed an ice cream at Lambert's.
Saturday, July 26th, we took the long journey to Hana today. We packed our lunch and headed out.
Our first stop along the Hana Hwy at mm2 Twin Falls. We hiked the 1.25 miles back to the upper falls which takes you through a tropical forest until you hit the waterfall with pool to swing from a rope and drop into.
Our second stop took us straight back to old Hawaii visiting a small village and snack break with Auntie Sandy's righteous Banana Bread and Coconut candy.
They had a great picnic tables so we broke out or sandwiches.
Third stop was to the Blue Pools but went we got there we got stopped by a big private property warning sign. So we looked to the left and found there were Lava caves to explore. They turned out to be super interesting and the kids loved it.
Fourth stop was right past the town of Hana to the Red Sand Beach. This was amazingly beautiful spot. We hiked down and around the point to view a pool that had been protected from the crashing waves by the lava rocks barrier. As we dropped into the beach area we all soon realized not everyone had clothes. The girls and I got in the water which was like a big bath tub and looked up at the red cliffs and tropical plants draping from them.
Last stop was Haleaka National Park to hike around the Oheo Pools and view the waterfalls. We started at the bottom pool which flows directly into the incoming crashing ocean waves.
Sunday, July 27th, cabana at the beach all day. It was a bit of a windy day so having the cabana was great. The girls did cartwheels into the waves and just had a blast in the sand.
Monday, July 28th, Greg played golf again and the girls and I went to the Maui Aquarium Center
Tuesday, July 29th, we lounged at the pool all day and simply relaxed
Wednesday, July 30th, today we drove to the windward coast. Starting off by having lunch at the Hailemailie General Store. The girls had banana monkey kid cocktail, Greg had a local beer and I ordered a mango margarita.
After lunch we headed to Iao Valley. The Iao Needle (Kukaemoku) is surrounded by tropical ridges, water cascades, lush gardens, and ocean panoramas. 
We took a hike thru the state park to see the Kinihapai Stream, which flows under the bridge from the needle hopping up a few dozen stairs to view the 2,250 ft Iao Needle. We drove the island around back to Kapalua then on to dinner. We ended the day watching a sunset in Lahinia having dinner downtown.
Thursday, July 31st,
Friday, August 1st, after dropping off the family at the airport I decided to go do the Swinging Bridge trail at Waihe'e Ridge since I had all day until my flight felt. It is an adventure hike over plank suspension bridges that lead upriver in a tropical canyon to where waterfalls drop from on high. The trail is 4.25 miles with 250 ft incline. This trail follows the river up Waihe'e Valley, which is nearly 3,000 ft deep. The trail has mango trees all along it giving a sweet smell as you hike through the tropical environment.
Along the way we stopped in Wailea for an ice cream and a potty break. We continued south on Hwy 31 until the road narrows and ends at the La perouse monument. The trail dates back about 
500 years. A wave of lava 3 miles wide swept down in 1790 which was the most recent lava flow of Maui's million years of volcanic activity. We were totally interested in combing the sea cliffs and lava rocks at the water's edge. White sand and coral among the black rocks were simply amazing. The views of the bay and the inland lava flows the tumbling of the lava rocks entertained us for hours. 
Girls said it was the best hike ever. On the way out we stopped an talked with local fisherman who had caught two octopus and several local fish with only a spear. 
Monday, July 21st, Greg and I walked about 6 miles along Ka'anapali Coast beach walk. The path along the beach and resorts has all types including walkers, joggers, pool boys, surfers, sun soakers making the people watching part of the fun. That afternoon we went to the beach and snorkeled until the sun set.
Tuesday, July 22nd, Greg played golf at Kaanapali and the girls went shopping in Lahina. Stopping at all the stores...the girls got cute little necklaces and earrings.
Wednesday, July 23rd, the family drove to the top of the Haleakala crater at 10,000 feet! The journey was like leaving the planet altogether and arriving on a volcanic planet, two miles in the sky in the middle of the Pacific. We stopped at the Hula lodge to fuel up our bodies since the park doesn't have any food or drinks available. As we climbed the car approached and then rose above the Kula clouds that hang our at about 5,000 feet giving us an airplane's view of these clouds. Fact: The Haleakala Highway has the most elevation gain per horizontal mile covered of any paved road on earth. At the top is the Visitor's Center and we hiked about a mile on the Sliding Sands Trail and back. Before leaving we toured the Red Hill Summit where we had a view of West Maui and the domes of Science City, a department of defense research center.Thursday, July 24th,
after a relaxing morning we headed north on Hwy 30 past Kapalua with a destination to Nakalele blowhole. The sea geyser erupts from a multicolored shelp on the rugged coast. 
The blowhole is a 3-ft. circular opening in the roof of an underwater cave beneath a lava reef, where when waves compress air with a hollow whoosing sound, followed by towering blasts of white water. Some bursts we saw rose 20 ft, but the bursts have been said to go as high as 50ft or more. 
The hike was approximately 1.5 miles roundtrip on a trail that looks like the Nevada desert with gray, black, red lava rocks. Greg and Keely double dog dared each other to get close enough to get sprayed from the actual opening. Keely spotted a cool crab and Lauren found a baby starfish. Very cool hike. We found a local gal who claimed to have the best banana bread ever so of course we stopped to try. It was good in addition to her other treats like roasted macadamia nuts, and candied coconut.Friday, July 25th, today we changed rooms so stayed close to the villas and lounge at the pool. For lunch we went into Lahinana for lunch at Cool Cats and enjoyed an ice cream at Lambert's.
Saturday, July 26th, we took the long journey to Hana today. We packed our lunch and headed out.
Our first stop along the Hana Hwy at mm2 Twin Falls. We hiked the 1.25 miles back to the upper falls which takes you through a tropical forest until you hit the waterfall with pool to swing from a rope and drop into.
Our second stop took us straight back to old Hawaii visiting a small village and snack break with Auntie Sandy's righteous Banana Bread and Coconut candy.
They had a great picnic tables so we broke out or sandwiches.Third stop was to the Blue Pools but went we got there we got stopped by a big private property warning sign. So we looked to the left and found there were Lava caves to explore. They turned out to be super interesting and the kids loved it.
Fourth stop was right past the town of Hana to the Red Sand Beach. This was amazingly beautiful spot. We hiked down and around the point to view a pool that had been protected from the crashing waves by the lava rocks barrier. As we dropped into the beach area we all soon realized not everyone had clothes. The girls and I got in the water which was like a big bath tub and looked up at the red cliffs and tropical plants draping from them.
Last stop was Haleaka National Park to hike around the Oheo Pools and view the waterfalls. We started at the bottom pool which flows directly into the incoming crashing ocean waves.
Sunday, July 27th, cabana at the beach all day. It was a bit of a windy day so having the cabana was great. The girls did cartwheels into the waves and just had a blast in the sand.
Monday, July 28th, Greg played golf again and the girls and I went to the Maui Aquarium Center
Tuesday, July 29th, we lounged at the pool all day and simply relaxed
Wednesday, July 30th, today we drove to the windward coast. Starting off by having lunch at the Hailemailie General Store. The girls had banana monkey kid cocktail, Greg had a local beer and I ordered a mango margarita.
After lunch we headed to Iao Valley. The Iao Needle (Kukaemoku) is surrounded by tropical ridges, water cascades, lush gardens, and ocean panoramas. 
We took a hike thru the state park to see the Kinihapai Stream, which flows under the bridge from the needle hopping up a few dozen stairs to view the 2,250 ft Iao Needle. We drove the island around back to Kapalua then on to dinner. We ended the day watching a sunset in Lahinia having dinner downtown.Thursday, July 31st,
Friday, August 1st, after dropping off the family at the airport I decided to go do the Swinging Bridge trail at Waihe'e Ridge since I had all day until my flight felt. It is an adventure hike over plank suspension bridges that lead upriver in a tropical canyon to where waterfalls drop from on high. The trail is 4.25 miles with 250 ft incline. This trail follows the river up Waihe'e Valley, which is nearly 3,000 ft deep. The trail has mango trees all along it giving a sweet smell as you hike through the tropical environment.
