Notes from the Road: 5/22/11

May 14 - May 25

We made it to Maui and drove along the West coast to start the day. Around noon we got an early check in to our condo, the Kamaole Sands in the town of Kihei in South Maui. We got a nice one bedroom, two bath condo with a full kitchen and ocean views. It is located right across the street from a very nice park/beach with big grassy areas, shade trees, benches, and restrooms and showers. The location is great and allows us to easily access the beach without going anywhere. We have a reserved parking spot and are centrally located close to the pool and hot tub area where there is ping pong, foosball, and wifi available.

We bought groceries and have been making all our own meals. We are saving where we can, but food prices are insane here in the grocery stores. We have seen milk at over $7 a gallon, cereal is all over $5 a box, the average loaf of bread is about $6, and fruit grown here is very expensive too. If it isn't on sale, we don't buy it.

We started off snorkeling and boogie boarding right near our hotel. The snorkeling wasn't great so we went just down the road to Ulua beach. The visibility wasn't very good because the coral had just bloomed, but that meant some things could be seen close to shore that otherwise would not have been there. The visibility has been improving all week and we found another really good dive site named Five Caves (also called five graves). We decided to go with scuba gear rental and do our own dives from shore instead of going on boat charters. Most of the good sites are close to shore and it worked really well for us. We saved a LOT of money and got to the same places others were being guided to. Each location we went to had a whole lot to see with turtles and eels seen on each dive. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to a video of some highlights of what we saw.

We did the long and curvy drive along the Hana Road (with 46 one lane bridges and 620 curves) to the Haleakala National Park and hiked to Waimoku Waterfall. It took over two hours each way, but the scenery was great and the hike to the waterfall was very memorable. The kids got in the water and took the GoPro video camera in with them. Just past the park entrance to the hike to the waterfall, we went along the road out by Charles Lindbergh's grave and stopped at a local fruit stand that had a bicycle powered generator that ran the blender to make smoothies.

We had planned for just under a week in Maui, but we decided to change our reservations and extend our stay because it seemed to be everyone's favorite island. The pace is relaxing and we have such easy access to the beaches, it just seemed to make sense to hang around longer. There are no crowds and we have been able to find parking easily and stretches of beach pretty much to ourselves every day. We usually take our time getting up and heading out to the beach and taking a picnic lunch. After a while we head back in for a break, make dinner and then walk over to watch the sunset, or take dinner with us and eat at the park at sunset. Even though the boys should be worn out from snorkeling and boogie boarding, most evenings end with them getting back in the water, running, and having sand fights after throwing the frisbee for a while.

We spent most of the day on the West side of Maui yesterday checking out the beaches and stores along Front Street. We had a picnic lunch by the largest banyan tree in the world and then made a stop at the Local Boys Shave ice store. After a bunch of stops at scenic points, we made our way back for boogie boarding at the beach by our condo. We really like our condo location in Kihei. No crowds, plenty of parks and beaches with easy access. It isn't as much of a resort area as the West side and that fits us better.

Last night we walked over after it was really dark to see what we could find along the shore and in the tide pools at night. There were plenty of crabs running into the surf when we caught them in the light, and a lot of needle fish on the surface. The most interesting thing was when we walked along a path through a brushy area over to another rocky cliff. We could hear what sounded like an infant crying. Then we heard what sounded like a pack of wolves howling. It was really VERY eerie. I shined my dive light (a crazy bright one called an AquaSun) and lit up the whole area. It turns out it was a bunch of seabirds settling in for the night. I'm not sure which one was making the crying baby sound and which ones sounded like the wolves, but it was a nice relief to see it was something so benign. It REALLY sounded worse.

Our last day in Maui was spent with a lot of boogie boarding, another trip the Local Boys shaved ice stand, and an ice cream stop. Tomorrow (25th of May) we will leave early to check out the really calm morning sea before flying back to Ohau. We will be checking into a beach cottage on Bellows Air Force Station. It is right on the beach and is very secluded. I anticipate a lot more boogie boarding to round out the week. We will pass the one month in Hawaii point at Bellows and then decide whether to head to another destination in the Pacific, or head back to California.

Michael and John have started writing summary paragraphs as we go along. In the future we will include them with the pictures as we add more pages.

From Michael:
Oahu
Diamond Head in Hawaii is a very cool crater caused by volcanic eruptions. You can hike it in about an hour, round trip. There are many steps that take your breath away very quickly. At the top there is a very cool bunker to aim artillery fire, but it is abandoned now. The top is very crowded by tourists but we could still see our hotel from there. My great, great Uncle Duron used to work there to intercept and translate Japanese messages. His house was overlooking Waikiki and Honolulu. He sold his house a long time ago, but it recently sold for over a million dollars! Diamond Head is really cool and fun to hike. When you get to the top, you can see everything...... And the breeze cools you off.

Pearl Harbor
We went to Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. It was about a 75 minute tour. When we went, we watched a short movie about Pearl Harbor and then we got on a boat to go to the USS Arizona Memorial. When we looked at the ship oil was still coming out of it! We got to throw flowers too to remember the fallen of Pear Harbor. The ship sank because the Japanese came down and bombed Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese were flying in, someone saw them on the radar and reported them but whoever was in charge said just ignore and it was fine. And a general ordered all the planes parked wingtip to wingtip with no ammo. But the attack pulled America together and helped change its history.

Kauai
      Our trip to Kauai was very fun. We saw many rainbows. Kauai means garden isle and it rained every day on the island when we were there, but there were a lot less tourists there.
      Our rental car was a Chrysler 300. When we got to our hotel we got to stay free with all the points Dad earned. The hotel was under construction so we got free breakfast and wifi. And every Friday they showed a free movie. We ate at a really good place called Ohana Diner. All the locals go there. And there was a really good shaved ice place called Ono Ono Shaved Ice. They had over eighty flavors! Some weird ones were, pickle, peanut butter, chocolate, and cake batter.
      When we went snorkeling, we snorkeled at Poipu. (weird name) We saw a huge sea turtle and swam with it. There were a bunch of tropical colored fish too, and an eel. Hiking is really fun, especially when rain pours down on you. Only thirty minutes into our hike we could see the whole coastline. And on another hike we saw about ten rainbows. Kauai is really cool!

Big Island
Volcano National Park
      Yesterday, we drove to Volcano National Park. The drive seemed like it was forever, but when we finally got there the volcanoes were really cool. We went into the Lava Tubes where the lava made tunnels a long time ago. We went to the steam vents where steam came through a bunch of holes in the ground. The coolest thing was when we went to a lookout point at night and saw the lava glow. The lava glow is where the main, huge volcano is and at night you can still see all the lava in the volcano glowing like a fireball. It was really cool but then we had to do the super long drive back again.

Manta Heaven
      Kona Honu Diving Tours are great! You go out on a boat and they hook up all your equipment for you. Then you go dive. When were were diving, we saw four huge manta rays. Then we saw two bottle-nose dolphins. After all that, we saw a bunch of eels and one moray eel. I started falling on it and it almost bite me!
      When we got back on the boat, they had great sandwiches for us and potato chips. Then I got seasick. I hoped I didn’t throw up because those sandwiches were so good! Then they did a briefing about the best part, the mantas.
      When we got in the water we all sat in a circle at the bottom. We shined our lights up and it attracted plankton and the mantas feed on plankton. It was so cool! The mantas kept swooping right over our heads! A bunch of them even touched us. The biggest one there was 16 feet long. Manta Heaven and Kona Honu Diving Tours are great!

Maui

Maui is by far the best island of Hawaii. Our hotel was great! Unfortunately, we will have to leave this place one day. Our hotel is so enjoyable because there is a pool, hot tub, ping pong table, foosball table and free wifi. After all that fun stuff, the food is great! We even tried spam for the first time last week. In my opinion, Local Boys is the best place for shaved ice. If you ever go to Maui, you have to go to Local Boys. My favorite flavor is mango and strawberry with ice cream in the bottom. The shaved ice, which is as fluffy as snow is great! Obviously, the beach was great too! We scuba dove at amazing, astonishing Five Caves, where we saw turtles, eels, crabs, fish and trumpet fish. John and I also boogie boarded on some huge waves on several different days and I almost stood up one time. The waves were so dangerous, we could have broken our necks. Maui is the number one island to visit!

From John:
Oahu
Diamond Head
      We went to Diamond head and climbed to the top. It was so steep and hot. My Uncle Duron actually worked there, he translated Japanese messages. I think there was like 2 to 3 hundred stairs. The view on the top was amazing. It took us 30 - 45 minutes to get to the top. Diamond Head was a military coastal defense station. The military could also guide artillery from the top of the crater. The crater was actually never used for its purpose. I thought it was extremely fun. Western explorers and traders mistook the calcite crystals on the crater for diamonds which gave it its’ name, Diamond Head. Ships use this crater as a navigational tool. I loved this hike, and I will never forget it.

Pearl Harbor
On Sunday, my family went to Pearl Harbor in Oahu. First, we watched a video about why Pearl Harbor was attacked. Then we went on a ship to the USS Arizona Memorial. The USS Arizona was a giant battle ship. The memorial was very interesting, the ships oil is still coming up from the tank. The whole trip was 75 minutes and we dropped flowers into the water to remember who died. We learned that the planes were parked wingtip to wingtip and were “unloaded”. The radar did pick up the Japanese planes that morning but the person in charge said not to worry about it and thought it was just a group of planes returning from training from California. The attack on Pearl Harbor united us and if it did not happen, it would have completely changed the course of history.

Kauai
      Kauai is a very lush island and is known as “The Garden Isle.” It has water falls, beaches and lots of wild life. We saw about 10 rainbows in about 30 minutes.
Kauai also has many fruits grown locally. We saw papayas, coconuts, bananas, sugar cane, taro root and guava fields. Dad and I even cut down and ate some sugar cane, it was very sweet. I also tried taro root ice cream. It wasn’t my favorite.
      Kauai has numerous activities. First, we went to “The Wettest Place on Earth”, Waimea Canyon. Next, we snorkeled and got really close to a green sea turtle. We saw bright fish and a very cool eel. The green sea turtle is actually named because it has green meat.
      Next, we tried Ono Shaved Ice, it was extremely good. They had 60 flavors, I got cherry and pineapple. Last, we hiked along the NaPali Coast. The trail was muddy but you could see the whole beach from the top. We got caught in a rain storm. I loved Kauai and had a great time.

Big Island
Volcano Park
      My family first saw the huge crater, and I mean huge! When we saw the lava tubes, I was amazed. They were wet, moist and dark. I knew it was going to be cool when we first saw the volcano. We finally got to see the lava glowing inside of the volcano at night. The lava glow was very bright. I took some pictures and so did Dad. I loved the volcano park and will hopefully come back again.

A Night in Shining Column
      My family and I were on the Big Island in Hawaii. Then my Dad took us on the best trip ever! We went on the boat Honu One and traveled to a deep, dark cove. The jump was cool. The jump into the pitch black water was scary but once we got to the spot where the mantas were, everything changed. The light lit up the water like the sun. The sights we saw were awesome! The mantas were gray, graceful gliders. The fish made a huge column and looked like a pillar of smoke. The plankton shined through our lights. The scuba divers made a huge circle on the bottom and shined their lights up towards the snorkelers.
      The manta dive/snorkel was the coolest and most amazing thing I have ever done! It felt like I was in the middle of a discovery channel show. I loved the manta dive and had a lot of fun. Now I am not afraid to jump in the middle of the ocean at night!
I had so much fun and hope to do this again too!

Maui

Maui is my favorite island. Maui has great diving, boogie boarding, and shaved ice. The weather is always sunny and the abundant sea life is colorful. The activities are endless. Amazingly, we could not complete half of the activities in the two weeks we are in Maui. Because we like the ocean, we boogie boarded almost every day. Maui is an incredible, interesting island that has huge waterfalls too. After driving the curvy Hana Road, we hiked 1.8 miles to get to Waimoku Falls, which is 400 feet high. Along the hike we passed through a bamboo forest, which seemed as high as The Empire State Building. It was dark and creepy. I really liked Maui and hope to come back next summer so I can get my scuba certification.

Click HERE for a video of snorkeling and diving highlights.
Click HERE for a video of boogie boarding action.
Click HERE for a video of the waterfall and Hana road.

A bad day for pigs on the West side of Maui. We saw a lot of birthday parties and family outings where they were cooking out at the many parks right on the beaches.

One of the almost daily stops at Local Boys for shaved ice. Our friends in California, the Brinkerhoff's, recommended it as the best place for shaved ice on the island, and they were right.

The grassy part of the park by our condo. A lot of people gathered here to watch the sunset. This was about as big of a crowd as we had to deal with. We liked the lack of crowds in Maui.

Michael and John are on the rock on the left and are watching the sun set over the island of Lanai.

This area looked kind of like an African savannah. Just to the right of here is where the birds were making the eerie noises.

Playing tag in the park right by the beach.

Shelli got tired.

Getting ready for the first of our shore dives. The reef is just off to our left.

One of the many eels we saw. This one was tiny and seems to have been an albino.

No comment.

A nice rest stop at a banyan tree on the hike to the falls. The one by Front Street in Lahaina is much bigger than this, but no climbing is allowed.

Just a few feet off the trail, Michael and John practically disappear. The small patch of red on the left is Michael's shirt. The bit of yellow in the center is John's.

On the trail.

Michael and John cooling off after the hike. It was very humid and hot on the way back to the falls. Sixteen years ago Shelli and I hiked to this place. When I got close to the falls I could tell they mist us.