The View from our balcony!
We stayed at a gem of condominiums- The oldest on the island as a matter of fact! The Mahana at Ka'anapoli. Built in the 60's before setback code restrictions were in place for building.
We were less than 50 feet from the ocean! All of the units have been beautifully maintained and remodeled as needed, you would never know they were over 30 years old!
Saturday was our day of rest, we snorkeled in the reef right in front of our condo, sat on the chairs in the sun and fixed a great pasta dinner and enjoyed it on the balcony. Paradise!
These are the fish we saw while snorkeling right here!
Moorish Idol
White spotted Boxfish
Tiny spotted Puffer fish
Moray eel
Red Sea Urchin
Trigger Fish
hundreds of Albino fish
Sunday, June 10
Sunday found us up early driving the road to Haleakala (House of the Sun) The largest of the two volcanoes that make up the island of Maui. We slowly climbed the 10,000 ft peak to enjoy magnificent views of the caldera and lava flows.
The Nene is the endangered state bird of Hawaii.
The Haleakala Silver Sword is an endangered plant that blooms once then dies.
The Haleakala Observatories, high above the clouds, track objects in space for science and defense purposes, as well as global positioning. These powerful telescopes are operated in partnership between the Dept. of Defense, the University of Hawaii, and the Air Force. Information is shared with academic, government, and scientific institutions worldwide.
Notice the Silversword growing in the distant lava field next to Terry's sleeve.
On the way down we stopped at a beautiful overlook and made sandwiches for a very late lunch.
This lavender farm is on the way back down the mountain.
Beautiful Jacaranda trees were blooming all over the lowlands where we drove today.
Eucalyptis trees grow huge like this in the lower elevations.
We drove to the only winery in Maui hoping to sample and buy some local wine. Unfortunately, the wine was terrible, very sweet, but these Agapantha were gorgeous! It was now getting dark so we drove back to our condo and watched a movie...Breach. We snacked on bagel chips and hummus for dinner.
Monday, June 11
We were up at 6 AM and off to our boat trip to the island of Lanai' to dive. We had a great crew of fun master divers. John and Dan are brothers and Jarrett is their sidekick.
Captain Dan
Our dive master and videographer, John.
fellow diver with dive master Jarrett
As we were boating out to the dive site we encountered
this school of these great spinner dolphins! They were
very playful as they followed, chased our boat, and
performed for us! A Great Show!!!!!
This incredibly huge Banyan tree takes up an entire city block in Lahaina. Yes this in one tree! It drops roots periodically that support the tree and make it look like separate trees.
Tuesday, June 12
The Road to Heavenly Hana and Beyond......
We were up early for our 52 mile, 3 hour drive to the far north eastern coast of the island. The road is very narrow with many one lane bridges. We stopped often to take pictures, Every corner brought another pristine, green, clean, and breathtakingly beautiful sight!
The road continues past Hana another 10 miles or so to the far end of Haleakala National Park where we hiked through bamboo forests, climbed through roots of huge trees, and forded streams of massive boulders to reach the many different falls of Kipahulu.
2 hours later.......
We finally made it to the prize!
Waimoku Falls
This waterfall is amazing!
He just couldn't pass up the challenge!
Wednesday, June 13
The Road around Puu Kukui, House of the Moon
After the Luau, we drove out of town and up to the mountainside to see the stars. It was an incredible sight to see the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross in the same night sky! WOW!
On the mountain side were all kinds of rock sculptures like the one we made below. They are all over the island and no one is sure how it started, but they are very interesting. Ours symbolizes the six members of our family. We did not see the heart in the large rock until we were looking at the pictures later. Neato!
Thursday, June 14
Our last day in Maui
The Road to Wailea and Big Beach
Fancy homes and resorts pack the beach on our last few miles of the island. Oprah brought her entire staff here for a vacation. She owns property somewhere around here. Honestly not our favorite part of Maui. Too much opulence for us! I didn't even take many pictures..........
Sugar Cane growing along the road
This is where old restaurant icons go to retire.
This is just a normal yard in a small town on the road to Wailea
A great diving and snorkeling site,
the island of Molokini in the distance.
He kept going in and out of his hole to see if I was still there.
What a cutie!
Big beach is the biggest and most popular "white beach" on Maui.
It was really a yellow beach, by Florida standards!
Our trusty car that took us all over the island of Maui
More eco friendly statues
Huge cactus alongside the Wailea road
The last remaining sugar cane factory on the island
Really cool El Camino got in the way of my picture!
Watching Kite Boarders at Kanaha Beach
Our last stop before heading the airport. We were impressed by the dozen or so kite surfers who braved the windy stormy weather to get their thrills as their kites lifted them high into the air before dropping them back into the surf. What a great new extreme sport! Even for spectators!
But first we saw this sign with several tents in the background.
We stopped here for their famous guacamole made fresh right at our table. Yummo!
After lunch we purchased our subway tickets and headed uptown to change clothes (in the Marriott Marquis restrooms) and go to see Spamalot! It was hilarious! We didn't stop laughing for 2 hours.
Sean and the boys
After the play we went to meet Michelle and Amalia (Michelle's College roommate from Arizona State) who had just seen Shakespeare in the Park's, Romeo and Juliet. Carl, Sean and Kristine's friend from high school, is working there so he met us all for a late dinner .
We headed back to Penn Station to catch the last train to Jersey. See Michelle and Amalia waiting for their train to the upper west side.
After the Parade we tried to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but we were too late, it closes at 5 on Sunday. We walked through Central Park and visited the memorial to John Lennon, before walking all the way to the Hudson River and dinner at the Marina.
After dinner, Terry and I took the train back to New Jersey, while Sean and Kristine met up with Carl to see more of the city and stay overnight with him in the Astoria area of Brooklyn.
Much work has been done here since my last visit with Maggie two years ago.
We headed back to meet up with our wonderful hosts, Nancy and John Darby, Terry's close friends from college at Wheeling, WV. John was our Best Man at our wedding. We had a delicious Italian meal together and enjoyed resting and visiting on the final evening of our whirlwind trip.
