Days Four and Five

On day four we got an early start at 7:30AM. Jill and I went on an expedition with my aunt and cousin to go look for what we heard was the best place to snorkel on the island. We stopped at a place called Big Beach which we thought was it, but it ended up not being the site. It was gorgeous none-the-less.

There was a surge that day so that meant no swimming here. We knew that Little Beach was close by according our map and we saw a trail leading up over the hill that the above picture was taken from, so we followed it. Little did we know that Little Beach was a nude beach. They made me take a photo so that we had proof.

After that experience we decided to get back in the car and drive further down the road. We stopped at another promising spot that turned out to be this pretty little cove beach where we got to watch a couple get married. It was the perfect place for a wedding.

My Aunt left us to hang out there while she went to find the snorkel site. She ended up finding it, but unfortunately we would have had to walk over sharp lava to get into the water and with my younger cousin it just wasn't something we could do that day...So we decided to head back to civilization and spend a few hours at the Grand Wilea's beach (one of the poshest hotels on the island). It was a fun adventure.

On day five most of the family went on a deep-sea fishing trip, but those of us who weren't into that went on another trek along coastal roads up around the northwest corner of the island.

We were looking for a place called Blowhole. It's a port hole carved into some coastal lava that when waves come crashing in, it sends a plume of ocean water into the air. We parked up at the top of the coast line and had to hike down to get to the site. Here's a picutre from up above and one down at sea level:

It was incredible being so close to the "raw," untempered coast. The waves were huge. It was like being on a different planet. Very cool!

Days Two and Three: HA '08.

On day two we rode a large boat out onto the ocean and went on a snorkeling excursion to an atoll off the coast of Maui known as Molokini. Here it is up close and from the shore. I don't have any other pics from that day cause we used underwater cameras and haven't had them developed them yet. The snorkeling was really cool. I think I snorkeled everyday I was in Hawaii. The ocean is so fun!

On day three we woke up at 2:30AM to ride a bus up to the top of Haleakala, the tallest volcano on the island, to attempt to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately the crater was shrouded in clouds and misty rain...no sunrise for us. Here's me and my grandfather at the top:

After the botched sunrise it was our turn to ride bikes all the way down the mountain. Going from 10,000 feet to sea level in about two hours was pretty amazing. Here's the whole group (minus a few people who didn't want to get up so early) before we started and a few views from the ride down:

On the drive home from the bike shop where we ended up after our ride, we decided to stop at a scenic overlook and stumbled upon a beautiful surfer's beach.

You can kind of make out the little black dots in the photo below (surfers) and check out those waves. I can't even imagine what a rush that must be.

A few more scenic shots from the beach:
On our way back to the cars we stumbled upon a guy selling organic Maui pineapples out of the back of his truck. It was one of the best I've ever eaten!

Stay tuned for even more fantastic Hawaii-ness.

I'd give my left ear to go back.

Hawaii was beautiful. We had so much fun. If I'm ever able to have a vacation home somewhere it would be hard to pass up the island of Maui.

We flew all day on Saturday. It was a long flight, but after waking up next to the ocean the next morning it made it all worth it. We stayed in condos on Kaanapali beach on the northwest side of Maui. Here's a view of the resort from the beach:

We lucked out. Out of every condo that my family stayed in (my grandparents took the whole family: 6 separate immediate families) we got the one with the best view. Here's what we got to see from our patio:

On our first morning we went straight down to the beach to hang out for a little bit before a birthday lunch for one of my uncles:

Jill and I were the only kids from our immediate family who were able to go. We missed Peter, Katie and Ashley, but still managed to have some good times. Later that evening on our first night we went to the Old Lahaina Luau:

They had an open bar, the food was delicious and the dancing was very exciting. Some day I'm gonna have to learn how to hula. It was an amazing first day!

Okay, I must go to bed now. More to come.

Adventures in Bikini Waxing

I'm assuming by now that you've figured out that I'm currently involved in one the most unreasonably crazy semesters of my lifetime. I won't go into all the gruesome details because I'll end up getting stressed out and frustrated and angry and will collapsed into the couch in a flacid, comatose state and then won't be able to finish this post. Just know that it is accelerated because we finish with classes in april so that we can do an internship during the last month of the semester and it sucks!

Moving on.......

Something that kind of makes all this misery a little bit worth it is the fact that I leave for a spring break vacation to Hawaii in two days!! My grandparents (mom's side) are taking the whole family there. We're staying in Maui on Kaanapali Beach for the whole week. I'm bringing my snazzy new camera, so there'll be an exponential amount of pictures. The computer is coming too, so maybe I'll even post a little while I'm there. There are a million things I need to do between now and Sat. morning (like a bikini wax...yes I'm gonna do it myself....I've already warned Blue that he may have to help when it comes to pulling....I've done a leg wax before and in my opinion it hurts more when you yourself are causing the pain as opposed to someone else....we'll see). I'm gonna have to miss two celebrations for different friends while I'm gone and three of my siblings can't go, both of which make me a little sad. I'm also not really looking forward to the long flight, but hopefully these things will be balanced out in light of the great experiences I'll have. Woohooo! Sandy beaches, tropical waters, and lots of sunshine here I come.