Maui Madness, Week 1

Here are some highlights of our first week in Kihei: 

Wednesday 25 June 2014

 The flight was very smooth, considering how chaotic it could have been. We were able to get him his own seat, so thanks to his car seat, Hayden slept for about 3 hours of it. Lawson snoozed only an hour or so, but behaved himself nicely watching Frozen, and the big boys were happy with their iPods. When we landed we got our mini-van, then Kenny took Kirk & the big boys to the house while the babies & I went to Costco in Kahului. We got back in time to head across the street to Charley Adams Beach and splash a bit.

Thursday 26 June 2014

This morning we headed to U’lua Beach to snorkel and get tumbled in the waves. Hayden was chasing the birds and hugging random women, and Uncle Kenny helped the little boys play in the sand. Then we headed back to the house for a nap--except Hayden chose not to. Then to farmer's market, and Iao Valley for a quick walk before heading to Kenny & Karen's for a BBQ.  The kids had an amazing time. They played with the dogs, climbed the giant mango tree, and cracked coconuts.

Friday 27 June 2014

We spent today at Papalaua Beach, which the locals call Grandma's Beach. The babies both fell asleep in the car, and you can back right up to the sand there, which allowed us to just leave them asleep in there. Kenny offered to take me out to try surfing, so I spent about 45 minutes out with him paddling around and trying to get my balance. I only managed to kneeboard in on one wave, but I had fun. Kirk also caught a couple of waves. The big boys had a great time boogie boarding and throwing sand at each other, and even Kenny spent some time boogie boarding with them.  At one point it was raining on us, but it was so warm it didn't even matter. Back in Kihei that evening, we walked across the street to Kalama Park, where the big boys went skating at the public rink while the little guys and I climbed on the rocks.

Saturday 28 June 2014

Today we tried to go ride the Sugar Cane Train in Lahaina, but turned out to only run Mon-Fri. We got lunch & POG slushies from Taco Bell instead and Kirk and kids ate on the lawn. Then we went to Lahaina Town and had shave ice and wandered down to the harbor, where we watched the crabs on the rocks. On the way back home we stopped at the fruit stand for mangoes, apple bananas, and mango bread. In the afternoon we crossed the street to Charley Adams beach for some body surfing and wave jumping, and we watched the fishermen set up for the evening. During dinner we noticed the sun was about to set, so we grabbed the kids (babies only in diapers) and ran over to the cove to watch it.

Sunday 29 June 2014

Today we got the Upcountry Maui tour, courtesy of Karen. We drove up through Makawao, me snapping pictures with my phone all the way.  I had packed a picnic, but we added lemon bars, coconut banana bread, and giant cookies from Grandma's Coffee House in Kula. We had a picnic in Keokea Park there in Kula. The kids and Kenny played football on the lawn, and the little guys enjoyed the play structure. After a bit, we headed further up the mountain to the winery, then wound our way back down. We ended the day by driving partway up Polipoli. Dillon & Koen were running down the hills at breakneck speed, Kenny’s dog Seven at their heels. We had dinner at Fatburger in Pukalani, and headed home exhausted. 

Monday 30 June 2014

Today we went to Lahaina. Koen, Lawson, Hayden and I went on the Sugar Cane Train. Hayden promptly fell asleep, but Lawson loved it. He was putting his hands and head out of the window to see the sights, and he was especially excited to look down when we went over the trestle.

Kirk and Dillon set up our camp at Ka’apilani, and we joined them after the train ride, even lucking into a parking spot in the free lot. The waves there were too strong for the little guys, so we spent our time on the shore playing, but the big guys had a great time boogie boarding and body surfing. Kirk and Dillon went out snorkeling, and that is when the excitement hit--a huge burst of wind leveled all of the umbrellas on the beach, and blew all of the chairs, boogie boards, and everything else that wasn't tethered down out into the water. It was actually very scary. Koen was out in the water on a boogie board, so I just grabbed the babies and held on for dear life. Once the biggest gust died down, I told them to stay (they just sat there crying with sand all over their faces) and I ran out in the water to start hauling stuff in. Our umbrella got the worst of it, but I managed to find everything else.

For dinner we went into Lahaina Town to Bubba Gump's, which was fun, then across the street to Scoops for ice cream and shave ice.

It was a fun day, but utterly exhausting. I think my Facebook post says it best: “Wow, what a day. I know that it's horrible to complain about any day spent in paradise, but sometimes you gotta' call a spade a spade. Started off our morning with fist-fighting big boys (I'm pretty sure the lack of AC in our fabulous minivan is driving them mad); a long, hot Sugar Cane Train ride, topped off with a combination public toddler tantrum/giant popcorn spill; then off to Ka'anapali Beach for some crazy sudden windstorms and unbelievably rude neighbors whose awesome and unbearably loud music taught my kids some super fun new words and phrases. A day like this one makes me so happy that we don't have tons of activities scheduled. I need a day to sit on the beach and recover from my day at the beach!”

Tuesday 1 July 2014

We started off the morning with a yummy breakfast at Kihei Caffe, which was big enough for two days' worth of meals.  Then we went across the street to Kalama Park, where the big boys & Lawson played at the skate park and Hayden and I went to the playground. Kenny & Kirk went to watch the World Cup match and the boys and I went to Kahului to run errands. We ended up at Savers thrift store where we found lots of fun little toys in the $2.99 fill a bag bin. When we came back to town we joined Kirk and Kenny at the Sports Page to watch the last 20 minutes of the USA-Belgium game.  The rowdy spectators at the table next to us kept scaring Hayden to death with their screaming, but he was laughing between bouts of crying.

After that, Kenny took us out past Makena and showed us all of the great beaches out there. We drove through the moonscape lava fields to LaPerousse Bay, and then came back to spend the rest of the day at Makena State Beach, "Big Beach." The waves and undertow are very intense there, and I got absolutely crushed by a wave while I was boogie boarding (Kenny said, "Aw, you got scorpioned!".  The boys, Kirk, and Kenny had a great time snorkeling, and they buried Koen in the sand a couple of times. Kenny took Lawson way out in the waves and he had a wonderful time!  We ended the evening with a BBQ here at the house.