In my last posts (post #1, post #2, post #3) I got to Luau Day on Monday March 15th ... whoah, I am so far behind!! The next day Marley and Paige decided to stay behind and go to the beach/pool with Grandma and Grandpa while LC, Greg and I went exploring. We went to Paia to check out the big surf and then drove inland to the Winery. All right, get ready for some pictures!!
What do you know, Santa lives in Paia!!
The beach at Paia where there were some serious waves! Hard to tell from this picture but the waves were about 3-4 times the size of the ones we got at Kamaole 3 Beach in Kihei. LOTS of surfers and boogie boarders out the day we were there.
From Paia we went to Ho'okipa Beach Park to watch the wind surfers. The waves here were even higher! We also saw some sea turtles below but the pictures didn't turn out.
This is the view from just outside Waiakoa looking down at Kihei. The pounding tropical rain kept us from getting out at Waiakoa but it stopped in time for me to snap this pic.
Our next stop was the Tedeschi Vineyards winery at Ulupalakua Ranch. The road there was REALLY windy and I discovered that my stomach isn't as strong as it once was. I was also rapidly developing a migraine which probably didn't help the nauseau. Anyway, Greg sampled the wine (not very good according to him) while I stayed in the fresh air with LC. The picture I posted here was taken in the gardens at the winery.
Considering the windy road and how LC handled the air turbulence I was fully expecting some nastiness on the way back down, but she did great! When we got home Greg took her over to join the older two at Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner while I stayed in our apartment and tried to rid myself of the headache.
On Wednesday March 17th, LC was feverish (Marley was feeling better by now, Greg was also recovering so I guess it was just her turn with the cold) so I stayed behind while the others made the usual morning beach trek. I hoped that a quiet morning would mean she'd recover enough that Greg and I could on our scheduled Sunset Cruise with little worry. It seemed to work so after a few warm up Mai Tai's at the weekly Mai Tai day at the Kamaole Sands, we hopped into the complimentary pickup van and went off to this ship.
The Alii Nui.
The start of our "sunset". This was about as good as it got because of all the low cloud etc. Oh well, the drinks were good, the company better and the whales came out to play!
This is me at the bar getting our last Mai Tais.
As soon as Canada beat the US at Men's Hockey in the Olympics Greg said his "long sleeve, cooler weather" shirt for Hawaii was going to be his hockey jersey. So here he is flying the colours!
Greg and I had a great time on this sunset cruise. The boat was fantastic, the crew was friendly, the food (appy's - or pupu's as they are called in Hawaii) were really yummy and plentiful enough to make a meal out of, and we met some really nice folks on board. And of course the whales cavorting just meters off the side really helped cap out a brilliant evening! Or was that all the Mai Tais?!
Now we skip to Saturday. Not sure what happened to Thursday and Friday ...let's check out Greg's version (posted on Trip Advisor here - be warned, he holds no punches!) ... oh right, Thursday was windy and cold (ish) so we mostly stayed indoors and I was in a foul mood for most of Friday. Hmm ... had to happen at some point on the trip, right? Plus Paige had finally contracted the cold. Ah well!
Saturday we had booked a whale watching trip through the Pacific Whale Foundation out of Maalaea. Considering how windy it had been the previous two days (beach time had to be cut short both days due to flying sand etc) we were a bit concerned that the trip would be cancelled. But the day dawned with calmer winds so off we went with Marley. When asked if she wanted to come, Paige declared she wouldn't get on the boat, so rather than risk a last minute tantrum (a classic move for her) we just didn't book her a seat at all. She went to the beach with Grandpa and had a blast.
Marley is our little super-model-in-the-making so here she is posing (surprise, surprise) on one of the play area figures (a whale head).
Greg and Marley on board the Intrigue.
There were very few whales (grrr) but here is a picture of the Mother and Baby we spotted as we were heading back into port.
Sunday was our last day in Maui but since our plane didn't leave until 8:45PM and we didn't have to check out until noon, we went to the beach one last time. Usually the waves on our beach (Kamaole 3) were gentle. Hardly worth trying to boogie board in. Good for those that want to snorkle and good for kids paddling in the break though. Imagine our surprise when we saw 6', 8' even 10' waves crashing onto the beach that morning! Greg had a BALL boogie boarding in the wash. He wasn't dumb enough to try and go out too far in that swell!!
For one final image, how's this? LC napping in Grandpa's arms.
All together now ... awwww!!!
After cleaning up, packing up and checking out, we headed for Maalaea to spend the afternoon at the Ocean Centre, with a quick stop at the Ioa Valley, before going to the airport to fly home. Those pictures are in the other camera which I have yet to download onto my laptop so you are spared. For now!
Well, there you have it. Our trip to Hawaii. Thanks for putting up with the long posts. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed sharing our little adventure with you.
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