Maui, Part 2

 We started day #4 of our vacay back on the beach. 

Then after lunch & showers, we jumped in the car. We listened to our GuideAlong & headed to Haleakala National Park. Despite it being sunny & upper 70's on the beach, it was cold & windy at the top of Haleakala. We enjoyed the views & Visitor's Center. Then we ate dinner at the top of Haleakala while we waited for the sun to set.

On what we thought would be our last full day on Maui {thanks to Alaska Air cancelling our return flight home at the last minute, we unknowingly still had another full day before we'd start our journey home}, the kids wanted to spend as much time on the beach as possible. So that's what we did. The most epic hole digging occurred & we saw a whale slapping its tail just off the coast--it was a day to remember! We lost count after about fifty consecutive slaps..it was the coolest thing!

On our last planned morning in Maui, we checked out of our Airbnb & boarded a boat for a whale-watching tour. After having so many whale sightings from our condo's balcony or from playing on the beach, we weren't sure if the whale-watching tour would be that much better/worth the time & money. But we were all so glad we did! The weather wasn't the greatest--drizzly & windy--but the captain of our boat said that's when the whales tend to be the most active & playful, and we saw so much! We didn't try to take many pictures so we could just experience everything, but we did get a couple shots!

{notice the tail slap in the background behind Hadley!}

We spent the rest of our day driving around the island--we checked out North Shore one more time, drove through the cowboy town of Makawao & visited their local library {since our fam loves the library so much, we often try to check out the libraries in the cities we visit!}, and drove through Lahaina. It was crazy to see what it looked like six months out from the fires. We also saw the most beautiful rainbow while driving into Lahaina--in fact, it was the first completely full rainbow I think I've ever seen in my life!

Then, just as we were sitting down to a quick dinner en route to the airport, we discovered that our flight has been cancelled due to a "mechanical issue" with the plane. {I guess flying on Alaska Air just a couple weeks out from the incident with the door plug flying off will do that, ha!} So then we had to scramble to extend our car rental, find a place to sleep for the night, and find a new flight. Despite the fact that our direct flight home turned into a layover in San Jose and Seattle resulting in us getting home at 3:00 in the morning, we were so thankful to get home just one day later than originally planned. And I'm pretty sure Derek & I were the only ones who complained. ;)

And just to make sure we had the full Alaska experience, this is what was waiting for us when we landed! About fifteen inches of snow fell while we were in Maui, but thankfully we got to miss out on the 25 below zero temps! 

We are the luckiest to have Derek always so willing & eager to plan such memorable experiences for our family! I hope the fun we have traveling & exploring new places together as a family is something that will stay with our kids for all of their days. 

Maui, Part 1

We had the best time in Maui over my birthday! We stayed in an Airbnb condo right on the beach, and it was perfect! We rented a minivan {which the kids loved!} and were able to get around & see the whole island. 

We had an easy direct flight to Maui--I always say this, but the kids are such good travelers!

Hadley & Brady discovered "playaway" audio books right before we left for this trip--they loved listening to their books while we were traveling! Every afternoon when we came in from a morning on the beach, Brady would take his playaway out to the balcony to listen to his story while Derek & I prepped lunch. It was the cutest!

We woke up our first morning in Maui & couldn't wait to look out the windows b/c we arrived the night before in pitch black, unable to see anything. We couldn't believe the view & the fact that we could see whales from our own balcony--it was amazing! Derek & the kids ran to grab some provisions from Wal-Mart for the week while I sat on the balcony whale-watching, chatting with my mom, and reading. {That's Derek & the kids in the picture below checking out the pool & beach before heading to Wal-Mart.}

After eating a quick breakfast in our condo, we raced to the beach as quickly as we could! We couldn't wait to feel the sunshine on our skin & our toes in the sand!

{My mom always loves writing in the sand on our annual Ormond trips, so I got a kick out of the fact that Hadley did this all on her own without any prompting. It reads: "2024 Maui."}

This vacation looked a little different this year b/c it was our first trip during the school year with a middle schooler. It's a lot different coordinating make-up work & missing assignments with one teacher as opposed to seven! Shelby brought her school-issued Chromebook to keep up with a few assignments during downtime in the condo, and I thought this view was pretty cute. :)

I woke up to being 40(!!!) on our second morning in Maui. After home-made cards & gifts and a quick breakfast, we headed out to conquer the Road to Hana! Derek bought an app called GuideAlong, which synced up with his phone's GPS & narrated the Road to Hana for us. Apparently lots of other cities & state/national parks have GuideAlong, and we are already thinking about where we can use it next! It was so fun & really enhanced our drive along the Road to Hana. 

Our first stop before starting the Road to Hana was North Shore, and honestly I think this was everyone's favorite part of the whole day! The views were incredible and it was amazing to see the surfers in action!

We stopped at Hana Farms for lunch. I loved that Brady brought his Diary of a Wimpy Kid to the table with him. 

On our way back from the Road to Hana, we stopped off at North Shore again & were equally as delighted as we were that morning! The ocean was full of wind surfers & the beach was filled with basking sea turtles. It was amazing!

We ended the night with Chick-fil-a for dinner & grabbed mini cakes from Costco on our way back to our condo for a birthday dessert! What a way to ring in my 40th year!

Our third day was forecasted to be a bit dreary, so we decided to check out the aquarium & stop by a few gift shops. It was the perfect way to spend a rainy morning! After lunch it looked like the weather had cleared up, so we decided to play putt-putt. It started barely drizzling as we parked, but we figured it would probably stop soon. Boy, were we wrong! Ha! It proceeded to drizzle/lightly rain the entire time we were there. We ended up playing both courses there & had a great {albeit very soggy} time! Thank goodness for a washer & dryer in our condo! It did finally clear up after dinner, so we had a little time at the beach & pool for calling it a day!

Lots more pictures to come soon!