Maui, Hawaii

Maui, I love this island. After picking up our Jeep at the airport it was off to Costco to pick up some things for the week. I found it a little cheaper than just eating out every meal to do this. As we reached the west side of the island you start to drive up north along the ocean. I cannot believe myself or anyone did not crash looking out at the ocean. For one, the ocean is stunning but two, the whales. Literally the whales breaching was insane. It was nonstop and I just wanted to watch.

We safely arrived at our hotel, Kaanapali Beach Hotel and got all checked in. I really enjoyed this hotel. The location was great, right on one of the best beaches in the world and along the the beach walk which provides many things to do and see. Black rock is a rocky peninsula that provides snorkeling and a place to dive into the ocean. The water is pretty mellow so not great for surfing but for just spending a great day at the beach.

Black Rock at night

Kaanapali Beach with Black Rock in the background

Turtle I saw while snorkeling along Kaanapali Beach

Kaanapali Beach has a path that is about 1.5 miles long. This is a great path to take because it is along the beach and you can visit all the hotels along the beach as well as The Whalers village which hosts great shopping and restaurants. I loved walking the path in the morning to the other end and buy my coffee at the Starbucks and watch the whales jumping. Many people use this path to do their morning run or walk as well. Sometimes during the day there are booth set up for shopping. Sort of like a farmers market. In the evening after watching the sun set the path is a great place to take a stroll, eat dinner outside along the beach with tiki torches lit and live music.


The north east coast of Maui has a different yet beautiful feel. I drove over to find Nakalele Blowhole which at times would be explosive and others not so much. While climbing back up from visiting the blowhole I found the heart in a rock. A must see on the north west part of the island is Honolua Bay. This place is stunning and a great place to snorkel as well.

Honolua Bay

Driving south east along the road to Hana is a must do with so much to see. I would definitely plan a whole day for this. We stopped many time to see the beauty along the way. There are hikes, waterfalls, places to eat and just so much to make you pull over and take your time.

Coconut Glens ice cream

Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach

Cave/tunnel 

Hike to freshwater caves you can swim in

We arrived at our destination Kipahulu National Park. We hiked the 4 mile round trip  Pipiwai trail along streams, waterfalls and a bamboo forest. We reached the stunning 400 foot Waimuko Falls. The hike is across the road and is not difficult. Many people enjoy swimming the seven pools near this area so if you have time for this it is n the ocean side.

Large Banyan tree

Yes, I hiked in a skirt and flip flops! :-)

Lahaina, just south of Kaanapali offers unique shops, plenty of places to eat, grocery shopping, farmers markets and so much more. Parking is free in one lot with another being free for three hours. All other lots you must pay but if you buy from local stores you can have parking validated. The large banyan tree is the site of a large market where locals sell there art. From Lahaina harbor we embarked on our scuba diving excursions with Lahaina Divers. The crew where tons of fun and very knowledgeable. On all of our boat rides to dive locations we saw whales breaching and even swimming right next to our boat. They where nice enough to stop and let us watch the whales. A whale watching tour is something many pay for but we got an amazing two for one deal here!

Our first dive location was at Molokini Crater. While on every dive trip Joshua and I ask to go where we are most likely to see a shark our wish came true here. Not only did we see the stunning marine life but we saw 4 white tip reef sharks tucked under a ledge. They where just resting and not too interested in us. They did swim out and back in to give us a good look at them. The other cool thing about this dive spot is it is like am amphitheatre with sounds of the whales being amplified to where I could have swore they where swimming literally right next to me. But according to the dive master, they can be miles away and sound that close because of the shape of the crater. I still kept looking all around to look for one.

Joshua goofing off

An eel's face is hiding but he is there. 

Our other dive spots were a place they call the Second Cathedral and Lighthouse. These spots are off the shore of Lanai. Second Cathedral is neat because it has caves and sea arches to swim through.  And lighthouse was neat too with the some in another group seeing a shark but I missed this one.

Sunset in Kaanapali

Hard Rock Cafe in Lahina

Milagros in Pa'ia

He has to have is shave ice

Don't forget to visit the south end of the Island. If you are lucky you can see a pod of dolphins if you drive past Makena about as far as the road goes. There are beautiful beaches along this area and this is also where I was told at the time that Steven Tyler lives. The beach below we had to ourselves. The hotels is Wailea are beautiful just to look at as well. Maui has tons to offer and we hope to go back soon. Mahalo for reading and Aloha!

Resources to prepare for this trip were from my Aunt Sue and the Maui Revealed book.

Big Island, Hawaii

The Big Island, boy was I excited to have my feet back on Hawaiian ground. So excited that I nearly left my luggage at the airport till Joshua said something. This may also be because the airport is not like any I had been to before. It is an outside airport. All terminals, waiting areas and baggage claim are all outside. After picking up our checked bags we were off to get our rental car. I was planing on just getting a small car but Joshua talked me into a Jeep. And I was very happy I did. I'll explain later!

We stayed at the beautiful Marriott Resort and Spa. The hotel is situated near shopping, golf courses, petroglyphs and other resorts and is right on Anaehoomalu Bay or A Bay if you cannot pronounce it. The water is calm here so it is great for all ocean activities except surfing. I met my now friend Jason while hanging out at the pool at our hotel. Even though he lives far away we still keep in touch. 

Joshua kayaking in A Bay

Through out our trip we spent time checking out different beaches. The big Island is well big and spread out and  you have to drive to many beaches. It does not have the beach access like the other islands due to volcanic rock. Here is a picture from the plane. 

Probably one of Joshua's favorite beaches was Kua Bay Beach. It was busy but had a lot of great waves for him to jump around in and use his boogie board. Hapuna beach was another favorite. It was large and not crowded. 

Kua Bay Beach

Haupuna Beach

Haupuna Beach

We spent two days SCUBA diving with Jacks Diving Locker in Kona. We decided we were going to get our advanced open water diving certification since we did not want to have the class back home where the water is cold. Plus we booked a night dive which was needed for our certification. The first day of diving was beautiful. As we stopped at our first dive site we could see a manta ray about 100 feet on the bottom of the ocean. We all started jumping in the water after getting our gear on and seriously on the first dive my camera floods. Ugh! I hand it back to one of the guys on the boat and off I go exploring and seeing such a beautiful underworld. Yes I was upset my camera was a goner but mainly because I could not capture the beauty I was seeing. After getting back to shore I found a camera store in Kona and new housing and purchased it for the next day. 

Dolphins swimming along the boat

The second day was a long day. We did four dives with our last one being the night dive with the manta rays. Now this was already way cool but what made it better is that the world famous manta ray researcher who works for Jacks Diving Locker was on our boat with his daughter diving with us. He made us a great video from our dive for us to keep as well! Keller Laros knows all those manta rays by name he studies them so much. He is the man who saved the dolphin from fishing line a few years back. Dolphin Rescue Another great part of going out on the boats is seeing the whales. It is kinda like a two for one whale watching tour! 

Joshua suited up for the dive!

Manta ray dive

Like I said earlier, I was so happy we rented a Jeep. To get to some beaches you had to drive on some very unmaintained roads. There was a beach with black sand and underground lava tubes for swimming called the Queens bath's that I wanted to see. It is not unusual to find wild goats roaming around Hawaii and the road to this beach was no exception. 

Goats roaming freely

Queens Bath, a lava tube near Kiholo Bay

Watch your step. I almost did not see this cutie.

Joshua found a dead puffer fish

But the road to get here was nothing like the road to Green Sand Beach! Before getting to the beach we stopped at one of the two places called the southern most point in the US. The other is off Florida. The road to Green Sand beach is extremely unmaintained and a few times I thought our jeep was going to flip over. The beach is green as implied but does not show up well in pictures. 

South Point

When walking in the area above you must watch your step because there are craters or lave tubes in the ground made from the volcano.

Green Sand Beach

Our trusty Jeep

Our next big attraction is something I was very excited about. I was hoping that when I came to the Big Island I would time it with the lava flow in hopes of actually seeing it. Well it must have been my lucky day!! First we went to the park area where you can walk round and there is a little museum. And the amazing caldera. It was emitting gas and was huge. We walked through lava tunnels and explored the area. But we left after a few hours and drove down to an area where lava had been flowing and destroyed neighborhoods in the last few years. I happened to see a guy with a sign for a sunset hiking tour out over the lava fields. I did not want to spend the money but I thought about it and realized I was there and I did not want to miss out on an opportunity. So we signed up and off we went. We met the three other people from our group, one being Dan who I am still friends with to this day. I cannot tell you how amazing this hiking tour was. The lava was just flowing and flowing and was so mesmerizing to watch. We poked it with sticks and it would make a loud noise releasing the gas. I was surprised that the stick did not just melt. And yes it was hot but we were able to get pretty darn close to it. Driving back from here, I drove back to the national park area as it is open 24 hours. The reason I went back in the middle of the night is because the caldera glows at night from the magma below. It was beautiful. 

Crater from Jagger museum

Steam vents

Thurston Lava tube

Thurston Lava tunnel

End of Chain of Craters Rd

Homes not destroyed, Kanapala

Kanapala Lava flow

Kanapala lava flow

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Joshua playing with fresh lava

And what trip would be complete without some local food, Hawaiian shave ice and waterfalls?

Rainbow falls, Hilo

Onomea Bay

'Akaka falls

Another great place to visit is Pu'uhonua o Honaunau or Place of Refuge which is an archaeological park and burial ground that you can visit. Right next to this is a great place to snorkel. Just up the road from that is Captain Cook monument, the place where he landed on the island. 

My resources for planning this trip were the book Hawaii Revealed The Big Island and my Aunt Sue who loves Hawaii and visits it so much she should be a local. Thanks for all your help!