Hawaii

Jean, Trent, Everett, Mom and Dad left for California this morning. The house seems so quiet without them, especially without the baby’s constant chatter. We’re here for another week! After everyone set off for the airport, Rob and I got permission from Haley to take her inflatable kayak out for a spin. We drove down…

Happy New Year from Hawaii! Not pictured in this photo, panic exclamations of “Ouch! I think an ember went down my shirt. There’s a spark on my foot!” Remember to stage your picturesque, Pinterest-ready New Year’s photo standing upwind from the sparklers. 2013 was full of a lot of travel: Whistler, London & Edinburgh, Tahoe, Hetch…

Isn’t it nice to find a hidden gem? We stumbled across the Sea House Restaurant on the beach in Napili on Maui and were impressed.  We were seated right away at a table overlooking the beach. Our nice waitress has worked at the restaurant for 30 years. With the elegant dining room, it looked like…

Rob and Trent left for their bike adventure early this morning. The rest of us had a lazy morning at home before taking the car out to explore the north shore of Maui.  First stop, Ka’anapali Alii beach. We saw a Red-Crested Cardinal hopping along the sand: This spot on the island was originally an…

I love the patina and mixed message on this sign from the beach in Kihei:

No matter where we travel, I’m always on the hunt for the perfect sandwich. I’m known to route flights through Las Vegas just for a stop at the Port of Subs in the terminal. So, yesterday we set out to taste the top-rated sandwiches on Maui at 808 Deli. The menu features classic combinations, along…

Rob and Trent woke up early for their bike ride – but only to find it pouring rain and decided to push back their adventure for a day. A lazy morning instead, watching a lot of Discovery Channel shows set in Alaska. All that “surviving” amped them up to tackle the young coconuts left in…

Everything in Hawaii is lush and majestic…except for the terrifying and enormous snails. This is one of the smaller specimens we saw, next to a quarter for perspective. We ran across a shell easily twice as large as this behind a bush in the yard. I tried to research the history of these giants, but…

We headed back to the beach this morning. Jean rode over on of the rented bike and the rest of us took the car to Polo Beach in front of the Fairmont Hotel in Wailea. It’s nice that there are big public parking lots and clear paths to the beaches in front of Maui’s fancier…

We took another day off from the beach today and headed to the “upcountry” to explore. Rob and Trent took off in advance on their rented roadbikes and the rest of us left by car after Everett’s morning nap. We encountered heavy rains in central Maui that turned into a massive rainbow once we reached…