“Look, Mommy! Dots on my arm… from the rain!” Things desert-dwelling California kids say when they go hiking in a Hawaiian rain forest.
In the ancient tribal grounds of the Iao Valley the land was lush and the rivers beautiful. We hiked to a view of the highest point (the needle) and swam in the river. But the best part was getting caught in a rain shower. Our Maui trip was full of adventure.
The next day we headed in the opposite direction up to the top of Haleakala volcano. I had to stop the car to get a closer look at this beautiful silversword. It was the most beautiful plant I’d ever seen. I am always awestruck by the perseverance of life in unlikely scenarios.
Haleakala crater.
For our next adventure we went on a glass bottomed boat. Problem was, I forgot– I don’t like boats. Apparently, neither do my kids.
The deck was better.
But land with shave ice was much, much better.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to Ahihi Bay! Best snorkeling experience on the island. Those fish were THIS BIG!
Valley, volcano, ocean, bay…we saw beauty everywhere. We’d return to our condo every evening tired and happy. In 8 days, we had grown into our lives as island people. Jonathan and I even started to do that thing we do when we really like a place… after putting the kids down for the night, we’d sneak upstairs, crawl into bed… and check out real estate on the iPad.
Do you do that, too?
For our final night in Maui we went to the Drums of the Pacific luau. This event made it exceptionally hard for us not to shred our return tickets. Read about it here.
For part one of our trip click here.
