Day 3 - The Road to Hana

Today definitely ranks up there with the best days of my life. I cannot believe all of the amazing things I saw today. I really have to give a huge thank you to the writers of Maui Revealed. With this guidebook in hand, we adventured around the island of Maui and saw all of the best stuff. It was amazing.  And, best of all, Tiana was a total trooper! We packed well and she had a great time. Perhaps the best time of all of us.

We started out early to try to beat the crowds, and it was very effective. We were the first people at almost every place we stopped. Well, either we were just earliest, or it was the lemming effect- people stopped where we stopped because they saw us stopped there.

Since we rented an AWD vehicle, our first stop of the day was down a tiny dusty road to a little bay where we saw a black sand beach that we were pretty sure we could get to. Turns out we could. So cool.

Next, we passed by all the things that guidebook said were either not that cool or too much of a hike. We were trying to be realistic about what we could do with the kids in tow. Tiana loves the backpack (shout out to Carmen for the gift, thanks a million), but Vinny is a total baby about anything he deems scary.

We stopped at the sight I was most looking forward to, Upper Waikani Falls, also known as Three Bears Falls. As I got out to change my shoes, I realized that Marc was wearing flip flops. "Where are your hiking shoes?" I asked. "What do you mean?" he replied, "I didn't think I needed them today." Sigh. After a small discussion in which we argued over whether or not it is my responsibility to grab everything we will need for the day, we decided to brave the hike anyway. We followed the path suggested by the guidebook, or so we thought, down a rocky creek bed. Possibly the toughest thing ever, but really only because Vinny was being incredibly melodramatic and unadventurous. He cried about half the way there, yelling, "I want Grandma!" and "I don't want to die!" If you saw this hike, you would laugh hysterically, because it was not scary at all, he was just acting like a ninny. 

Fortunately, we eventually got there and I crossed off #34 from my buried list... swim in a tropical waterfall. Oh wow. Amazing.  Breathtaking. My heart was beating so fast. 

I totally have a thing for waterfalls. I climbed into my first waterfall when I was 17 years old in the mountains of Colorado on an off-roading trip with my uncle. Since then I have been hooked. Last July, while 7 months pregnant, I swam in a waterfall in Tahoe. Also amazing, but I desperately wanted to try it in a tropical one where the water was not ice cold. It was everything I hoped it would be.

Fortunately, Vinny was excited once he got there. He thought the name of "three bears falls" was perfect and loved calling them by name "Mama Bear" "Papa Bear" and "Baby Bear." (The video above is me in between Papa Bear and Mama Bear).

On the way back up, we figured out a much easier way, which was probably the "easy path" the guidebook referred to. We found some people about to start the path down and saved them the trouble. We ran into them again a few more times throughout the day and they thanked us for it. 

Next, we stopped for lunch at Pua'a Ka'a State Park. Well developed area with tables and stuff, but really, nothing that exciting to look at. We saw lots of people staring at the falls and probably thinking about going in, but the pools at the bottom were kind of gross and had lots of tadpoles. (There's another "T" word Vinny learned. Unschooling this week has been pretty awesome). 

Our next stop was a detour from the main highway to the tiny village of Nahiku. Oh my gosh. Craziest little place. Maui Revealed said it must be "where plants go when they die," and he must be right. Anyone see that movie Ferngully in the 90s?  It was one of my favorites, and this place reminded me of it SO much. Vines hanging down from the trees everywhere on the tiniest little road through the most old school "Hawaiian" village you could possibly imagine. And it dead ends at the ocean at a spot with the most breathtaking view. The waves break into colors of blue I have seen nowhere else in nature. We almost didn't want to leave. I honestly think that when I meet Jesus, I am pretty sure he will be standing somewhere that looks just like this. The photos just don't do it justice, but hopefully you can get just a hint of what I am talking about. 

 

Finally, we continued to Hana. Not that much is really in Hana, although honestly, I could retire here. I would fit right in with this lady.  

We did stop at the black sand beach, It was different from the first one in that there was greenery growing out of the lava fields and ancient burial grounds all over the place. Vinny loved the little caves; Tiana loved the sand.

Tiana could have played in the black sand all day. She thought it was way cool.

Admit it... Marc looks great! (Jealous, party of 1)

We ultimately drove on, hoping to make a quick stop at the Seven Pools before heading home, but by the time we got there (11 miles from Hana, almost an hour drive... yeah), Tiana had fallen asleep, and we were not about to wake her up and expect her to hike. Some day, I want to return to Maui without the kids (or when they are much, much older) to do all the coolest snorkeling spots, go ocean kayaking, stay in Hana for a night, and hike to Waimoka Falls at the top of the seven pools.  So... we drove on. We took the more adventurous way back to civilization,  around the dry southeast side of Maui, where the road was often one unpaved lane, and then through the upcountry. We felt like we were on an adventure ride like Indiana Jones or something. 

Once in the upcountry, we stopped at a park for the kids to play in the shadow of the Haleakala Volcano summit. 

Amazingly, we somehow made it home in time to eat an early dinner and pick up Hula Cookies for dessert. What a day!

Day 2 - Parasailing and Hula Cookies

Marc "getting high" with West Maui Parasail today.

Hello Readers! Guest blogger today! Marc wanted to write our vaca-update today. So here goes...

Once again, our second day of Hawaii stated off with a very early morning.  Tiana got me (Marc) up at 4:30am, and by 5am she had both Niki and I awake, ready to enjoy the good life of Hawaii.  Since I was up early anyway, I decided to take advantage of early morning swimming at Kihei Aquatic Center.  In fact, I was so excited, I forgot my towel.  I ended up drying off with paper towels.  The drive was amazing. Great views everywhere in Maui, Hawaii.  Kihei is about 5 miles from our condo, but it takes a good 20-25 minutes to get there, since everyone here is on "Hawaiian Time," and I am not talking about the time zone.

When I arrived home, we quickly packed up lunch for the day and got the kids ready to go to Ka'anapali to go parasailing.  We claimed a shady spot on the beach (which was great, since the sand was way hot today) and I signed in to go parasailing first.  Vinny was planning on watching me parasail from the boat, but as we were loading to go in a small speed raft to the parasailing boat he got scared and backed out. Too bad, since he would have enjoyed the boat ride. 

 Now, I must admit, I was a little scared at first, watching people from the boat being pulled 1,200 feet in the air.  Crazy... but I managed to finally go, and I was pumped.  I brought along the waterproof camcorder/camera and took pictures as I was parasailing.  Maui is a whole lot different from way up in the air.  What a great experience.  

 

Tiana caking herself in sand.

Meanwhile Niki, Vinny, and Tiana enjoyed the beach while I went parasailing.  Not the best beach ever, but it was convenient. 

After, Niki got to go, and she ended up having to go with an older man (who was planning on flying solo) because she is so light and skinny.  (Okay, I have to jump in here- perhaps the best compliment I have ever received was when the parasailing guy said he didn't think I would meet the minimum weight requirement for solo parasailing. He said I might end up upside down. He was probably wrong, but I was sort of happy for the company since I was a little scared). 

As Niki was enjoying her time parasailing, I loaded the kids up in the car and took them for a drive, since Tiana was done being on the beach. As soon as I pulled out of the beach parking lot, Tiana fell asleep. Vinny and I drove and drove and discovered some neat beaches (and a MickeyDs drive thru). Vinny also discovered Angry Birds. Hahaha. 

Maui from the air. 

We arrived back at the condo around 3, where Vinny did some more school work, and then we went swimming. Niki headed back to the store for a few things (Tiana has eaten her way through an entire bag of grapes), while I took the kids to the beach in front of the condo. 

 Tonight, we cooked dinner. A delicious steak dinner (for about $20 for all three of us- couldn't get that in a restaurant). We cleaned up quickly to rush down the street to Hula Cookies, since they close at 6pm. We got there just in time. They were just closing up, but they let us in anyway. Oh man. Worth the rush. Delicious homemade ice cream sandwiches. The Kona mud pie ice cream was to die for. We may be returning before the trip is over (and she probably should not have told us that they ship the cookies anywhere in the world).

Vinny playing on the beach, waiting for Daddy to finish parasailing. 

The kids fell asleep early again tonight, which means another early morning tomorrow, but that's okay, since we are hitting the road to Hana and have much to discover!

Maui - Day 1

Maui... Wow. It is everything I dreamed it would be, and we are having the best family vacation of our lives. I am in beach heaven, and Marc, with his long crazy hair and inability to hurry anything, fits right in with the locals, despite the fact that he can't pronounce a single Hawaiian word correctly (he told me to add that part, I swear).

I bet you wouldn't imagine an amazingly relaxing day starting out at 5:30a.m... but ours did. That's right, before the sun came up, we were up. We made a valiant effort at getting the kids on Hawaiian time by putting them to bed late last night- Tiana went to bed at her regular bed time (around 7:45pm) and Vinny went to bed around 8:30pm (we were going to let him stay up later, but he eventually begged to go to bed). Our hard work paid off, since Tiana didn't wake up at her usual time, which would have meant 3am here.

Since we actually went to bed pretty early last night too, their pre-dawn wake up was somewhat welcome. We made our coffee and settled in on the lanai to watch the sunrise, which was nothing short of amazing. This precious, precious time with our children is worth more than gold. They are so adorable.

Just before 8, Marc headed out to Wailea to go join the local U.S. Masters Swimming team for their weekly ocean swim. When he contacted them last week to confirm pool practice times, they invited him on the ocean swim, which sounded like a great opportunity for adventure, so he went. Although he got some strange looks at first- not used to having a Mainlander on their team I suppose- he was eventually warmly welcomed by the locals. They all swam out to "the point" (don't ask me what that means, but that's what he called it) together, and then split off to go explore and swim in groups. Marc didn't quite know who to join, so he followed the group he had been chatting with and quickly discovered he had joined the advanced group, as they went far, far out into the ocean to an amazing snorkel spot. He had never seen so many fish in his life and watched in awe as a sea turtle zoomed by beneath him (apparently, the "slow as a turtle" thing does not apply in the ocean).

Just outside our place on Maalaea Bay.

Meanwhile, the kids and I made our way down the few steps from the condo to the beach, which was practically our private paradise at 8am. This tiny stretch of Maalaea Bay is just gorgeous. The beach has a unique reddish sand that is like nothing I have ever seen before, or felt- so thick, yet soft. It is littered with coconuts, clearly knocked off the trees in the evenings when the winds are rough. Tiana loved playing with these little coconuts. It was adorable.

Early this morning, in front of our condo 

After Tiana had napped, we had a relaxing lunch at our condo, then headed out for more exploring. We ended up at Kahekili Beach, which was highly recommended in Maui Revealed, a fantastic guidebook that was well worth the $12. This beach was soft and the water crystal clear. Although the winds in the afternoon are crazy intense, the guidebook suggested that this beach might offer a partial break from the wind, and it sort of did, enough to enjoy for a few hours anyway.

Tiana is pretty much the exact opposite of Vinny when he was her age. He was terrified of sand and even more terrified of waves. He would sit happily on the towel, playing quietly with his toys, and he'd stay there all day, as long as the sand didn't touch him. Tiana pretty much worships the sand and will dive into it face first all day long. She never sits still. :-)  Marc and I took turns feeding our little sand crab grapes while the other swam with Vinny or snorkeled.

Speaking of snorkeling... oh my! Who would have guess I would enjoy this activity so much?  Not me. I am actually kind of afraid of fish most of the time, but I found that if you stay on top of the water, they pretty much leave you alone, and it is so cool to watch them swim around the reef. I am a little bit claustrophobic, so the mask kind of gets to me after a while, and I clearly cannot swim and multi-task, since I swallowed an unexpected mouthful of seawater while trying to take an underwater video of the fish. Marc is obviously the more aquatically gifted member of this family.

We finished off this perfect day with some shopping and then dinner. We found exactly what we were looking for at Hula Grill. On a florally adorned patio, we had a great table right on the water. The food was very Hawaiian... and very good (although very pricey). Yum.

I guess we did a good job of wearing the kids out, because they both fell asleep on the way home. I almost did too, but I am trying to stay up long enough to adjust my own personal clock to Hawaiian time. Tomorrow we parasail!

And this is what family vacation is really all about...

Traveling with Young Children...

... is a completely different experience in comparison to traveling without them. Traveling with two is even a huge change from one. When we went to Disney World when Vinny was 2 (almost 3), it was really a piece of cake. Traveling with two children, anything but a piece of cake.

Long flight here. Getting here was very hectic. Tiana is in a stage where she pretty much doesn't want to sit still for more than 60 seconds. She just learned to walk so she doesn't want to be held, like, ever, unless she is really, really tired, in which case, she will let you hold her, but then fuss and cry meanwhile.

So... I will let you imagine our 5.5 hour flight. Try holding your "lap child" for 5.5 hours when she doesn't want to be held at all.  It was pretty much all afternoon for her, so a nap was destined to happen, but she fought it with everything she had in her. Eventually, she succumbed, so we got about an hour or so of peace. Sigh... thank gosh.

We arrived in the late afternoon, but by the time we got our rental car, stopped to stock up on groceries, and made our way to the condo, it was already dark, so we didn't really get to see what the beach looks like yet. We can tell it is crazy close and that we have an amazing view.

As we landed today, Vinny looked over at me and said, "Mahalo Mommy! Mahalo for taking me on a plane to Maui!" He is an amazing kid and I am so lucky. My guilt about taking him out of school for a week has been completely assuaged. I reluctantly told his teacher the truth, but turns out she is way cool and agreed to send a weeks worth of work. My super smarty pants son was very excited to work on his work on the plane, and even after dinner tonight at the condo, so I am not at all worried about him getting it done. We learned lots of T words. He is practically done with half of his week's work. He even voluntarily sang me the song about every "alphabet friend," these character names with letters.

It is times like this I understand homeschooling. If I was homeschooling, I would definitely need someone to assign him the work, but man... he'd rip through it like crazy. Instead, I do my own version of "unschooling" on the side, by insisting that my child not only "count the apples on the tree" in his workbook at school, but pull them off of real trees. He told me that his friends thought apple trees were really big, and asked if he would need a ladder to get them down, and he told them," No! They are small trees. I picked them from the ground!"  This sort of stuff makes me really happy.

You know what else makes me really happy. Vinny's "home school connections" sheet this week (a page of activities to do with your child, lately all relating to the letter of the week) says he should "Move like a turtle." How about swim with a turtle?  Talk about connections...   :-)

Better yet, when he was singing me the song about the letter friends, he got to V, and the letter friend's name for V is "Vinny Volcano."  Perhaps when they get to "V" week, my very own little "Vinny Volcano" can bring in pictures in a lava tube.

I <3 my kid. I <3 my life. Can't wait for morning.

Not enough time... unless I decide not to sleep this week.

Do you ever have moments where you look at your to-do list, realizing that many of the items on your list have deadlines, and realize that there are literally just not enough hours to accomplish everything?  That is where I am at right now. Stressed doesn't even begin to cover it.

Yes, I am going on vacation soon, but I don't plan on working the entire time. I do want to relax too. There are just so many looming deadlines.

The last day of school before fall break is October 7th. I want the students to work on revising their papers over fall break, but I still have like 24 left that I haven't even graded, which leaves me two nights to grade them, but I also have class tomorrow night, which means I have a ton of homework due tomorrow night, so tonight is the night to do it. I haven't finished the lesson plan for Friday yet. I know what I am doing, but the powerpoint needs sprucing up and the lesson plan itself has not been written. I took some of my drama kids out shopping today, so that meant that planning did not get done during 3rd today (like it usually would) making me feel very unprepared for the next upcoming few days.

Grades are due October 18th and we have parent conferences on the 19th and 20th. Admin and peeps keep pressing us to schedule these SST meetings (reviews of students who have been referred) after school on the 17th and 18th, but that would keep us working all day from 7:30am-5:30pm for four days in a row, without really any time to plan, make copies, return phone calls, etc. Not to mention do things like pick up our children and make dinner. Almost all of us have families, and schedules like that are very hard on us.

Sigh...

No... time... to.... breathe.

Maui... Maui.... Maui....

Fall is here. Around here, Fall kicks off with the town fair. This year, Vinny and Marc were in the parade for the first time. It was adorable. :-) Later that weekend, we took the kids to the carnival with my mom. It was fun and reminded me of when I was a kid. We used to go every year. I remember the little roller coaster feeling so big and exciting. 

This fall, Vinny is also playing soccer for the first time. He is really enjoying it, even if all they do is chase the ball around in large groups. Vinny is a bit timid. I think he is trying to wait for his turn and doesn't want to steal it. He was never very aggressive.

#3... My little sweetie    :-)

So, this weekend, we went to Vinny's game, and then we headed out to my grandparent's house to make a tradition of apple picking. We went for the first time last year when Vinny was studying apples in school. Tiana was just a few weeks old. I am proud to say that my kids will grow up knowing where apples come from not from seeing apple trees in pictures, but from picking apples off the trees. I think there is something beautiful about that.  If you are ever feel like taking a road trip, Knaus Apple Ranch in Tehachapi is a cute little family farm. $1.00 per pound and an adorable little gift shop with amazing prices.

Me and My Papa 

Last year, she was just a bundle on my chest.