Maui . . . 2nd time around!

Are ya ready . . .

Here we are at Pa'ia . . . famous for big wind, big waves and big sight seeing . . . that would be us!!  February in Idaho was too much . . . had to get away . . . what could be better than Hawaii and good friends!  So hopped a plane and off we went to Maui . . . met up with our good friends, Kay and Mike Kelsey . . . great times to follow!!

Our friends, Eric Alberdie, Mike and Kay Kelsey at Pa'ia . . . ready to watch the surfers . . .

A view over the edge at Honolau Bay . . . on our way to the Blowhole.

Making our way down to the blowhole . . .

A little leaf grafitti along the trail . . .

The blowhole wasn't so great today . . . but the rocks were super for climbin', sittin' under and lookin' at!

And the hibiscus . . . what's a blog about Hawaii

 without a pic of hibiscus!!

The Banyan tree in Lahaina

Vic  after lookin' for whales down by Wailea

Sunsets in Hawaii . . . can't be beat!

See the whale tail in the sunset?  Just down the road from where we stayed.

A little old church . . . built in the 1800's and still used today.

A view from down by Wailea . . . a great place to watch whales!

The Road to Hana . . . always an adventure awaits those brave enough to travel it!

Meet the little lady from Vancouver
who flagged us down to help rescue the lady who had slipped over
the edge . . . it was her unlucky/lucky day!  I helped the little Vancouver lady flag down a construction truck while Vic went over to the edge to give his assistance . . .

The truck we flagged down - they had a garden hose which was put to good use . . . if you don't have a rope to rescue folks over the cliff . . . a garden hose works just great!  Vic holding onto the lady from Canada's husband . . . who is holding onto the lady's husband who fell over the cliff . . . who is holding onto his wife for dear life. . . and up she comes!  The 200' waterfall we all wanted to see . . .

The waterfall

Us with the waterfall in the background . . . this is close enough for us! 

A view out the window . . . on the Road to Hana!  Followed a road and found paradise at the end . . .

A few of the sights that can only look beautiful in Hawaii . . .

A little roadside stand where the veggie lasagna was wonderful . . . the eating choices along the Road to Hana are few and far between!

A helicopter for those who are reluctant to do the hike . . . and a pool over the edge for those who do the hike . . .

A most incredible hike. . . and at the end . . .

a 400 foot waterfall!!

Deej in the rainforest . . . it's dark and dense . . . and BEAUTIFUL!  And of course my camera batteries run out along the way!

Yep . . . stay on the trail!  Along the way to the 400" waterfall . . .

Fern spores along the trail . . . 

A baby pineapple . . . the cutest thing I'd ever seen!

Vic in the ocean going kayak ready to go find the whales with Eric and Mike . . . and they found them!!  Vic was close enough to see the eyeball of one of them . . .  at that point Vic began wondering where reverse was on the kayak!  That was one of his most incredible experiences . . . he can cross that off his bucket list.  Me?  I was happy to watch them from the shore or when we went out snorkeling . . .  For a more detailed look at the boys' adventure check out my video on FB.

At the end of our morning walk along the beach . . .  if you look closely I am sure there are whales just beyond!

Deej taking her turn to swing . . . what am I doing with my back to the ocean?  Most mornings Vic and I would walk about a mile down the beach just down from where we stayed . . . met lots of nice folks who spent their mornings doing the same. 

Here's our spot in paradise . . . the little Maui Lu . . . a rather quaint old style place which suited us just fine. 

A eucalyptus tree for real in nature . . . along the road to the Volcano!  It smelled so good!

Along the road to the volcano was this lavendar farm . . . it was so beautiful . . . was thinking between the lavendar and the eucalyptus this must be a little bit of heaven!!

One of our famous self portraits along the way to the volcano . . .

B-r-r-r!  Glad we had our winter coats from Idaho - they came in handy when we reached the summit at the volcano.  It was pretty amazing!

Looking at Vic while he looks out across the crater at Haleakala . . . no palm trees here!  But lots of clouds and COLD!!

On top of the world in Maui . . .

These little plants only grow up here . . . they love the cold! 

A close up of the Silversword plants on top of the volcano. 

A Bird of Paradise . . . kind of in the darkness . . . but I like it!    Found this not on the mountain . . . but in the evening when we returned . . . was planted on the grounds where we stayed.

Vic walking along the beach . ..

With a Diet Pepsi, our camelback and our Maui Revealed book nothing is impossible!!

Mosaic surf boards in an art museum . . . bet they took lots of time . . .

Enjoying the art in a museum @ Wailea

We went to "turtle ghetto" . . . not to be mistaken for "turtle town" -  and a turtle just like this one came up RIGHT BESIDE me . . . could have reached out and put my arm around him . . . but we were threatened that if we touched them it was  BIG $$$ in fines as they are endangered . . . so we just swam peacefully along beside one another til he decided to go deep and I decided to stay on top!

The island of Molokini where we went snorkeling . . .

along with many other snorkelers . . . but seemed there was plenty of water and fish for all of us to enjoy!

Vic on the boat out to Molokini . . . or maybe it was when we were coming back in looking for whales!

Vic is in the middle . . . enjoying a view from below of the above . . . and getting ready to go under and listen to the whales.  We saw lots of whales!

Vic getting ready to give me his sunglasses so he can go in . . .

Yep - what's a trip to Hawaii w/out a footsie picture? 
 

And all good things must end as we load up our little rental car with our bags and prepare to head to the airport and back to Idaho?  What a great trip!