The next day was Sunday, so we went to church with the Kihei ward. The whole day was overcast and very stormy. It poured rain for most of the day (and night) and the thunder was LOUD. The boys, and especially Asher were excited to catch the World Cup (played around 4 am HI time, but rebroadcast). Later on we drove around a bit to see what was nearby, as the rain was intense, making even walking the beach a non-option, although we did get a little walk on the beach after dinner when the rain let up for a little while. None of us can believe it’s Christmas- the weather is too strange, and we are all in shorts!
The next day, we got some more time in Lahaina, hoping to see the Old Prison, but it was closed, so we git up Teddy's Bigger Burgers for some food.The rain started to roll in again, so we figured the aquarium might be a good bet for the afternoon- but so did everyone else it seemed. It was fairly busy, and lots of it was open-air, so the rain was still an issue. The Maui Ocean Center had some great exhibits on Hawaiian culture and their tanks were full of the amazing fish found in and around Hawaii. We hadn't realized how big a deal this storm was until our drive back to Kihei. The drive took forever due to downed trees all over the place, making it impossible to get anywhere fast. We heard later that many areas had no power, and flights were diverted due to the storm- so we felt VERY lucky that all it had affected so far was our drive back into town. ainy rainy day- trees down over roads and small lakes making some roads inaccessible!
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The next day we took the plunge and drove the road to Hana. It's an investment for sure, as it takes hours to drive in, and then hours to drive back out again, but it was encredibly beautiful. The road was skinny, but the jeep was actually awesome for the tight turns and tiny roads. Yielding to oncoming traffic over bridges was wierd too, but Corey drove the whole thing and didn't complain a bit. We did a little hiking, a little beach exploring (black sand beach- WOWWWW), saw a ton of waterfalls, wildlife, and drove over at least 30 bridges. The views were unbelievable, and we used a great App along the way that gave us all the info and history about the island and area. I believe the word of the day (at least for me) was WOW. Dawson was obsessed with coconuts, dragging around giant fronds and getting frighteningly close to the blowhole, Beckett caught lizards, Asher took lots of pictures and Corey and I were just taking it all in.
The next day was a wonderful Kaanapali beach day. The storms did throw one major kink into our trip- no snorkeling. If we had done it on our first day or so, we could've gotten some in, but the bad storm churned the water up, and everything from upland was still draining into the ocean, so snorkeling was a no-no. Thankfully, the ocean at Kaanapali had cleared up fairly well and we had a fabulous day relaxing, making sand castles, boogie boarding, kicking a soccer ball (Asher had packed a ball and a pump for good measure), swimming and simply enjoying the beach. The weather was perfect, and the shops and beach were charming and lovely. I was still hoping to see a Sea Turtle up close, but so far, the regular spots we had read about were not panning out. Our lunch that day was the yummiest fish I've had in a long time - at the Paia Fish Market- seriously yum- everyone loved it. That evening, we watched another magnificent sunset at the park overlooking Kama III --breathtaking.
The next day was another glorious beach day- this time at Wailea. Again, the weather was perfection, and everyone had a great time playing in the water and relaxing- Dawson and I even made a sand sea turtle since up to this point we hadn't seen one up close. After spending a good chunk of time there, we drove around to Makena Landing, just to check out the next beach area over. When we got there, I saw an area of trees with a secluded little beach on just through them and a couple of people hanging back a bit. We walked that way and soon realized that the small secluded area was a sea turtle haven!! I couldn't believe our luck and I was SO happy to see them. Sea Turtles seem to elude me every trip - but not this time! I seriously could have sat and watched them all day. Such sweet, peaceful little guys. There were 13 of them just hanging out, so we kept our required distance and just sat in awe, watching. Corey and I went on a little walk later that afternoon, and ended up finding another beautiful little turtle on a beach along the back side of Kama III, where the rock cliffs are. Just secluded on a little patch of sand. Loved it!
We came back to the Shops at Wailea that evening to see a little hula show, shop a bit, and we even got a picture with a Hawaiian Mall Santa. Beckett bought some guitar picks at the cutest little Ukelele shop, where a man there played on a double ukelele and sang. It was awesome. And- oh, did I mention how much I adore Honu (sea turtles)??
On our last day (sniff), we had a full day to fill before getting onto our flight, so we made the most of it. The spent the first half of our day at Hale Akela National Park. This adventure was unique for sure. We drove the 10,000 feet up the side of the mountain, bundled up in coats and hats and braved the insane winds to view the Marsesque landscape of a volcanic crater. It was beautiful and crazy and freezing. The silversword plants (unique to the area) were ethereal. The views from the top were also spectacular- we could see Maui from one side to the other, and then behind us was the Big Island, but all we could see of it were the snow capped peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea- also crazy.
We tried to hit a few other museums once we made it back to the valley, but they were closed for some reason. Instead we drove around Kuhului and nea Iao, and we finally saw some Nene (Hawaiian state bird) near the beach. We ended up killing time at Costco (hilarious) because our already late flight was delayed three times! When we finally arrived in Salt Lake City, after being up for over 24 hours straight, we missed our connecting flight by 20 minutes and were beyond frustrated, as it was Christmas Eve and we'd done all we could to make it work. After waiting for a couple of hours in a line for rebooking (we were far from the only ones with an issue...due to lots of storms, all of the airlines were swamped with stranded passengers), we booked some standby tickets and hoped for the best. I'd been in touch with Kayla to see if she had any tips for getting home. She and Jen and their awesome families met up with us for a couple of hours at the airport just to hang out and come say hi. Being stranded at the airport on Christmas Eve turned into a really amazing Christmas Miracle! I got to see two of my sisters on Christmas Eve and everyone had so much fun chatting, playing games and eating snacks. I sure love them- and I was so touched that they'd take time out of their busy holiday to come hang at the airport, of all places.
In the end, all five of us made it on the flight- after gobbling up some pastries bought with an airport food credit from Delta. We made it home around 7:30, exhausted, but SO happy to have made it home for Christmas. We loved Maui, but home for Christmas was great too!
