Maui and Hawaii

Downside of a cruise ship cabin: no coffee in your room. Upside: multiple coffee opportunities in other places … just have to get up!

I am married to a wonderful person. He will always get out of bed to find coffee first thing in the morning on our behalf. For this, and for many other reasons, I love him dearly. However, this particular morning also happened to be Father’s Day, and Jason is one terrific dad. So, coffee for him!

We were gifted with a beautiful sunrise on our first morning aboard ship. Sea breeze accompanied our coffee, and we had the opportunity to watch us pull into Maui. This was more of a Monet moment: pretty from far away but not so nice up close. The port was industrial and busy, so we were glad to have made plans for an excursion while visiting the island. It ended up being one of our favorites of the trip.

We packed our swim bags and boogie board and headed out for our “Exclusive Maui Beach Day.” We had no idea where we were going, but in the spirit of giving our kiddos their proper beach experience, we opted for this excursion offered through the cruise line. Little did we know we were heading to the Grand Wailea Resort on Wailea Beach. It was fabulous! We set up our chairs and umbrella and jumped into the (big!) waves. I was all ready to settle in with my book and watch the fun when I realized we had no towels, and none were provided.

I am now the owner of two of the most expensive beach towels I have ever had, but I did get the chance to explore the grounds of this resort while shopping. It is a truly remarkable place, impeccably cared for and with so much to offer. We were thrilled to have the chance to spend half a day beach side here. We laughed and played and had fun in the sun.

When our tummies grumbled for lunch, we took out delicious food from a food truck right on the beach. Jason and Harper had ahi tacos, and Jameson had pizza. Happy people! Needless to say, we were not ready to leave when time came, but we were also tuckered and sun-kissed. We headed back to the ship for a little afternoon rest and shower before meeting the family for dinner.

Evening dinners would become a trip favorite for all of us. We often went off to adventure in different ways during the day, and it was always fun to come back and share our highlights with one another. While we were at the beach, Chad and Charanya went snorkeling with turtles, urchins, fish, and octopi. They were thrilled to share that they touched an octopus. As cute as the turtles were, however, they were under strict orders not to touch them. Apparently, this is dangerous to the cute little shelled creatures. Grandma and Grandpa spent the day relaxing on the ship, as they had been to Maui a couple of times before. At dinner, we celebrated Grandpa for Father’s Day, too, complete with a showering of Spam thanks to Chad. Yes, Grandpa likes Spam. So do Hawaiians.

After supper, we disembarked once more and headed to Lahaina for the evening. We wanted to check out the little shore town and treated ourselves to Dole Whip under the famous banyan tree. It was a sweet nightcap for a great day.

The ship stayed in port overnight, so we had another half day in Maui on Monday. Harper and Jameson were eager to “have a slower day” and take in the fun things offered on the ship. Jason and I left them in the safe hands of their grandparents to play games and hit the pool while we went off to a nearby state park we had heard about, Iao Valley State Monument. And, oh my, it was gorgeous. Locals call this “The Needle,” and we had a delightful hike there. No words needed. The pictures claim this one.

We left Maui that evening with the soft glow of the Pacific in the background.

We awoke in Hilo, the windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii. In my opinion, this is the most interesting of the islands. Its geography and climate zones are varied (it snows and is a rain forest!), and delicious crops (coffee, macadamia nuts, among all kinds of tropical fruits) are grown here. It is also home to Volcanoes National Park, where we were excited to spend part of our day!

Just a couple of weeks prior to our arrival, Mount Kilauea had been erupting.

When we arrived, steam was still rising from the molten black tar-looking pool of lava that was now at the center of its rim. It was SUPER COOL! We hiked down as far as we could go along the caldera area and marveled at our smallness. The Hawaiian people pay deepest respects to Pele, Goddess of volcanoes and fire. Their homes are built on stilts to protect from flood or lava flows. We learned that there are some unique real estate laws in Hawaii, the only state whose land is growing. Unfortunately, if a lava flow extends acreage of your current property, the new acres, sadly, do not belong to you. The government here is constantly surveying new land.

We had a little fun walking through the steam vents in the park and checking out its sulfur beds. It is true, and amazing, that among this bizarre, sometimes burnt and barren landscape, the land is birthing and greening itself all over again. One moment, we walked among rocks covered with sulfur crystals, and only a minute later, deep within a dense tunnel of hanging trees and budding flowers.

Chad and I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Volcanoes 18 or so years ago with our parents. On our way back to Hilo, we were commenting on how today’s visit was nothing like what we remembered. We all had vivid memories of standing on wood planks on top of steam vents and walking on top of lava tubes. When we asked our guide about what we were recalling, he said, “Of course! But all that has fallen into the caldera since you have been here. The mountain swallowed all of it.”

The world is so weird. And fascinating.

The next day, we woke up on the leeward side of the island in Kona. Kona had the most beautiful port by far, likely because there was no commercial dock. Instead, we anchored ship and tendered in. The water was magnificent. It was clear to the bottom, and the kids’ dreams came true – dolphins were leaping out of the water beside us. It was an eye rubbing moment – could they actually exist outside of Sea World? 🙂

We opted for a daypass at a Kona Resort so we could swim and lounge. The Outrigger had a terrific pool area and beautiful views. We were delighted to spend an afternoon there, as it was quiet and comfortable. We ordered lunch salads and ate on our lounge chairs. Harper and Jameson both slurped virgin pina coladas and felt very sophisticated. We read and snoozed and, before we knew it, the day was done. We enjoyed our drive through the cute little town of Kona, which was bustling with shoppers and restaurant-goers. It felt like a little gem of a place.

We might have lingered a bit too long for Grandpa’s comfort, though. He was back on the ship reading, relaxing, and smoking stogies. Chad and Charanya were busy on a submarine (the timing is not lost on us …) and then couldn’t resist snorkeling again in the waters here. The last tender to the ship was scheduled at 5pm. If you missed it, you flew to the next stop! In reality, we made it with more than a half hour to spare. I think we were on a 4:20 tender. But, sweet Grandpa was anticipating having to book flights to Kauai as he sailed on by himself. He was all jitters waiting for us to “come home.” Sigh, we just enjoyed Kona so much!

The next and final chapter of our Hawaiian adventure is an ode to Jurassic Park, a zip through the trees, and a piece of pie …

as well as … the “behind-the-scenes.” Not everything is a rainbow* or a butterfly.

*We actually found the best one we’d ever seen … EVER.