Scenic Sunday: Sunset on Maui

Scenic Sunday...because I never get over the beauty of these islands.

Sunset seen from Ka'anapali, Maui

Just realized I never shared this photo from our Spring Break vacation.

This post is part of Scenic Sunday over at Delicious Baby.  Click on over to see other pictures from around the world.

Kepaniwai Park and Heritage Gardens

On any vacation there is the question of what to do between checking out of your hotel on the final day and checking in at the airport.  On our spring break trip we decided to head to the Iao Valley.  We walked the trails at the park there and enjoyed the view of the Iao Needle and the rest of the valley.  On our way there we had noticed Kepaniwai Park and decided to check that out next.

The atmosphere in the park was so relaxing!  I'm guessing more people use it on the weekends but it was a weekday and there were only a few other people there.  We found a table near the edge of the park and had a picnic lunch.

The Heritage Gardens is so named because there are structures throughout the park that represent some of the many cultures present in Hawaii like this Korean pavilion.

It would have been neat to walk around and look at all the buildings and maybe we'll do that on another visit. This time we stuck with the "less is more" theme of the vacation and just relaxed at our picnic table while the kids played on the rocks nearby until it was time to head to the airport and catch our short flight home.

And that brings to an end the blog stories of our Maui vacation.  It was a good one.  So good in fact that when the kids want something I don't want to buy I say, "Instead of buying that, I'd rather save my money for another fun trip like Maui" and so far they haven't started arguing with that response because they loved the trip too.

Do it yourself on Maui

Location:  870 Iao Valley Road, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, 96793
Ammenities:  Covered picnic pavilions with BBQ pits, a few uncovered picnic tables and restrooms
On the web:  Kepaniwai Park  Pictures of more of the structures in Heritage Gardens can be found here.

Sunrise Market and Protea Garden on Maui

On our recent trip to Maui we decided to make the drive to the top of Haleakala crater since we hadn't been up there in years and the kids had never been.  I know it's a popular place to watch the sunrise, but we weren't feeling that ambitious and headed out after a leisurely breakfast instead.  On the way to the top, my in-laws suggested we stop at Sunrise Country Market to see the Protea Flower Garden. It was a great suggestion!

The cute market has souvenir items for sale as well as coffee and some food.  We didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food, but we did enjoy walking through their protea farm and looking at all the beautiful flowers.  It was a great stop to stretch our legs and enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of Maui's Upcountry.

I realized when we stopped here that I had never seen protea growing before.  They really are unique and beautiful flowers!

Do it yourself on Maui

Address:  16157 Crater Road, Kula Hwy.
Location:  Sunrise Country Market and Protea Flower Garden are located on Crater Road/Haleakala Hwy/Hwy 378 near the junction of this road and Kekaulike Ave/Haleakala Hwy/Hwy 377  (according to Google maps).  It's in the last pocket of civilization before you head up to the top of Haleakala Crater.
Ammenities:  As mentioned they have food for sale here.  There are a couple picnic tables located behind the store and restrooms on the side.

Spring Break on Maui

We got to spend part of spring break on Maui and it was wonderful.  We realized that although we travel quite a bit, it had been a long time since we took a real vacation - a time to just relax and unwind.

The goal of the trip was to do very little, with the beach and the hotel pool at the top of the list for places to spend our time.  The kids loved it and so did we.

While at the beach in Ka'anapali we went snorkeling and got to see lots of fish, coral, eels, an octopus and some turtles.  It had been way too long since I'd done any snorkeling and I had fun!  We put a life jacket on our boy and he gave snorkeling a try too.  He ditched the snorkel pretty quickly but got to see a lot and came back saying, "There are humuhumunukunukuapua'a out there.  I got to see some!"  The things they learn in Kindergarten in Hawaii.  Love it!

We had dessert every day with a couple trips to Ono Gelato in Lahaina and a couple trips to Yogurtland at Whaler's Village.  We also tried out the famous Guri Guri at Tasaka's Guri Guri shop in Kahului.  It's a frozen dessert that isn't ice cream or frozen yogurt or sorbet, but it's good.  They have two flavors - pineapple and strawberry (which we all thought tasted more like bubble gum than strawberry).  A fun treat that is unique to Maui.

We did fit in a couple other things besides swimming and eating including whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  Usually that is the highlight of my trips to Maui but this year it was rougher than usual and both kids got seasick.  Although there were a lot of whales the ones we were near weren't as active as they've been in the past.  So whale watching was memorable, but more because of the vomit I got to clean up than the whales I got to see.  Even amidst seasickness the staff at Pacific Whale Foundation was lovely, handing out free ginger ale and ginger candy to anyone who was feeling a little quesy.  One bad boat tour out of, oh about fives times isn't bad and we'll give it another try next time we're on Maui I'm sure.

I have a couple more highlights to share from our Maui trip but will save them for their own posts.


Do it yourself on Maui

• To find out all about Ono Gelato, visit my Gelato Post from last year.
• To find out all about Pacific Whale Foundation, read my Whale Watching Post from last year.
• To try Guri Guri at Tasaka's, head to the Maui Mall in Lahaina.  The Guri Guri shop is in the back and we ate ours next to the dancing water fountain in front of the theaters.  Address:  70 E Kaahumanu Ave #C13, Kahului, Maui, 96732

Whale Watching on Maui

My favorite activity on Maui is whale watching!  I can't get enough of the whales when we're there.  When we're in view of the ocean I keep an eye out for whales.  I like sitting on top of a cliff with binoculars and watching for spouts and breaching whales.  And most of all, I like going out on a boat to see the whales up close.  

The humpbacks are protected and boats are not allowed to get closer than 100 yards away from them, but for an animal so big that seems quite close.  Plus, if the boat is turned off and the whales choose to come closer that is fine so sometimes you see them even closer.

Whenever we visit Maui in the winter we book a morning whale watching cruise.  Before kids, we went on the first boat out at 6:45 AM.  With kids, a boat leaving around 9 works better.

I don't think there are many places in the world where your whale watch tour passes by not only the first, but the second whales you see because they're not quite in the area of the ocean where they want to be, but that's how our tour started out this time.  

The captain liked where we were the third time whales were spotted and we stopped to watch a female humpback and her calf.  The calf breached completely out of the water three or four times while we watched them.  After the first and second jumps our boy excitedly told my husband, "Dad, I ALMOST saw that!"  My husband kept telling him to just keep watching and finally on the third breach our easily distracted boy said, "Dad, I saw that!  I wasn't looking at my shoe!"  

After watching those whales for 30 minutes or so we headed on in search of more.  We found a group of three that they thought were a male, female and calf.  They were all active and we got to see lots of tails in the air, pectoral slaps, and some partial breaches.  I tried to take pictures but after getting a few nice pictures of splashes like this I gave up.  

I need a faster camera and fewer kids to keep track of to really capture the whales, but putting away the camera and just enjoying the show was really great.  Words can't do the whales on Maui justice, so plan a trip to Maui sometime and see them for yourself!

Do it yourself on Maui:

• Whales are in the Hawaiian waters from December to May, but their numbers are highest from January to April.

• Many companies offer whale tours.  We have always gone with the Pacific Whale Foundation and I highly recommend them.  Their staff are very knowledgeable about the whales and will teach you a lot!  Kids 6 and under are free on their cruises and are treated very well!  They remind everyone to let children up to the railing so they can see, they have models and pictures of whales for kids to see and hold and sometimes they have coloring books and other activities for the kids too.

• The whales are close enough that even our 21 month old girl could get into watching them, but after awhile they're ready to do something else.  Snacks are our trick for keeping our kids happy for the two hour tour.  

• You cannot pick up or carry children in your arms when you walk around the boat, even infants, so take some kind of a carrier that allows your hands to be free if you have a child who will want to be carried a lot.

Ono Gelato Company on Maui

In Hawaiian 'ono' means delicious, and the gelato we found at Ono Gelato Company definitely lived up to its name!  We liked it so much on Saturday night that we paid them a visit again on Sunday.

It is a cute little shop and the people working there seemed to actually enjoy their job as evidenced by the cheerful, friendly service we received.  How amazing is that - great customer service AND a great product!

My only complaint would be that they have too many yummy flavors to choose from.  Lots of tropical flavors and lots of other flavors too.  Guess we'll have to go back (multiple times of course) on our next trip to Maui!


Do it yourself:

• They have keiki (children's) sizes, hooray!  They advertise a keiki cup, but if you ask they'll do it on a cone too.
• We went to their store on Front Street in Lahaina.  According to their website they also have a store in Paia.

Maui Ocean Center

Rainy weather nixed our plans for a hike on Saturday and we went to the Maui aquarium instead. I was afraid everyone else on the island might have the same idea but thankfully they didn't. There were quite a few people there but it wasn't overly crowded.

We enjoyed the tanks and displays in the first building and I decided garden eels have to be one of the weirdest creatures. They're like a sci-fi cross between a plant and an animal. My husband pointed out shrimp that had a number of little pinchers that all seemed to work like arms and we contemplated what it would be like to have six hands to use to put food into your mouth.

Between rain showers we headed outside to see the hammerhead shark tank and the touch pool, which our boy called the petting zoo. It seems many touch pools mainly have rocks and shells on display, but amazingly they had actual sea creatures (star fish, sea cucumbers and a couple other things) in theirs. Our boy loved it, our girl was curious about it all but afraid to actually touch anything.
The second building had fewer small aquariums and more hands-on and interactive displays, including a large section about Humpback whales. The tunnel through the biggest tank was a peaceful place to sit and watch the fish.

We ended our visit with some time at the turtle lagoon where we got to see the turtles enjoy a meal of lettuce. The aquarium was a little pricey but by the time we left I felt we had gotten our money's worth and I was glad we'd visited!

Do it yourself:

• This aquarium is very nicely done. They have a wide variety of creatures on display and the set-up is very kid friendly with steps for the kids to climb on to see into many of the aquariums and quite a few hands-on activities for them to enjoy.

• Only one discounted ticket allowed per local or military ID, so if that applies to you, make sure everyone in your group takes their ID.

• There is a little cafe and a restaurant inside the ocean center but we didn't eat there so I can't offer any specific recommendations.

• Visit their official website for more information.


Thank you to Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday!  Check it out to see travel photos from around the globe.