Day 4 Hawaii-Road to Hana

Day 4

*The Road to Hana*

Tucked away on the windy/rainy side of the island is Hana. It, in fact, is so far removed from the rest of the island that in ancient times the island chiefs would keep this little spot as their own hide-a-way. It is so beautiful and desireable that some fierce fighting occurred over it anciently.

To get to Hana one must drive the crazy Road to Hana! It twists & turns through thick jungles, lush rain forests, over bridges, past waterfalls, and along cliff edges for some 50 miles! Now, that may not sound long, but it is so twisty & turny & narrow it takes most of the day to drive it.

Plus we stopped several times along the way to hike into the jungles to discover streams and waterfalls, to look at the beautiful scenery, and to take lots of pictures. That was Jaren's favorite part. Haha

This is our first stop(left). We hiked back to Twin Falls. It was so cool ~ really like being in an Indiana Jones movie: hiking through thick jungles, pulling away the heavy vines dangling from the giant trees overhead, walking through the water-up to our hips-until we got to the falls. I was just waiting for a big snake to bite my ankle! :) These falls reminded us quite a bit of Misol Ha in the jungles of the Chiapas in Central America. Jaren & Michelle jumped off the rocks, swung like Tarzan from the rope into the water and swam around.




Mmmmm... a delicious fresh fruit smoothie from one of the many little roadside stands. We loved stopping at these stands for fresh, sweet, ripe fruit and/or yummy smoothies.
Mango-Pineapple ~ scrumptious!

We stopped here at Kaaumahina State Wayside for a picnic lunch. As you can see the view is truly breathtaking!
Our next stop was very exciting: the Ke'anae Peninsula, which is a huge lava coastline. The giant waves crash dangerously and excitingly on the lava. The wind blew furiously and the waves splashed. It was so fun, and a little scary. :) But mostly really fun and exciting.

We ended the long drive at the Oheu' Gulch: Seven Sacred Pools, where we swam and jumped off the cliffs.
It was a really fun day!

Day 3 Maui-Makena Beach

Day 3: August 2

Wow! Things sure have changed in the 30 years since I have been here. We found a nice, typical LDS chapel and the ward was big ~ filling the chapel & the overflow. Those are good changes.

After church we drove up to the first little, old chapel ever built in Hawaii. The early missionaries, in the 1850's had the most success here in Maui and this is where the first chapel was built and it still stands today. It is located near Pulehu, in the Kula area. George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith were two of the very first missionaries here.

We loved the acres and acres of sugarcane fields with their giant stalks of sugarcane. We had to get out and see just how tall the sugarcane stalks really were. They were tall! Jaren & Michelle thought they might sneak a sweet taste. :)

Then we went to the beach ~ Big Beach in Makena. It is a fun beach because it has good waves. One thing that Doug & the kids were surprised to discover about Hawaii was that there aren't always very many big waves on the beaches. But they enjoyed the other beach activities: snorkeling, swimming, cliff jumping etc... But we all really liked Big Beach in Makena because it had big fun waves and that is my kid's favorite part of the beach.

Day 2 Maui-Lahaina, Ka'anapali

Day 2: August 1

Today we drove to the west side of Maui. The west coast of Maui is lined with exquisite beaches and luxery resorts. First, we stopped in the quaint little town of Lahaina. King Kamehameha III made this the capital of his kingdom in the early 1800's. It soon became a stop for whaling ships where the boats could resupply and the sailors could get some R & R.

Lahaina was a popular port and still looks much the same as it did back then with narrow streets lined with old buildings now filled with shops, art galleries and boutiques. The old wooden floor of the Pioneer Inn (above) creeks when you walk on it and the walls are covered with old faded photos of sailors and ships. The best was the "House Rules" still posted in the lobby today with rules such as: "Women is not allowed in you room" and "If you burn you bed you going out" and "Only on Sunday you can sleep all day" :)

This is the giant Banyan tree in Lahaina. Planted in 1873 it's branches reach up to 60 ft high and it's canopy covers 2/3 of an acre!

From Lahaina we drove furthur northwest along the coast to Ka'anapali.

Ka'anapali is truly breathtaking in it's beauty and grandeur. Sweeping from Pu'u Keka'a(Black Rock) to Hanaka'o'o Beach, Ka'anapali offers a beautiful sandy stretch of beach lined with green rolling hills, golf courses, palm trees, shops, and luxery resort after luxery resort. The beach is lined with beautiful grassy lawns and a long paved pathway that stretches from one end to the other.

We walked along the path and looked at the grand resorts, we swam in the waves, we ate lunch(above having sweet, juicy, fresh pineapple) and we snorkled. We saw lots of colorful, tropical fish and this big friendly sea turtle (right).

Then we climbed up on Pu'u Keka'a(Black Rock) and jumped. It was an exciting 30 ft jump!

Before we left we "snuck" into the luxurious Westin Resort to swim in their huge, incredible pool with waterfalls, grottos, tunnels and waterslides. It was so fun! If I ever come back to Maui this is where I want to stay!

That night we went to Mama's Fish House. It was the best fresh sea food we've ever had. It was very expensive, but worth it. Doug & I at Mama's Fish House after dinner. (Right)

Day 1 Aloha! In Hawaii

ALOHA!

Day 1: July 31

We are in Hawaii. We had an amazing trip. We arrived in the afternoon, settled into our Condo, changed into our swimsuits and went straight to the beach! It was absolutely beautiful. Soft sand, palm trees and a cool breeze. A nice change from the 115 degrees in AZ. We walked along the beach, swam a little, and found fish & small sea creatures in the lava rocks.

This is the beach in Kihei near our Condo.

We stayed at the beach for the rest of the day. We watched a beautiful sunset on the lovely beach of Maui. It was simply breathtaking... just like in the movies. :) For dinner we stopped at a cute little marketplace in Kihei with thatched roofs and tiki torches and had some yummy fish tacos.

Summer 2009

Okay, it's late, and we're leaving for Utah tommorrow, but I haven't posted in so long. I have lots to post about from Summer. I'm going to add a couple pictures quick tonight. I'll do more when we get home from Utah.We just returned from our incredible trip to Hawaii. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

We had fun with Justin, Marin & Carden coming to swim! He was loving it.

Michelle-Volleyball

Michelle playing Volleyball. She does a great job and she has a super serve.




Go Michelle!





Great serves...

Spring Break 2009

Spring Break!We had lots of fun in Utah for Spring Break. We skied, snowboarded, went to movies, played games, stayed up late, ate good food... It was great to meet up with Owens and other friends from the ward. Here is Katie, Michelle, Hillary & friend Kristin Smith.

Jaren had fun skiing with friends from school.

Jaren riding up with Nick & Nate. They thought that was pretty cool.

This is what the married kids get to do while riding up the chair lift! ;)

A few jumps: (It was the end of the day & we were running out of sun light & I was running out of camera memory! So of course, it was complicated & I didn't get the best jumps. But here are a few fun shots...

1. James

2. Jaren

3. Mike

4. Erin

Fun Doctor Visit:

It's a Girl! A sweet baby girl! So fun!!

Young Single Adults 2009

Old Bishopric. We will miss them!

This is at our semi-annual tradition of crepes with the YSA's after Stake Confernece. The crowd grows a little each time. Word is getting around how good our crepes are! ;) We made 18 batches of crepes this time!

Lots of wonderful, hungry Young Single Adults.

New Bishopric: We look forward to a great experience. Doug is very excited.

Doug, Jeff Rogers, Karl Hiatt

Jaren's Eagle Scout

Jaren's Eagle Scout Court of Honor

March 8, 2009

It was great to finally have Jaren's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. He has been waiting for almost 2 years. It was a busy, crowded event, but we are glad it's done and we are proud of Jaren for this great accomplishment.
Eagle Scout friends

We appreciate everyone who came ~ Gma's & Gpa's, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Thank you for coming and sharing this special event with Jaren.

Boy Scout Oath:
On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help others at all times; To keep, myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Jaren Basketball 2009

I have some new cool pictures of Jaren I thought I would share. Check him out. He's a stud! It really is so fun to watch him play. He pretty much plays the entire game, unless we are up by 20 and coach feels generous enough to put some other boys in.



He was high scorer, high rebounder, had steals, blocks & assists, and several times he even made more points himself than the rest of the team made combined!