Our family’s first Hawaii experience was wonderful! The skies were blue, the water was clear, and the wildlife was friendly! Everything was just as advertised, and everyone wants to go back ASAP. We stayed on Maui near Napili Bay, and I had a great time experimenting with underwater photos, long-exposures, and beach photography in an environment much different than San Diego.
This is “Geico,” our friendly neighborhood Gecko. Steven loved watching for him every day on our lanai.
Relaxing at Napili Bay Beach and trying out the waterproof camera.
We celebrated my dad’s 68th birthday with a fun Ziplining tour. Here’s the whole crew:
There was a photographer at Maui Zipline, and we purchased a disk of fun images of us all ziplining. He did a great job! The tour was excellent. We felt very safe as the guides explained how the gear worked and that we would not plummet to our deaths. Even the kids felt comfortable and we all had fun together and made a lifetime memory!
After lunch and shopping, we headed to Lahaina for Ululani’s Shave Ice. All of my Facebook friend Maui aficionados recommended this, and we loved it! I had a rootbeer vanilla coconut with a snowcap. They put ice cream in the bottom! So yummy!
That night, we all headed over to the bay to watch the sunset. The kids couldn’t resist the water. Especially Steven.
The big, powerful waves at sunset made long-exposures a fun option. Hold still, kids.
The next day, we went snorkeling at Kapalua Bay, which was just a short walk away from our hotel. My sister got the good underwater shots since she had a great GoPro set-up and functioning snorkel gear (whereas mine tried to drown me), but here are a few things that happened in my camera that day.
Boogie boarding worked best at Napili Bay, so we spent another day there, enjoying the crashing waves and marveling at the amount of sand the undertow could embed in one’s swimsuit.
Steven spent more time playing in the sand than body boarding that day.
Out for dinner again, we drove through a beautiful golf course, then back to Lahaina for dessert. The Banyan Tree is host to thousands of myna birds at sunset, and it was fun to hear them all chorusing as they roosted for the night.
I got up early the next morning to catch the sunrise. These are some of my favorite landscape photos of the trip. That’s Molokai Island in the distance.
Uncle Tommy taught the kids how to play Steven’s new Ukulele. They may need another lesson. Our hotel had a special breakfast on Friday morning, and it was fun to meet the other guests. The birds also attended.
Our last day-trip was to Iao Valley, where we saw beautiful waterfalls and the natural Hawaiian terrain. It was a short hike . . . just enough to work up a good appetite for Cheeseburgers in Paradise. And gelato.
Even after a full day, some people can’t stay out of the water when staying near the beach. My dad is one of those people.
I am also one of those people.
Next morning, up early for a sunrise photo session. We were experiencing wind and rain from Tropical Storm Darby, but oh well. When in Hawaii, one does beach photos. We were out of sunsets, and it wasn’t a hurricane yet.