Back when Covid was brand new, in spring of 2020, flights to Hawaii were dirt cheap and people were buying them like crazy. We rolled the dice, guessed that Covid would be all over with by August, and bought tickets for the end of summer. Unfortunately, we were quite wrong, and Hawaii was, instead, under a pretty severe lockdown at that point. Luckily, we had bought our tickets through Southwest Airlines, which offers a generous exchange policy, and we were able to turn in our flights for credit, which we had until September 7, 2021, to use.
Hence, we hit a point this summer where we knew we had to use it or lose it, and we decided to resurrect our Maui travel plans and hope for the best, booking several days over Labor Day weekend. Getting approved to travel was an enormous hassle, with Covid testing and proof of vaccination and long online applications, QR codes to print out and extra lines to stand in at the airport to give proof that we did not have Covid and were eligible to travel. It was such a pain that I was truly in doubt that it would be worth it in the end. Our flight even got delayed two hours, which meant it was 2am in California by the time we arrived at our destination. Miserable.
(Jack knitting with a phone flashlight during our late night drive to the condo. He is obsessed!)
Thankfully, I was wrong. It absolutely was worth it. Within hours, all our stressors had melted far, far into the background, and all of us - Todd included! - were able to spend days and days living in the moment, with no pressures, worries, or concerns. It was heaven.
We spent Thursday exploring beautiful beaches and snorkeling. We were lucky enough to see a sea turtle our very first time in the water! He let us follow him around for several minutes.
The kids found an empty coconut, and used it to play a game of catch in the water.
There was a large pool of water up high on the beach, left behind from an earlier high tide. We sat in the middle of it and made a drip sand pile all together, reveling in the sensation of soft sand glopping from our fingertips. It was so relaxing we we probably sat there for half an hour or more, and were all surprised when we looked around and realized we had used up all the water.
We had a pool back at the condo that the kids swam in every day. Todd introduced the kids to chicken fights. Gemma came away undefeated, no matter whose shoulders she sat on. She is mighty!
Tuesday we took advantage of the fact that we were still waking up super early and drove the beautiful Road to Hana. It was an all-day affair, with an audio tour to keep us informed of what we were driving past and when we should stop and check something fun out. We stopped to peek at a kite-surfer beach and were rewarded with sleeping green sea turtles on the beach.
Everywhere we drove was scenic. It was fun to notice the huge variety in the beaches and the coastline.
We took the time to check out an arboretum, because Jack was on the lookout for bamboo, and I wanted an up-close look at the rainbow eucalyptus trees.
We got caught in a huge downpour! We ran to find cover under the trees and hoped to wait it out, but the rain seemed to get heavier with time, until we were so wet it wasn't worth hiding anymore, and we ran back to the car instead. It was so crazy and so fun. I was laughing as we ran. Too bad for Jack, we didn't see the bamboo.
We climbed under an overpass and scrambled across some rocks to get to this awesome triple waterfall.
We stopped at a state park for lunch and another waterfall with a pool. There was a kitty there mooching snacks and snuggles off of the tourists. Gemma fell right into his trap.
We took a muddy hike past the crowds and found an upper fall that we were able to enjoy all to ourselves. Everyone got in for a swim even though the water was cold.
We were disappointed to find that we couldn't access the black sand beach without signing up for a state park pass days in advance, but we soldiered on and enjoyed this lovely, small but secluded red sand beach instead.
Along the road, Todd's dreams came true: the whole trip so far he'd been hunting for delicious tropical fruit trees, and he finally spotted a guava tree! We pulled over and started throwing rocks and sticks at the branches, trying to get something yummy to fall down. Lucky for us all, I looked around and spotted this super tall stick on the side of the road, surely used by someone before us for this very purpose. With the right tool in hand, we were able to gather more guava than we could possibly eat. Other cars were slowing down on their ways home to see what we were doing, and we generously shared our find with everyone.
Saturday morning we had Hawaiian pancakes with coconut syrup, fresh pineapple, and macadamia nuts, with guava and passion fruit on the side. What a feast!
We spent Saturday playing at more gorgeous beaches. We rented body boards for the day and stayed out until the sun went down.
Gemma had a bout of unfortunate luck that day. Something had hurt her eye the night before, probably it got scratched by a grain of sand, and it was really bothering her. It was red and puffy and very sensitive to the light. We bought eye drops for her, she wore a hat low over her face most of the day, and she even took a nap to give her eyes a rest. She didn't play in the water as much as the other kids because it was uncomfortable to take her hat off. And then, not only did she have a bunch of itchy mosquito bites from the day before, but she also got stung by a Portuguese Man of War! It was totally wrapped around her foot! I can't believe I didn't get stung when I pulled it off of her.
Anyway, she was seriously uncomfortable and needed some good distractions. Hazel made her a sandy mermaid tail, and then when Todd, Hazel, and Jack went off to snorkel and body board, Gemma and I made an epic sandy strip mall, complete with our dentists' office, Jamba Juice, the bank, Safeway, and a few other shops. Gratefully, Gemma later listed this day in the sand as one of her highlights from the trip, so it did a good job of keeping her mind off of her eye and her stings and bites, and she felt lots better the next morning.
The kids thought it was so funny that there are wild chickens everywhere in Hawaii.
Most of our meals we made ourselves at the condo, but we ate out a little bit. Our most delicious meal was BBQ from Fat Daddy's Smokehouse. The pulled pork was amazing!
Sunday morning we went to church. The local ward ran a short Sacrament Meeting just for tourists before they held their own meeting, first thing in the morning. We were grateful to have a place to take the sacrament.
We visited the Iao Needle, the spot where the final battle that united the Hawaiian islands took place over two hundred years ago.
We went on a super cool hike called the 13 Streams Crossing hike because you had to cross the stream over and over again to stay on the trail. It involved a lot of bouldering and was such a beautiful spot. There was a small bamboo forest through part of it, which made Jack extra happy.
It made sense that since we followed a stream the whole way up, we would finish at a waterfall.
Someone had climbed the waterfall and attached a rope from the top, so you could also climb the waterfall and, presumably, continue your hike further up. Although we turned around here, Todd, Jack, and Hazel all climbed the waterfall before we left. It was epic!
Our last stop was the Nakalele Blowhole, via the Acid War Zone Trail. We took a CRAZY narrow, windy road to get there. I feared for our lives! Secretly, I think Todd did, too, because he agreed to take a longer, safer road home afterwards. But hey - the views were phenomenal!
We arrived at high tide so that we could watch the geyser spray powerfully again and again. It was totally rad!
Jack was quite invested in the hike through the acid war zone - it was like a scene out of Star Wars. The salt water is eroding the lava rock and it's this crazy barren wasteland in the middle of paradise.
We finished off our last night enjoying the sunset on the beach in front of our condo and swimming in the pool.
Everyone was sad to say goodbye. It was such a treat to have Todd put his work aside and take a break with us. He was silly, relaxed, and funny, and everyone loved it. It was well worth the hassle and will bring us good memories for years to come.
