How about some Hawaii Two-O. Yes, that is a bad play on Hawaii Five-O, which can only mean one thing. It’s time for our second (and final) post about our trip to Maui, Hawaii. In case you missed the first post last Thursday, check it out here to read about:
- where we stayed
- where we ate
- our “neighborhood”
- how we saved money
Oh and we talked about what it was like traveling with a toddler (and what worked/didn’t work) as well as getting Clara adjusted to the time difference here on Young House Life. Now as for this post, we’ll cover:
- all of the activities/adventures that we tackled while we were there (with a toddler in tow)
- the home-related purchase we made to remember the trip
- our vacation “tradition” that we continued in Hawaii
Our number one activity was going to the beach, since this trip was all about relaxing. We know lots of folks go to Hawaii with adventure on the brain – snorkeling, zip lines, dinner cruises – but that wasn’t what we were looking for (nor what we could really do with Clara by our side anyways). Nope, we were looking for some major decompressing and relaxing after three weeks of people in our house and no sleep thanks to shooting over 100 projects for our book. But beyond beaching it up (and chowing down), we did make time for some “adventures” of our own.
We also dedicated an entire day to driving the Road to Hana. Even after reading a few guidebooks, we weren’t totally sure what we were in for, but it just sounded like one of those things “you had to do” while in Maui. So we stocked the car with snacks, diapers, fuel and a guide CD (which we bought at the start of the highway in Paia) and headed towards the promise of beautiful vistas, iconic Hawaiian sights, and curvy roads.
Those promises were all kept. It was amazing. Before getting into the sights, let me say something about the highway itself. It was definitely nerve wracking. It was nearly non-stop curves, which was kinda fun at first. But after the third or fourth hour of it – as the curves became blinder and the road narrower (the yellow line frequently disappeared) – I was gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter.
But it was all worth it.
We didn’t make as many stops as the average Hana traveler might (hiking to waterfalls wasn’t so easy with Clara) but we did try to take in as much as possible from the road itself – like this waterfall visible from the highway.
And we did take some extended time to explore a couple of awesome spots, one being the Ke’anae Peninsula. There were awesome views of the sea violently splashing against the cliffs… and a delicious food stand called Aunt Sandy’s. Mmmm, still dreaming about the banana bread we bought there.
But even better than that was Waianapanapa State Park. There were such spectacular scenes – like a sea arch (in the distance there below), a blow hole (where water shot up from the middle of a rock when a big wave hit) and even a cave.
But of course the best part was the black sand beach, since it was unlike anything we had ever seen before.
The sand is actually made from lava rock, hence the black color. Clara thought it was majorly cool. As did we.
Two bummer things happened after this point. First, it got very overcast and dreary, which would’ve made our pictures worse. And I say “would’ve” because the second bummer thing was that our camera battery died. Oops. But we drove on to Hana, got lunch at a roadside BBQ called Braddha Hutt’s and continued around the island. Some people spend the night in Hana and some turn around, but we decided to drive the full loop to see as much as we could (plus Clara was napping, so we were happy to drive on). The rest of the loop still served up plenty of curves, but there were fewer cars coming the other way – hooray! We even got to drive on some unpaved roads. See – adventure! All in all, our full loop drve around Hana took us about eight hours with a bunch of stops along the way. And Clara was amazing in the car. I think those stops helped her stretch her legs and stay limber. Haha.
We even made it home and charged the camera in time to catch an awesome sunset back in Lahaina.
This is my “I thought the nice stranger taking our picture was zoomed in closer so I crouched down in order to be less tall but instead I just look like my midsection is collapsing in on itself” pose. Of as Sherry calls it, my “walker pose” (yes, its another Walking Dead reference).
Our other “big adventure” was going whale watching. After Sherry and I spotted some whales from shore (more on that in this post), we decided that actually getting on a boat so Clara might see some a bit closer would be fun (and hopefully worth the potential nightmare of being stuck at sea for two hours with a old 2 year old).
Luckily, Clara was pretty good on the boat (minus one momentary meltdown)… and although she was a few years younger than the rest of the kids, we even attempted to let her participate in the “Young Naturalist” program that should’ve involved some quiet listening. But for Clara it involved some “Hey little girl, can I get all up in your business? No? How about this next little girl!?” Clearly we’re still getting the hang of this “age appropriate activity” thing. She literally crouched in every last kid’s face while aiming her butt at the sweet lady talking about whales.
So once we stopped Clara from distracting the older kids, we got back to whale watching duty. Clara even found her own “perch.”
And here’s the good news – we saw whales!
Sadly none came very close (the boats have to turn off their motors when they get within 100 feet) and there weren’t any dramatic jumps into the air or gigantic splashes, but the frequent blows and occasional tail sitings were still pretty cool.
But for the most part, it was just fun to be out on the water. And yes my wife did take this picture by hanging over the railing like Leo and aiming the camera back at us.
We got a gorgeous day for it and the views back to Maui were stunning.
And oh yeah, we think it was Clara’s first official boat trip! We’re not sure that she really noticed very many of the whales – though she did get some laughs from fellow passengers when, at a completely quiet and whale-free moment, she yelled “I see whales!”
But not all of our sightseeing was by car and by boat. We did plenty on foot as well since our condo was super close to everything in Lahaina. One of our favorite spots to eat ice cream was Banyan Tree Park, which features one of the world’s largest banyan trees. It almost looks like your everyday tree-filled park. Until you realize it’s just one giant tree that drops roots from the branches in other areas (so what appear to be many trees is all just one big tree). It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.
The roots grow down from the tree and when they reach the ground they build new trunks, like this one that Clara and I were playing a bit of peekaboo around.
There was also a little artisan fair / flea market thing under there over the weekend, but we waited to get these pictures when it was a little less crowded so you could really see how amazing the tree is.
One of our favorite ways to explore was by taking long morning walks (which usually involved a stop for breakfast along the way). It was a cool way to discover some planned destinations and also resulted in us stumbling upon a few unexpected things as well.
One of those unplanned discoveries was the Lahaina Jodo Mission. It was crazy to just turn the corner and suddenly see a Japanese temple and a giant Buddha statue.
It was kinda cool to get a little taste of Japan without having to endure another transoceanic flight.
We also got a chance to check out an abundance of something that Clara is obsessed with: animals. So you may think a Hyatt is a weird destination when looking for feathered and fuzzy things. But look what we found right there on the premises:
We had heard that the Hyatt Regency at Kaanapali had some animal sights to see, so we were not disappointed to find flamingos, black swans, and even African penguins (tropical penguins – who knew!?) roaming the property. Not to mention a pretty envy-inducing pool:
We also got a nice oceanfront walk in along the resort grounds. Raise your hand if you’re having a good time!
One place we knew we’d find animals was the Maui Ocean Center. And unlike the whales, we’re certain she spotted these aquatic creatures. And a few might’ve spotted her in return.
The absolute coolest part of the aquarium was the underwater tunnel that put you in the position of having fish, sharks, and even gigantic sting rays swim around you…. and over you.
Just call it our much drier, Clara-friendlier version of snorkeling.
The Maui Ocean Center was our very last stop before leaving the island. Since our flight left late one evening but our hotel check-out was in the morning, it was a great way to spend the afternoon before having to hop on an airplane.
As much as these posts we’re writing are to share our trip with you – they’re also to document it for ourselves a little bit. But to make sure we keep a more detailed and chronological journal of our trip, we’ve continued our vacation tradition of writing postcards to ourselves.
We don’t actually mail them in most cases since we usually end up using all of the space on the back to write out what we did each day – though we mostly hit the highlights of where we ate, what we saw, and any funny anecdotes (like Clara’s not-so-successful dinner at the hibachi restaurant that we mentioned here).
And look what else we brought home from Hawaii…
It’s a historic map of Maui printed on canvas that we got for $20. We figured we needed a map that represented our trip to Hawaii since the US map that we put pins in to mark all of our trips only shows the 48 continental states. This guy is too pretty to put a pin in, but we’re looking forward to getting some Maui mapiness up in our house. PS: Doesn’t Maui kinda look like a limb-less lady leaning over (like it’s closely examining the words “MAUI” above)?
Okay, so that’s the end of our trip recap. It’s making us miss being on vacation, but we’re mostly just so grateful that we had the chance to get away and enjoy some relaxing family time with our traveling pal Clara (and yes, we missed Burger every single second, and even woke up one night because we thought he was walking around the bed but it must have been his ghost). Do you guys have any trips or vacations coming up? Tell us all about them.
Cheryl B says
Your trip sounds so wonderful and I am happy you took the time to explore and relax. So many times people go somewhere and plan every second, they arrive home only to be exhausted and realize they never really wound down over the vacation. Hawaii, is gorgeous, I have not been to Maui, but hope someday to go back and check it out.
Andrea says
I went to Maui a few years ago so this post really brought back memories for me :)
My favorite part of the Ocean Center was the jellyfish/black light room. Pictures of the glowing jellyfish are still some of my favorite pictures from my trip.
Melissa says
That picture of John and Clara looking at the sunset is my absolute favorite– and a total keeper. Reminds me of a photo of me and my dad walking along the beach– taken as we were walking away hand in hand. So precious!Cherish that photo!
Jessica L. says
Thanks for sharing! My husband and I took our honey moon in the same area in Maui September of 2011. We loved the Aloha Mixed plate too and the drive to Hana.
Amy says
Did you happen to find my husbands wedding ring? He lost it in the ocean at Hamoa Beach in Hana on our honeymoon. After spending all morning driving the beautiful Road to Hana we didn’t have a very fun drive back to ka’anapali where we were staying, but it is now a story we can laugh about!
Thanks for sharing your trip! I can just taste the banana bread.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! But you’re right, it’s one of those stories that you can tell everyone (like Clara screaming bloody murder at Habachi!).
xo,
s
Melissa says
We just got back from a relaxing north woods vacation in the snow! One last time to play winter-style before spring hits. http://www.msgfun.blogspot.com/2012/03/eagle-mountain.html
You aren’t joking about traveling with toddlers. We’re into the preschool stage now, so we don’t have to deal with diapers and special sleeping accomadations (though a separate room is still a requirement!). We packed a ton of distractions to help make it through the week!
Hawaii looks awesome! So glad you had a chance to relax, you’re posts were starting to make me stressed just hearing about your busy February!
Jessica G. says
Oh how I loved this post! My honeymoon was in Hawaii (we hit Oahu, Maui, and Kauai over the course of two weeks) and this brought back memories. We actually stayed at that Hyatt! And we have some of the EXACT same photos from the Road to Hana and the black sand beach! I miss it so much… in fact I think I may start campaigning for a five-year anniversary trip back to Maui. ;)
meryl rose says
Looks so awesome!!! So glad you guys did the Road to Hana. It is BEAUTIFUL. My family actually ran the road to Hana about 1 1/2 years ago. They do an annual relay race in September. It’s 52 miles (airport to Hana) and you do it with a team of up to 6 people. People dress up and wear crazy costumes and are amazingly nice and supportive with all the teams. It was probably one of the funnest things I’ve ever done in my life.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that sounds like so much fun!
xo
s
Venita says
Your recaps are great! These entries have convinced me that we need a Hawaii trip sometime in the future. Right now, we’re planning a Christmas trip to Disneyworld with our 2 sons. I’m excited to see the park during Christmas!
Kasey M. says
HB and I are headed to Colorado this summer! It’s taken me a few months but I’m so excited (as the trip gets closer it actually feels “real”). This is my second vacation as a grown up (ie I’m footing the bill and not traveling with my parents) and I think that adds to the magic.
However – I have done some awesome traveling with my parents and will continue to do so even as an adult :)
Krystal says
Wow. I read your blog almost daily and have never commented until now….we just returned March 10 from Maui and reading your recaps I was floored that we did all the same things! We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo at the Hona Kai in West Maui and enjoyed Lahaina for shopping and dinners, walking the grounds at Hyatt, baby beach where we taught our girls to snorkle, Road to Hanna and the fabulous banana bread! We went to both Moose Mcgillcuddys and Fred’s as well bugers at the Cool Cat Cafe. We went Whale watching and enjoyed an ice cream under the Banyan Tree. Readlly enjoyed your photos…..I am dreaming of returning already :)
Meghan says
Love this. It’s like a little trip down memory lane. My husband and I went to Maui on our honeymoon and did many of the same things. Road to Hana made me so nervous! Oh, and we bought a couple of those canvas prints/maps as souvenirs too! Maybe I should get around to framing that. It’s only been 3 years, lol.
Christina says
Omg, we were in the same exact spot on the black sand beach, AND we also bought two vintage maps of Maui when we took our trip!! Twinsies.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- love it!
xo
s
Michelle says
Ahh I just love hearing when people go to Maui. I’ll never understand why people don’t spend the extra money and skip out on Oahu which is like being in Los Angeles and just go to Maui. We got engaged there, married there and try to go once a year although we haven’t been since 2010 when we got married. I feel like it’s my second home I know it so well and I just love living it again through other people.
Very happy to hear you loved Aloha Mixed Plate…I crave their food!
Shannon says
Thanks for the post! I will be going to Maui with my family in a few months. I love maps, where did you get your cool map of Maui? Something like that would be a great addition to my guest bedroom!
YoungHouseLove says
If you read back through the comments someone found a link to the store I think!
xo,
s
Kirstin says
Soooo glad you guys went and checked out they Hyatt! Loved staying there with all the animals!
The road to hana was one of the most terrifying yet most gorgeous moments of my life! We got stuck in a traffic jam on it and had huge fire trucks whirling past us. Also, side note, the guided cd tour you picked up, did it happen to have an over weight Hawaiian guy and skinny white guy on it? We met the skinny white guy (he is a friend of a friend who gave us his number)and he took us on a private tour of Paia!
I need to get back to the island!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s too funny! Ours was called R2H and it just had a pretty scene on the front!
xo,
s
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
Hey, did you guys go whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation? We went with them to do a snorekling tour and had a blast!! Looks like you guys did too~
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that’s who it was through! Loved it!
xo,
s
amy says
sorry, but i am having trouble resisting (particularly in light of Katie’s announcement)- are all expecting? Sherry, you don’t look big by any means, but something in the way you look is making me wonder~
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, I’m not pregnant and John and I aren’t allowed to get pregnant for a little while due to complications with Clara’s birth. In all honestly, we’re just not ready either, so it might be a while. But of course we’ll announce it when we are! And in the meantime, we’re having so much fun enjoying Clara and Burger!
xo,
s
lisamarie says
I am going to Maui in just a few weeks for my honeymoon!! I have never been to Hawaii and am so very excited. We are planning to do the Road to Hana. Did you think that the r2h cd was helpful? I have seen it online and was debating on getting it. Also, what time in the morning did you leave?? I want to make sure we aren’t driving back on the unpaved roads at midnight!!
Love your pictures and always love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it was fun to listen to and it pointed out things we’d never know about (like a church made from coral- such an amazing story). We left around 9am. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Renee says
Hi!
The sand and the trees reminded me of New Zealand.
And the winding road around Hana reminded me of The Great Ocean Road and parts of Queensland in Australia. Maybe when Clara is a little older you will travel a little further across the ocean to explore Australasia :)
Just a question; we are going to Hawaii for our honeymoon in November and in regards to the animals at the Hyatt, even though you weren’t staying there were you able to go take a look anyway? Did you have to pay to see them?
:)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, it’s free! Just park at the beach access area and walk right in! There are restaurants and shops back there so anyone can poke around!
xo,
s
Megan says
Ok, I can’t handle it…it’s like serious deja-vu with you guys! My husband and I honeymooned on Maui 13 years ago and saw/did probably 80% of what you’ve shown us. It is SO neat to look at all your photos and know exactly where you were! Major kudos to you for braving the Road to Hana with your little one…we loved it but by the time we drove back (I think we did eveything possible, including hiking to waterfalls) we were calling it the Road to Hell-a (super original, I know). Anyway, thanks for the memories, and I’m glad you seemed to have just as much fun as we did.
natalie @ southern fit foodie says
I am having complete deja vu looking at your pictures! I went to Hawaii in 7th grade with my family, and we stayed at the Hyatt in Ka’anapali. Aren’t those penguins the cutest?! We also did the Road to Hana and visited the black sand beach. I went back to Maui in high school for my senior trip, and I have many pictures of the same places in Lahaina and from our whale watching excursions. During that trip, we were told that we saw more whales than most whale watchers see their entire lives – even our dinner cruise boat had to turn off the motor for an hour! Thanks for sharing your awesome vacation – now I’m ready to go back! :)
thalla says
I saw you guys said you only did carry on lugage-How did you pack enough for a toddler in carry on? Tell me your tips ;) How did you guys CD in Hawaii i saw you had a laundry machine so did you bring along the cloth or did you use disposables (with way one suitcase could be dedicated to just diapers!) We are looking to go to hawaii soon with out 13 month old and would love the baby friendly tips!
YoungHouseLove says
We knew we’d have a washer/dryer so we just packed a few tops and bottoms for all of us. We like to travel light! We did disposables because in Portland for those first three days we didn’t have access to laundry. But we just packed one bag of diapers and bought the rest while traveling.
xo,
s
Tina Bland says
My husband and I are going on a 12 day trip to Europe this summer!! Our stops include Paris (with day trips to Normandy and Versailles and Disneyland) and the Cinque Terre in Italy (on the sea!!) and Tuscany Italy too. I have to thank you for introducing me to Homeaway.com!!! It is how we are booking all of our stays, we love the idea of having an apartment all to ourselves in Paris – so awesome! THANK YOU!! I’ll go in to details on my blog http://www.notsoblandlife.com about the planning and trip details soon:) I can’t wait!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s amazing!
xo
s
Chatelaine says
heading to costa rica in 11 hours!!!
YoungHouseLove says
So exciting!
xo,
s
Sara (SallyHP) says
Oh, how i love Hawaii! My first time there, I took my husband as his ‘hooray, you graduated medical school!’ gift…we took the road to Hana as well; Stressful! Oh, but everything else about that lovely state is marvelous! One of my girlfriends turned 40 last year so she and I and one other friend went to an all-women surf camp on Oahu…amazing to be on a surfboard, looking out at the horizon and seeing whales breaching. So beautiful! I love your blog and hadn’t been in awhile, this has been such a treat!
Kathleen says
Okay, so I’m a little behind on reading this, but still wanted to comment.
I’m so glad you guys took time to drive to Hana! My cousin lives there with her husband and 2 little girls, and visited a few years ago. Looking at your pictures reminds me of all the sights I saw (LOVE Black Sand beach!) while there.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- you’re so lucky to have relatives to visit there!
xo
s
Jean says
Hi…curious where you got the map of maui on Canvas. I live here and would love to have one!
YoungHouseLove says
It was in an old map store on Front Street in Lahaina. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erin says
I am a recent follower of your blog and just found your Maui vacation posts this morning. They are so fun to look at since I lived there for two years. I enjoyed reminescing about Maui favorites like the Hula pie (mmmm)and Kobes, and the beautiful drive to Hana (best banana bread ever!) It was especially fun to see you feature the boat I used to work on. I would recognize that PWF t-shirt anywhere!!! And you featured my other work place while living there too, Maui Ocean Center!! Looks like you had an amazing trip (how could you not)! Thanks for sharing and bringing back all those good memories from my time living there. Maui no ka oi!! Aloha!
YoungHouseLove says
So cool! What a small world! Maui was definitely an amazing place!
xo,
s
Kalei says
I just checked in to your blog after a few months and i’m so sad to see that I missed your trip to Maui! I live on Oahu (born and raised here) and my sister lives right there in Lahaina so I could have made lots of recs for you. My husband and I even stayed at the Hyatt Kaanapali for our honeymoon! We were in Maui last September and we went to Lahaina and the Maui Ocean Center. My kids loved it just much as it looks like Clara did. I loved reading about your experience there and it looks like you guys had a great trip. Thanks for sharing and if you ever come back to Oahu, let me know =)
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry we missed you! Here’s hoping we get back someday!
xo,
s
Bree says
Hey guys!
Can I ask what airline you used and if it was a direct flight? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly nothing was a direct flight and it was really hard! Poor Clara cried the whole way home on a red eye (I’ll never fly a red eye again with a baby or toddler, so hard!). We used Alaska Air to actually land in Hawaii I think and United Airlines for some of the legs there and back too?
xo,
s
naiad says
“It was kinda cool to get a little taste of Japan without having to endure another transoceanic flight”
REALLY? I kinda cringed at that comment!!
Ayisha says
Omg, I’m in Maui now and have been using your posts as my own little supplemental guidebook on the iPad. We found a really cool app that gave us all the details of our trip on the road to Hana and everywhere else on Maui. That road to Hana caused my husband to veto the trip up to the Haleakala Crater. I’m thinking that I will do the driving myself since it was one of my main reasons for choosing this island. I love watching the sun rise and set. Now I’m off to Ululani for my 6th shaved ice experience.
YoungHouseLove says
So jealous of shave ice right now! Have fun!
-John
Christine says
I am a long time follower of your blog (it is my all time favorite)! My husband and I can’t thank you enough for all of the information you shared about your trip to Hawaii. We are going this April and we can’t wait :)
One question: we are also renting a car, but debating on parking right now. My understanding is street parking is free but we are concerned about availability. Where did you park at Aina Nalu?
YoungHouseLove says
We never parked there since it was crazy expensive. I think we found a lot near a church nearby and parked there for a small fee and did a little walk to our room.
xo
s
Diana says
We did many of the same things in Maui, including going to that Hyatt! (for a luau, we rented a condo too). And LOVE the road to Hana. It’s the number 1 thing I recommend to people to do there.
Alex says
I recently did the Road to Hana (and the full loop back) on my honeymoon, but nobody seemed to mention that driving the full loop is forbidden by most of the rental car companies. Turns out it’s risky because after Hana, the road is sometimes closed due to landslides and it’s too narrow for tow trucks! Eeek! We got a GPS-based guide from iTunes that saved us because we didn’t have cell reception for about 4 hours after the sun set on us and I would’ve been freaking out had it not warned us that parts of the road can be so rough that you can’t go more than 5mph without destroying the car! Quite the adventure, but probably not a bad idea to warn whoever else is looking to go.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, thanks for the tip Alex! That’s a lot rougher than we remember! We did the full loop and the rental company just asked “are you doing the road to Hana?” without specifying full or half. Maybe once the sun goes down it seems even scarier! I mean, John was tense driving but we loved it! The funny thing is that everyone we talked to made it seem so scary that we were pleasantly surprised. Haha!
xo
s
Jessica L. says
I was just wondering, did you continue (or do you usually) with cloth diapers while you were on vacation or do you switch to disposable for the time being?
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
If we were going to a family beach house with access to a clothes washer/dryer we’d do cloth, but for Hawaii I think we did disposables (just so we didn’t have to bring the wetbag, do lots of laundry on the go, etc). Hard to remember now though!
xo
s