Last week, I shared about our girl's high school graduation trip. We started our adventure in California visiting Disneyland.
After 3 fun filled days in Anaheim, we boarded a plane and headed across the ocean for a week of Aloha. Follow along and dream with us again this week.
The drive to Ka'anapali is about 1 hour from the airport depending on traffic. The scenery as you drive along this coastline is amazing.
We love to try local places to eat when we travel. A great local place to stop for lunch on this road is Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop. It is a counter service café with great sandwiches and handmade baked goods. The coconut creme pie was delicious!
Be careful to look out for the chickens! They are everywhere!!
Our home base for the week was the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. It is a truly authentic Hawaiian hotel, very basic and clean, but arguably on the best stretch of beach that Maui has to offer. The grounds are lush with greenery and colorful flowers, and the local staff here are excellent. If you take a short walk down the beach, you will find the famous Black Rock known for it's snorkeling and sea turtles.
The hotel offers cultural classes for guests each day that are included in your stay. The kids enjoyed taking ukulele lessons, Hawaiian language classes, and made wooden musical instruments. Other classes offered include Hula dancing, Lei making, basket weaving, cloth printing, and storytelling.
Molokini Crater
Molokini Crater is a partially submerged volcanic crater a few miles off of the shores of Maui. Sailing to Molokini was truly one of the highlights of our trip.
We started our day at the pier in Ma’alaea Harbor. We boarded a large catamaran and took sail. Soon after we began sailing, we were served hot cinnamon rolls and fruits with juice and coffee. It was a peaceful relaxing ride to the crater.
Once we arrived, we had about an hour to snorkel, swim, and explore the crescent-shaped islet. The water was a crystal clear blue, perfect for seeing the fish and other sea life below. George and Emily took the option to do SNUBA, which is similar to SCUBA without the big tank on your back. Click on the little picture of Emily to your right and you will see what it looks like!
After snorkeling, we were back onboard sailing again. Typically, there is a second stop at Turtle Town, which we sadly missed due to dangerous surf conditions in the area. Instead, we spent the rest of our time relaxing and sailing, which was wonderful! They served us a delicious lunch of teriyaki grilled chicken, rice, and salad. They had fun music playing and ice Cream for dessert. Overall, was a beautiful day on the water.
Mt. Haleakala - “House of Sun”
At the Summit
The state of Hawaii has 8 U.S. National Parks in total. One of these is located on the island of Maui, called Haleakala National Park. Mount Haleakala is named after a dormant volcano located withing its boundaries and boasts one of the world's tallest mountain peaks. We can now proudly say that we have been to the top, and elevation of 10,023 Feet.
After a sleepy 2am wake up, we drove about 2 hours up the mountain side to reach the peak before sunrise. Although I like to tease the family about the horrible wake up time, it truly was an unforgettable experience to see the sun rising above the clouds.
On the Road to Hana
You can find so many guidebooks and opinions of this drive, so I am only going to highlight our top 2 stops on the drive. My best advice is START EARLY! If you don’t, you will not make it all the way to the 2nd National Park in Maui and the 7 Sacred Pools.
We stopped in Paia Town at the Hana Picnic Lunch Company. They sell made-to-order lunches to go with an insulated bag to keep things cold on your journey.
We used an App called the Gypsy Guide “Hana”. It cost $4, but it was well worth it. We connected the phone to the car speakers for sound and we were on our way! The kids laughed and said they felt like they were on the Walt Disney Railroad using this guide! It was very informative and fun, telling us about all of the places we saw along the ride.
Ke'anae Peninsula
There are beautiful waves crashing against the volcanic rock along the shoreline. In the distance, a little church that survived a historic tsunami still stands. This is a great photo spot and you will find lots of little crabs hiding in the rocks. Click on the photo to your right and see drone footage of the peninsula.
On the way out, we stopped for banana bread at Aunty Sandy’s. It was warm and delicious!
Wai'anapanapa State Park – We loved this stop! We found a great black sand beach for playing and swimming. *Be sure to have water shoes! The sand is really hot!
We also explored in the beach caves and climbed up the cliffs to see a blow hole. There are tons of trails, shore fishing, sea stacks, water tubes to see and more.
The park is a good place for a break if you are driving for the day, and a perfect spot for camping. There are public restrooms, showers, and picnic tables.
Before you leave, look around in the trees and on the ground. We saw tons of mongoose sneaking around here.
Upcountry Maui and Ziplining
The Upcountry region on the slopes of Haleakala is known for its farms and botanical gardens. Coming from down from the summit, we made a stop in a little town called Makawao to have breakfast.
We loved seeing the wooden storefronts, tin roofs, hitching posts from bye-gone days, and generations old family stores. The Komodo Store and Bakery is a local tradition. It opened in 1916 and is still famous for the pies and doughnut on a stick. Yummy!
In the shops, there were glassblowers, jewelers, and artists of all kinds. Locally made quilts, soaps, and spices are sold here. And of course, we found more chickens!!
Nearby in the town of Kula, we visited Skyline Eco-Adventures. They are known for having the first zipline in the United States. We learned about native plants and the ecosystem as we walked across suspension bridges and zipped from platform to platform. Watch Sarah "zip" by below!
There is so much more that I could share with you about our trip! We went parasailing, had a family portrait session with a local photographer, watched hula dancers, and saw tons of sea turtles basking in the sun. We ate so much great food, including the original Dole Whip! Most importantly, we had lots of laughs and enjoyed our family time together.
If you are interested in more information about a Hawaiian vacation, send me a quick email and schedule a time to chat with me by phone. I would love to help create an exciting adventure for your family!
