Surf, Pool and Pa'ia

So here's more for ya. Life at home is good. Ava has one of those horses on springs now. And she can get up on it on her own. She loves to trot and gallop on it, quite the little daredevil. Her vocabulary is more amazing every day. The other day she turned "loesh-loesh" to lotion for the first time. And she can do one or two word sentences. So she's doing well. We're looking forward to Doug and Crystal's wedding, and seeing family coming in from out of town. (Hi Borah, Kim, McGuire's, Curry's...etc!!)

Now, on with the show!

Hamming it up for the camera.


The Kihei public pool. It was built by a resident who then donated the entire set up. Which includes a very cool kiddy pool, a warm up pool and two Olympic lap pools. And it's free for everyone.


So big!


Ava's always looking to help out.


And always on the phone!


This is Ho'okipa Beach, a very famous beach for windsurfers. The day we were there it wasn't super windy, but there were quite a few surfers out. Very beautiful place.


A couple of memorials down on the rocks. The surfing community seems real tight. Very peaceful place where I climbed down to see these.


Since Ava was sleeping at this point in the trip, Becky and I had to see the sights in shifts.


The sign says it all. Only I ignored for the photos earlier of the water and memorials. :)


On to Pa'ia. A very cool little hippie town. They say it's a town that became a tourist stop, simply because it's there and has character. There were cool shops there, a very "peace and love" attitude, and terrific food.


Posing for a pic in Pa'ia.


Just outside of Pa'ia is "Down to Earth" natural foods. A great place for natural/whole foods. Plus they have a great pair of food bars and deli. We had lunch there one day.


Good food at Down to Earth, and a cool view. Here's a restaurant that even Ava can partake in the food!


This is the bead shop where I made a cool coconut bead necklace for me, with a surfboard. And Becky made Ava a beautiful necklace and bracelet. The shop was awesome, and the woman there helped us tremendously, and was very cool.


I'll post more from our Pa'ia trip, and much, much more. Pa'ia is where the Hana Highway starts. That's coming up, too. Aloha, and mahalo for checking in. Shaka. (that's what the hang loose sign is called)

More Maui

So while most vacationers head out for all their meals, we like to eat in. But don't fret, we eat well. We actually brought some fresh produce from home. Nothing like having fresh tomatoes and onions from your own Michigan garden. Or blueberries from the local blueberry patch! So on with the photos...

This is our typical breakfast. A scramble with fresh veggies, an amazing FRESH fruit plate, almond spread and fruit preserves. Oh yeah, great Maui coffee, too.


Here we are getting ready to go down.


I just thought this was a cool shot. We love to hold Ava's hands and go for walks. Soon she'll be asking to swing!


So many sub-par jokes come to mind... This was the first time Becky and I (and Dad) went on a sub. We got to see the reef and life under the ocean in a really cool way. Even saw a sunken (on purpose) ship. Very cool.


Hope Becky's not claustrophobic!


Going down!


Under the old banyan tree. If you've never heard of it, Google it.


Tree-climbing!


Sending mom & dad off to a lu'au.


Hawaiians call it "imu." Michiganders call it "pig roast." I call it damn-good eatin' !!


I had a hot date. So did my wife. We ditched them for a picture.


Meanwhile, Ava chased waves with Nani.


I still don't know why we weren't smiling. I mean, come on, a coconut bra for crying out loud!


Mahalo for checking in. More to come still. The countdown is on for my brother. Two weeks to go. Welcome to the family Crystal!

Aloha Part 2

If you liked the last post, you're in for more tropical fun!

Ahhh, a refreshing shower after a long day!


Awww...


We had grills near the pool at the condo. Of course we grilled. This night it was kebabs with pineapple and grilled salmon. Very good. Ava's excited, can you tell?


Ava says, "Hey, look how cool we are!"


This was the first beach we went to. It was so beautiful, and not very crowded. Oh, I miss the ocean.


Ava loved playing at the beach.


"You mean it's okay that I'm playing in this water?" Every beach has public showers to rinse off the salt water and sand. Very cool.


Here's the view from a walkway looking at the Grand Wailea Resort. It's one of the premier spots to dtay, very expensive. We walked th beach and then into the shops there. You'll see a photo of Ava there later, from a different day. What a view, yeah?!


Man this girl naps a lot!


This is one of our dinners out. This restaurant offered a great early bird special, so we tried it. Turns out, the food was terrific. I had fish almost every day that first week. Including raw ahi! (That's not what we had here, but it was still great food, and a lot of fun!)


This is from our first adventure on Maui. We left the island for it! It's the view from the raft we took around Lana'i. We snorkeled three times, landed on Lana'i, and just had a terrific time.


The sunsets are just so romantic...awww!


More to come later :)

Whew, 4,000 photos!

So it's been awhile since my last post. My apologies. There's been a lot going on at home, and it's been difficult to get through the pictures. But I've paired them down to tell the story of Hawai'i. So here goes.

You'd think we were moving to the islands! (Not yet, but wouldn't it be nice?!)


Hanging out in Atlanta, wating for the connecting flight.


Too cool for words!


Styling in dada's new hat.


It's hard work getting ready for fun.


Aloha! We've arrived.


You gotta have a convertible in paradise!


Having fun in the condo.


Walking with dada at the resort. Look how carved those bushes are. Just beautiful.


Papa showing Ava what a date palm is.


Kite surfers...just awesome to watch.


Nani like puzzles on vacaiton. Maybe Ava will pick up the hobby!


So that's it for now, I'll keep posting. I'm on the overnight shift now, so I think I'll have more time for blogging. Keep checking.

Oh yeah, for a couple of cameo appearances on Nick and Rachel's blog, check out
the blog here.