Category Archives: Maui 2026

Maui Day 8 Breakfast+

Day 8 in Maui had a very special event that was not typical and a few typical events. I’ll cover these in at least 3 posts.

First was breakfast at the Plantation House with just these six.

I copied this description from the website for Plantation House…

Located in the Kapalua Resort, the Plantation House offers the perfect blend of casual elegance and Hawaiian hospitality. With breathtaking views overlooking the ocean and fairways of the famous Plantation Golf Course, this picturesque island setting is a favorite for both locals and visitors.

These were over the top!

While at breakfast there was a quick rain shower and Laura captured the rainbow. The views were exceptional.

We made it back to the resort mid morning and Laura and Jamie went on a scouting mission to find a good spot for family photos. We all got our photo wardrobes in order and braved quite a significant wind event while trying to get some good shots!

You can see how the wind was blowing by looking at the palm trees in the background.

First things first…why Maui and why did 12 of us travel together?

Initially the decision was made because these two, Katie and Jamie (above) turned 40 and chose Maui for their celebration.

As the year dragged on we added more reasons to celebrate like a 25th wedding anniversary (Josh and Laura), a 15th wedding anniversary (Andrew and Katie), a 75th birthday (Me) and an 85th birthday (Granny Great). Granny Great, Granny, Andrew, Addy and JJ had never been to Hawaii.

Generations of women in Jamie’s family and the men in our family.

We thank God for his mercy, love, and grace to our family. He has saved us through repentance and belief in Jesus Christ our Lord who sacrificed himself in obedience to God the Father on the Cross. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins and in faith we have been transferred into His kingdom and are covered in His righteousness, not our own. What an amazing gift!

That is a gift we celebrate everyday…

Mahalo for following along on our Great Maui Adventures. Only a couple more posts till my travel journal is complete.

Maui Day 7

On Wednesday October 7th one of our cars would travel to Kapalua Cove to snorkel from the shore. The rest of us hung out at the resort and walked down to the artisan fair that set up just at the edge of our resort.

We could see the pop up tents going up.

All Six bedrooms in the two condos we rented had beach views, which was nice especially for Katie and Andrew when they were sequestered.

Greg and I walked down early to check out the wares that were being offered.

It was already hot and humid.

After scoping out the tents and what was being offered we headed back up to pick up Granny Great so she could do some shopping and to say goodbye to the crew who were going snorkeling.

They found a great shady spot to set up camp for their morning of snorkeling.

An adult was with our Grands the whole time they were in the water snorkeling and they had their life vests on and also used a pool noodle to help them stay steady as they snorkeled. The water was very choppy on this day and they had to cut their time short but Addy and JJ were excited about all the fish and eels and other creatures they were able to see.

Meanwhile back at the resort, Granny Great, Greg and I walked down to the beach and then did some shopping at the craft/artisan tents.

It was wonderful to have this daily view of the island of Molokai.

We bought fruit bowls and fruit smoothies for our lunch. Back in our rooms we were relaxing when the resort alarm and loud speakers in our rooms asked us to please exit the building via the stairs.

We headed next door to get Granny Great and found the stairs and exited down the 6 flights of stairs. Once outside we were informed with an apology that it was a false alarm. Yikes.

Our snorkeling crew made it back to the condos for showers and lunch instead of eating their packed lunches at the cove.

Wednesday afternoon was poolside with poolside orders of appetizers and drinks. Later in the evening after a last minute shopping trip for souvenirs and gifts we gathered at the food trucks again for our evening meal.

At this stage my recall from our time might have gotten mixed up with some things out of order. I do remember the major events but some of other things are foggy in my brain.

We did finish our second puzzle.

Thursday would be our last full day and it was packed from morning to night. It will take a few posts to cover our last day.

Mahalo for following along.

Maui Day 6

On Tuesday morning October 6th one of our cars packed up for two different adventures. I’m happy to report that Katie and Andrew were done being sequestered and ready for our Molokini adventure. Only four of us opted for Molokini, Andrew, Katie, Greg and me. Josh and Dan were our drivers for the adventure. After they dropped us off for our check-in, they carried on south for their Golf tee-time. They would return in time to pick us up at 1:00 pm. Our trip started at 8am and their tee-time was at 8:30 am.

We are headed to that crescent shaped crater where you can see other boats docked for snorkeling.

Here we are with 100 of our fellow passengers! Our excursion offered breakfast, lunch and snorkeling gear. They had lifeguards out on the water and also offered any help you might need including instructions for snorkeling.

Katie ordered corrective snorkel masks for herself and for her dad. Those were game changers for them. I’m not sure if Andrew needed them, I did not. They did not cost much more than regular snorkel gear.

We were told that we were very fortunate to be at Molokini on this day since the waters were calm compared to the day before.

The temperature of the water and the clarity viewing the fish and coral reef was exceptional.

The birds were also interesting to watch on the crater. This bird might be the ‘Iwa (Great Frigatebird), a large seabird frequently seen soaring above Molokini Crater. ‘Iwa means thief, the bird is known for stealing other birds’ food.

It really was a gorgeous day to be out on the water.

 

While our sons were golfing at the Wailea Golf Club with views of Molokini, they sent us this photo! They could see the boats at Molokini.

They were very impressed with this beautiful golf course and all the amenities it offered.

From Molokini our boat anchored at a turtle bay before we headed back to the docks. Katie was the only one of us who actually spotted a turtle on this part of the anchoring. We enjoyed a barbecue lunch while the boat was at this spot. By the time we arrived at the turtle area the water wasn’t as calm or clear at this spot.

After docking we walked back to our drop off location for our sons to pick us up and take us all back to the resort. This was at 1pm and the air was so still and hot with humidity above 80%. We missed the lovely breeze that we enjoyed on the water! While waiting for our ride, I found a wood carved turtle that fit the bill for JJ’s wish list!

Mahalo for stopping by…

Maui Day 5 Evening

Praise the Lord, on Monday evening Andrew and Katie made it out of the condo and down to the beach. We were all happy to see them outside and feeling better. They both felt good enough to plan on going on our scheduled trip to Molokini on Tuesday morning.

This was a quiet evening for our crew to enjoy the sunset and evening swimming for the littles.

Tuesday morning would be an early start for Molokini and Golf. Till then Aloha and Mahalo for following along on our Maui Adventures.

Maui Day 5

This will be part two of our Monday October 5th adventures.

Monday October 5th had a variety of activities with fewer participants. Dan and family left early to deliver Granny and Granny Great to their Helicopter ride. Dan and family enjoyed breakfast at a restaurant close to the helipad while they waited. The waitress brought these to Addy and JJ ‘on the house’ because she thought they were such a cute family. Addy’s dream come true to drink out of a coconut!

The rest of us had a leisurely morning before our car left the resort to meet up with this crew after the helicopter ride. We would meet at the Maui Zipline company on the grounds of the Maui Tropical Plantation.

These six brave souls were our zipliners. Granny Great (85) decided to take over Katie’s spot since Katie was still being sequestered on this day. Andrew was feeling a lot better.

The staff are in the bright yellow shirts. Besides our six there was another family of five.

Granny and Granny Great!

Gramps!

After three platforms Granny and Granny Great opted out of any more rides.

JJ and Auntie LoLo in the distance making videos. JJ knew he did not want to zipline. Me, Jamie and LoLo opted out and preferred watching along with JJ.

Addy was a trooper and had the time of her life!

The grounds were really beautiful and the farm grows over 65 varieties of tropical fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

I’ll save the rest of this day for another post or two. We were a little bummed that by the time our group was done with ziplining the whole farm had shut down so we couldn’t peruse the gift shop or get a refreshing drink. On the way back we stopped at a roadside grouping of shops and food trucks for some refreshment before making it all the way to our resort. Leoda’s Bakery Cafe specialized in all kinds of house made pies like turkey, beef, chicken and sweet pies. The sweet varieties were banana cream, chocolate macadamia, coconut and apple.

Maui Day 5 Early Morning

On Monday early morning Greg and I finally walked on the beach to see the sunrise.

Just outside the main lobby we stopped to say hi to one of the resident cats.

Our walk at dawn was a beautiful peaceful way to start our day.

Later in this week we did see one of these sea turtles come up out of a wave. Too fast for any camera to be able to capture.

We made it back to our room for some breakfast before heading to our zip lining destination.

Before we left I saw this boat out on the water and had to take a couple shots!

Off to our next adventure…

Maui Day 4

After a busy Saturday we had a free to relax day on Sunday October 4th.

There were early morning walks before the pools opened at 8am. Others had their early morning walks for some specialty coffee.

It was an egg breakfast in the condo day with a healthy shake (everyday). A beach day, pool day, quesadilla in the condo lunch day with drinks and Calamari at the poolside. A shopping across the street day at a one of a kind Island souvenir store. JJ had two items on his wish list, a shark tooth necklace and a wood carved turtle. This store had the necklace! Addy wanted a purple sweatshirt with Hawaii in bigger letters and Maui in smaller letters. She’d have to keep shopping…

Snorkel practice time in the pools before doing some big time snorkeling at a bay.

On this day we had strong winds and some rain, too. The white caps on the ocean were telling.

 

Dinner was a trip to the food truck park which is right across the street from our resort. Everyone could choose their own treats from the variety of trucks housed here.

We had evening milk and cookie times, cuddle times and puzzle time, too. Auntie LoLo brought the Hawaii puzzle for us to put together which we completed by day four and we started on a World Cup Puzzle that I brought after this one.

Both Katie and Andrew were sequestered on this day but we were happy to hear that Andrew’s Fever broke and he was feeling much better. We were able to bring them some dinner from the food trucks. We were praying that Katie and Andrew would be well enough for our Molokini trip on Tuesday.

 

Maui Pineapple Farm

After our trip up above the clouds to Haleakala Volcano we made our way to a Pineapple Farm. By the time we arrived at the farm our daughter Katie was feeling very sick and our son Josh volunteered to take her back to the resort. There were now 9 of us taking the tour instead of 12.

This was our second adventure on Saturday, October 3rd.

Before we got on the air conditioned bus we walked through some of the areas where the pineapples are processed.

On the bus we drove down the road to the pineapple fields.

We enjoyed some breezes that brought some moisture from the rain forest that the farms were situated adjacent to.

When we were done on the pineapple farm Josh arrived from his roundtrip to take Katie back to the resort. What a guy! We packed up our 12 pineapples and made our way to Whaler’s Village where we had reservations for dinner at the Hula Grill. The ten of us were able to be seated together which was nice. We were refreshed from our long day of adventures with some good food and a nice breeze.

After some photos on the beach at sunset we had a little time to shop at the ABC store before driving back to the Resort.

Saturday was done and we looked forward to a free day on Sunday.

Maui Day 3~Haleakala National Park

On Saturday October 3rd, I watched the gradual start to the day enjoying my cup of coffee.

This was going to be a long day that got the best of some of us. Andrew was already down for the count sequestered in his room with a fever. The rest of us got into our two cars and started the trip to Haleakala National Park. This will be part 1 of our experiences this day.

“No place can prepare you for the experiences and feelings you will have on the summit of Haleakalā volcano. The landscape—deeply sculpted, richly colored, and forever changing—is unlike anywhere else on Earth.”

Stephen Tyng Mather

“He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done.”

If you’d like to read more about the legacy of Mather click here.

This trip was not for the faint of heart. Although it was only 53 miles from our resort with the hairpin turns going from an elevation of 500 to 10,023 it took close to two hours. The Pu’u’ula’ula summit was our destination. We were above the clouds at this height and above the path of several planes we saw, too. Our grands were traveling troopers! Some of our crew suffered severe altitude issues with their ears.

The Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory (HO) site is located near the summit of Haleakalā on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The site was formally designated for observatory use by an executive order of the Governor of Hawaiʻi in 1961, and has been managed and operated by the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) to support high-quality, high-impact research, education, and space surveillance since then. HO is not part of the Haleakalā National Park and is not open to the general public. (Top photo of the collage above)

You can learn more about this National Park here.

We were all excited that Laura captured a sighting of the NeNe Birds! Click on NeNe for more info.

This caution was heeded and it was hard to walk with confidence at this elevation. I was a wee bit light headed and not confident of my steps.

Thankfully the trip down the mountain elevations seemed quicker. We stopped at the lower park headquarters and visitor center and enjoyed some sandwiches we made for this trip. It was so good to get back on relatively straight roads for our next adventure. That will be another post.

A Curious Hodgepodge

Anyone for pie from Leoda’s Bakery Maui? We have Leoda’s Banana Cream and Chocolate Macadamia.

Hello mid-October Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Do you think you’re driven more by curiosity or comfort? Explain. 

Oh boy, this one is tough. I am a very curious person but I choose to seek things out in comfortable settings. I love to discover new places and historical sites etc., but I’m not traveling to unstable regions of the world to see those places. I won’t walk into dangerous situations. Enough of my curiosity can be satiated in comfort and safety.

2. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer? 

Cold packs for our shopping trips to Costco which is 90 minutes away from us.

3. Are you comfortable with silence? If you’re home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What’s your favorite place to find silence/be silent? 

I do enjoy worship music being on while I do household things but I don’t consider that noise. I’m not a fan of background noise in general.  After very noisy functions I let out a sigh of relief as we get in the car and head home. I like quiet in the morning while I read my Bible and other books and make my lists for the day.

4. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping…which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?

Landscaping with a lot of muscle included so I could clean up my planters and know what to prune, what to pull and what to leave alone.

5. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others? 

I lean more toward independent and less needy. Sometimes being independent doesn’t serve me well in ministry, though. I’ve had to learn to ask for help more and more the older I get. I’m not a great recruiter. I admire people who are good at it! Genuine neediness is okay with me. Professional neediness drives me up the wall and what I mean by professional neediness is those who think the world and those around them owe them everything without a hint of gratefulness for what they are handed.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

We just got back from a trip to Maui with our family plus our DIL’s mother and Granny. I’m starting my posts of our time there. As usual there will be a lot of photos from our days and our adventures while there.