Maui
Each of these albums contains some of our Maui photos. Gale provided a brief summary of the highlights below.
Captured stills from my video recording (fair quality)
Album 1 Album 2 Album 3 Album4 Album 5
Album 6 Album 7 Album 8 Album 9 Album 10
Album 11 Album 12 Album 13 Album 14 Album 15
Keef/Chapman Maui trip December '99/January 2000
The Keefs arrived in Maui on Christmas Day '99, and the Chapmans the following Wednesday, 12/29/99. We suffered a little jet lag (lost 5 hours Wed. night 1/5) on the way home but were otherwise in great shape after a fabulous vacation. The following is a chronicle of the highlights of our trip as told by Gale.
1) Ben first took us shopping and outfitted us with snorkel gear and board shorts. (Evidently, you're really uncool in Hawaii without them--they're wild colored shorts that dry quickly after coming out of the water--guys wear them rather than standard swim trunks, and girls wear them over their swim suits.)
2) We snorkeled and swam at Kapalua Bay, which has a very shallow reef teeming with colorful tropical fish and other fascinating sea life. The kids all learned to snorkel, and Daniel was so excited that he didn't take the mask off for a couple of hours, spending his entire time with his face under water. When he finally took off the mask, he had a deep red line around his face--it was cute. "Beautiful" just doesn't adequately describe snorkeling there. We decided to take the adventurous route home around the back of the volcano. The only problem with this trip was that parts of the road were only as wide as the Suburban we were riding in! At one point, I just had to turn my head and pray because I was certain we were going over the edge. Oh yeah, there was one other problem--I got car sick. It seems that curvy, bumpy, narrow, mountain roads don't agree with me very well.
3) We drove up to the top of the volcano Haleakala and toured Haleakala crater and national park. It's so high that we actually drove through the clouds and came out up above them to a beautiful sunny sky with clouds floating beneath us. We then all geared up with appropriate bicycles and all-weather jackets and rode 23 miles to the bottom of the volcano, through the clouds on the way down. Josh, Nicole, and Bethany came down under their own power, but Daniel and Holly rode on trailer bikes behind their dads. What a cool experience, and what incredible views. We had to watch for cows, interestingly enough, because the top of the mountain is a free-range cattle ranch. We briefly visited a protea farm when we stopped for snacks on the way down. Protea are enormous Hawaiian flowers that are used for decorative wreaths and other decorations. They come in a myriad of colors, and the plants are bushy and about 6-8 feet tall.
4) We hiked up through Waihee valley between a couple of mountain peaks on West Maui. It was a rough trail in places but do-able with kids. The most interesting thing about the hike was that to get to the waterfall and pools at the top, one has to cross two (no....one isn't enough) cable swinging bridges. Now, I'm no Indiana Jones. This really gave me (and, I think, Collette as well) the "willies," but I wasn't about to let my kids (who practically ran across) show me up. These bridges were basically 2 x 8's end to end lying across cross ties that were anchored to steel cables. It was completely open on the sides and beneath us except for the board we were walking on. There were cables to hold on to on either side, but I had to bend over a little because of my height, making my resolve not to look down impossible. Veeerrrrrryy creepy. Particularly bridge #2 that seemed to be 50 ft in the air. It was probably more like 30 feet above the gulch, but still I felt panic begin to rise. Yes, I admit that I began snapping at the immature wise guys behind me that thought bouncing the bridge was fun. Did I fail to mention that Jeff was behind me? Anyway, the hike led us to a beautiful waterfall where one could "cliff dive" or swing from a rope into a clear pool of freezing water beneath. A number of our group swam behind and then underneath the falls. After an invigorating swim and lunch, we headed back, just to face those cable bridges again. Wasn't once enough? Ryan, Jeff, and Himalea spent a little extra time playing on the bridge, making the other hikers behind them a little nervous.
5) We took a sailboat excursion whale watching one afternoon/evening. Humpback whales migrate to Hawaii from Alaska during this time of year for breeding and birthing in the warmer waters. "Warmer" is really relative; what is warm to whales felt awfully cold to me! Anyway, we got to see a number of whales, and the sailing trip was lots of fun, particularly watching the sunset before returning to the harbor.
6) We snorkeled another day where the endangered sea turtles nest. We "swam" with a couple of the turtles, which are enormous.
7) Of course we also did the general beach thing, hanging out watching the kids play and taking walks. The water is so very blue and crystal clear.
8) We visited Maui Plantation and Iao Valley, both lush examples of the tropical flora and fauna to be found in the islands. Dean particularly liked shopping at the plantation.
9) We visited the Ocean Center near the harbor on Maui. Some of the exhibits included sea turtles, rays, and the living reef with tropical fish. We spent time in the glass tunnel of the aquarium, watched jelly fish in a glass cylinder under black lights, and studied the humpback whale, it's migrating, breeding, and feeding habits.
10) On our last night we ate in Lahaina at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. After our meal we attended "Ulalena," a show depicting the legends of Hawaii's creation and history. It's hard to describe, but it was along the lines of a Broadway show. The "orchestra," if that's what you would really call it, played traditional Hawaiian instruments, and all singing was done in the native language. Among other things, acted out was the story of the demi-god Maui fishing the islands out of the ocean. It was beautiful.
We had a great time. Coming back home to reality is a little of a let down after living in paradise for a week. I suppose it just makes us look forward more to the next visit. Aloha until next time!