Sea turtles

This video is from Jackson's last day in Maui because it was just so cool to see so many sea turtles. Please excuse my dorky commentary...I was pretty excited!

Jackson's last days in Maui

We were not going to be waiting in line at the Gazebo again so we got up early and headed that way!

1st in line this time!

The view from the Gazebo's line

Again.

Good morning!

BREAKFAST FRIED RICE FOR DAYS!

We took home our leftovers and then headed for the beach. YES! The perfect way to spend a day!

Back to my favorite beach

That afternoon we decided to go exploring the other way on the island. We'd been to the blow hole before, but it was just such a pretty area that we decided to go again.

Hiking at the blow hole

I love this guy!

Petefish

Stunning

We thought this would be a good area to catch sunset, but it was not. Bummer! We decided to walk around the Whaler's Village shopping area to get some gelato (so good!) and do some people watching. It is such a nice little area!

Can you spot Jackson?!

How about now!?!

The next morning we munched on leftover rice and decided to hike the Kapalua Coastal Trail. It was a really well maintained trail with a lot of awesome views. It was also kind of flat!!!!

Happy little hiker

Beach views

Chasing turtles

Found one!*

*Jackson ended up swimming with a MASSIVE sea turtle on his last day. He did not have the GoPro with him so we borrowed this photo that he said looked like his view during his swim. He was SO excited about it.

My view from the beach

Eventually it was time to head back to the condo and get Jackson all packed up the head home. I originally was staying because a friend moved to Maui and I wanted to work out with her and just work from Hawaii. She ended up taking a job in Thailand (!!) so I was going to be alone. The condo we rented would not refund our rental fee and it was going to be pricey to change my flights, plus I planned to see family in Oahu later in the week so I just stayed behind. Jackson had to get back to go to work.

Bummed to be leaving

Petefish (Jackson showing his sadness)

That's better!

Before he left he needed one more round of fresh fish so we stopped in town for that.

Fresh fish before the flight- yum!

We grabbed a coffee to help him stay away for his Maui to Oahu flight. He then had a little layover and headed from Honolulu to Denver (a 4 hour layover) then finally onwards to Indy. The flights were not ideal, but they were free so that was what he did.

The original location of our
favorite coffee shop in Naples, FL!

Molokini

We decided to take a snorkeling tour out to a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater called Molokini. The snorkeling there was supposed to be amazing because while you are out in the middle of the ocean (meaning massive waves) you are protected by the crater. 

Getting excited to get in!

Jackson even packed his own gear!

Views on the sail over

As you see, we weren't the only boat there...

Just a random landmass in middle of the ocean!

Diving right in!

Soon enough we'd gotten clearance to dive right in and start exploring. I've been working on my confidence while swimming so while I initially went in went a yellow flotation belt, I quickly remembered that sharks can see yellow and find it attractive. This meant that I swam back to the boat, turned in my flotation belt and headed back out to find Jackson. There were a TON of other snorkelers at this spot so I figured safety in numbers plus a lack of yellow anywhere on my body meant my chances of shark attack were slim. I was right. We made it out without even a sighting! :)

While it was cool to be out in the middle of the ocean snorkeling, the number of people made it kind of annoying. We ended up going back to the boat and going off the water slide numerous times. Whatever works!

The view back to Maui, you can see the wind farm running
up the hill

We stopped in a turtle haven and saw a bunch of sea turtles, too

The sailing tour was only for the morning and we could not check into our new place until 3 p.m. so we had time to kill. We grabbed lunch at a place we'd liked on our prior trip, Maui Brewing Company, and it did not disappoint.

Chicken nachos- YUM!

We got checked into our little studio for the week (for me) and spent the afternoon resting up. We'd been obsessed with Hurricane Irma since it was hitting Naples (our adopted second home) so we spent way too much time watching the Weather Channel. Dorks, I know. We also had fast enough internet at the new place to FaceTime with MacKenzie!

Chatting with MacKenzie!

Later in the evening we decided to go explore our new area and catch another sunset. It did not disappoint!

Thanks, Hawaii!

Stunning.

Petefish

I couldn't pick a favorite

So I added them all

It was a really fun day and I think my snorkeling skills are getting pretty good! Hooray!

Maui

We decided to explore the Wailea area a bit more today so we stayed close to the "garage" for breakfast. We tried a place that the local raved about and it was just OK. I think it is just too hard to live up to the Gazebo. 

Jackson having breakfast friend rice AGAIN

Once we'd finished breakfast we headed to an area called "Big Beach." Sometimes they keep things simple around here and that's OK! :)

You just cannot get a feel for it in my little video, but the waves at this beach were no joke. When we arrive the lifeguards were warning folks against body boarding because the waves were just breaking too hard.

It looks calm, it was not

We had a body board with us from the Airbnb, but we took it out further and just used it as a flotation device. It was a ton of fun. We would go out and bounce in the waves until we got tired then we'd come in. At one point we were out (without the board) and saw a woman body boarding (against the lifeguard's wishes) get just absolutely destroyed by a wave. Instantly there was blood all over the beach and she was not moving. The lifeguards moved quickly to get her out of the water. Meanwhile, we are in the water. We had just started chatting with a local guy when this happened. He told us etiquette was to get out of the water so the lifeguards could focus just on the injured woman. Just then the undertow started picking up and getting back to shore became much harder. Now, I'd been working on my swimming skills but not enough not to panic a bit about the blood in the water (sharks!) and the force of the waves and everything else. The local guy was able to help me keep calm-ish and we got into shore without issue. Unfortunately our stuff had a front row seat to the lifeguards assisting this injured woman. I could not turn away.

The lifeguards assisting the injured woman

I cannot begin to explain how impressed we were with the lifeguards. They moved in so quickly and with such skill. The woman was unconscious with a broken nose and a broken shoulder at best. They feared a broken neck or back, too. We'll never know. Without those lifeguards, though, she was have almost certainly died in those waves. After that, I stayed on the beach. Jackson did not, of course, but he is a MUCH stronger swimmer than I am.

It started to rain so we left the beach. We started to just head back to the garage (Jackson insisted we call it that- ha!), but I wanted to continue exploring so we turned left and ventured down a small road.

We found a desolate beach

It turns out that we were going through an area that was used for the military's target practice. I, naturally, made Jackson get out of the car and snap some photos!

The earth's reaction to target practice

Yes, that is a warning sign about unexploded
ordinance in the area

We eventually finished our exploring of the target practice area and headed back to the garage to clean up. We had a gift card from my birthday to Outback Steakhouse so we went to the location near our place. You guys, it was delicious! We did not expect much from a chain here in Hawaii (sometimes they just cannot get the same ingredients here), but it was darned good! The fact that it was free (thanks, Dad and Diana) did not hurt! From there we headed back down to Wailea to catch sunset. Clearly sunsets are a very important part of the day here!

Cloudy sunset

Still awfully pretty

Back on the Coastal Trail!

It was a much cloudier night, but the sunset was still beautiful. We took a long walk along the trail again and just enjoyed it. This side of Maui is certainly worth seeing!

The Gazebo

We were staying on the other side of the island, but we were close enough to the Gazebo restaurant that we had to make the drive over to visit it. We got up and at 'em early, but not early enough to beat the crowds to our favorite breakfast spot on the planet. We ended up chatting with a nice couple from Chicago while we were in line. A four seater table came available so we joined them for breakfast. It was not something we'd normally do, but it worked out just fine. 

The line!

The Gazebo is known for their breakfast fried rice and their macadamia nut pancakes. We remembered both of these things fondly and we were not disappointed. The views from this restaurant are amazing, but the food is even better!

A happy, happy boy!

We decided to just go to the beach on this side of the island because we knew the snorkeling was good. We spent hours here taking turns with our one snorkel set and just soaking in the sun. It was amazing.

My favorite beach views

Stunning.

A DOG!!!!!!

We stopped for fish tacos on the way back to our side of the island from another food truck hoping they'd be as good as they were in Kauai. They were NOT. :(

Hoping lightning strikes twice. It didn't.

Fish tacos

Spicy tacos and a bottle coke

We went back and changed into workout clothes and headed for a trail that connects a bunch of little beaches in Wailea aptly called the "Coastal Nature Trail." It did not disappoint. We'd not made it to this part of the island before and it reminded us of the Pebble Beach area of California. It was just gorgeous back here with a ton of really fancy resorts. Remember, we were staying in a converted garage about 10 minutes away for $75 a night while these folks were paying upwards of $1,000 to be here. I think we were winning.

Stunning.

Looking over at another part of Maui

Petefish

Yes, I'd live here.

Some of the resorts on the side there

We hiked around until sunset

Then watched it from the beach

Petefish

We soaked in every last minute of the sunset's beauty before continuing to hike the coastal trail until it was just too dark to continue. We got to see many luaus taking place at the various resorts and just kind of soak in the magic of Hawaii at night. It was lovely. Then we went back to the converted garage to do laundry and just relax. It was another great day!