Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Hawaii ~ Part III

 Part I of our trip is here
 Part II of our trip is here

We woke up bright and early on this particular day so we could head up to Iao Valley State Park in Maui.  It was about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying and everything we read said we should get there early because the clouds usually set in by early afternoon and the views aren't as good.  As we drove towards the mountain though we realized it was going to be cloudy either way which was fine but it sure was chilly when we got up there!  It was very pretty and I enjoyed the drive seeing some of the homes as we went by.   The park was much smaller than we thought and we saw it all in under an hour.  Not sure if it's something you have to do when you are on the island but beautiful nonetheless.


As we were walking towards the trails Kayla spotted this huge spider right near the restrooms.


Can you see the waterfalls on the mountain?


Climbing a few stairs to the top



Here we are with the Iao Needle behind us.


I imagine this view is a whole lot prettier when there aren't any clouds!







I love the sound of running water and this creek was so pretty to look at.








The park was so lush and green it was like walking in a rainforest.



We were done with the park a lot quicker than we had anticipated and since we were already halfway to a special beach that we knew always had lots of sea turtles hubby asked if I wanted to go see my sea turtle that I've been waiting all my life to see.  Of course I said, Yes!   I've been to Hawaii four other times and had never spotted a sea turtle and I swear just about everyone that goes to Hawaii sees atleast one so all that was on my wish list this trip was to see atleast one.   I knew Ho'okipa Beach would definitely have more than one so I was very excited.


Usually this spot is full of turtles but I was in heaven with just these few!
I would have been happy just sitting next to this guy all day long watching the waves and just being next to him.



I love sea turtles and seeing one in person so close was a favorite of our trip.  They were huge and so, so pretty.







This beach is not only known for the sea turtles but also for the surfing.   I had to get a picture of these young boys running out to catch some waves.  They looked to be about nine or ten years old.  Brooklyn looked at them and said, "I think they are way too young to be out there all by themselves"   They paddled all the way out to the waves in no time and I told her that I was pretty sure they had been doing this since they were babies.



After saying farewell to my favorite sea creatures we drove back to our hotel but made another stop at a food truck to grab some lunch.  We all ordered tacos but Brooklyn got a quesadilla.  Our meal was delicious but Brooklyn's quesadilla was maybe the best one I'd ever tasted!



As soon as we got back to the hotel it was up to the room to change into swimsuits so we could fit in a few hours of beach time before we had to get ready for the luau that night.


Kayla and daddy did some snorkeling while Brooklyn and I kept our feet in the sand.



We were always out and about during the day but we made sure to end each day either at the beach or poolside making it the perfect way to relax and enjoy the sun.


1 comment:

Tara said...

Love seeing all of these Hawaii pictures of adventure! Makes me want to get on a plane right now!