Maui: Day Two

June 3, 2016

We decided to check out of the tiny, gross hotel fairly early and just drive over to the other side of the island where our lodgings for the rest of our stay were located.

We looked on the internet for a place to eat breakfast and found a little bakery that ended up being a favorite place that we managed to stop at several more times during the trip.

Yummy breakfast, sandwiches and also homemade pie.

The boys both got pie and ate it before their breakfast had even arrived at the table.

I got a brownie that I forgot to eat and later it got thrown away accidentally.

so sad

The drive to our hotel was just gorgeous.

Everything is so green and lush!

I love how the clouds ring the tops of the green jungle covered mountains.

and of course, the water is that amazing blue that you just can't believe is real.

After we found our hotel, we spend some time exploring around the area until we could check in.

First we sat on a nearby sandy beach but we were all in street clothes, not swim suits

so we didn't stay long.

We drove around a bit until we found another pretty little beach with a more rocky shoreline.

It was a very picturesque spot.

 and

forced Carter to take a picture with us

We were about to leave when this guy comes up to us and says, "Did you see the turtles?"

Nope.

So we looked closer at that water and realized there were lots of turtles around the rocks!

So we went down and watched them for a long time.

Frank, being Frank, went straight to the car and got his snorkeling stuff out and jumped in.

Since we hadn't checked into the hotel yet, neither Carter nor myself had swim suits so we just watched from the shore.

The turtles were totally messing with Frank.

He was snorkeling around and they kept surfacing right by him, behind him or off to the side, and he could not see them!

Several people were also watching from the shore and we were all yelling and pointing and going berserk to try to help Frank find the turtles...

that tiny thing is Frank snorkeling

and when he would turn or swim in the direction we were pointing, the turtle would swim away.

It was so funny!

Finally, a really big turtle came near the shore so we screamed and pointed and acted like nuts until Frank swam that way...

Here I am pretending to take a picture of Frank, but really taking a picture of Carter.

After that we went into the town of Lahaina.

It's a cute little beachside town with lots of shops and restaurants.

We had downloaded an app that gave us a commentary as we drove around

and I highly recommend it.

The guy told really interesting facts about the island and also gave driving directions.

We all really liked it.

Plus, it's nice to hear someone say the names of the various towns and streets so that you know how to pronounce them correctly. 

It's called Full Maui GyPSy Driving Tour.

There is a tree in the center of Lahaina called the Banyan Tree

and it is just amazing to see.

It is one tree that has sent down roots which have become as large as trunks themselves

so it has become a canopy that covers a large area with all these shoots coming down and various trunks.

Hard to describe but so beautiful and amazing in real life.

We sat under the Banyan tree and at our shaved ice

("snow cone is a curse word")

and then it was time to check into our hotel.

I had seen pictures of this time share property online and it seemed pretty unimpressive,

so we weren't expecting much.

But the key to liking your mediocre hotel arrangements is to stay somewhere kind of gross for one night first!

It wasn't a big fancy resort but it was clean and nice.

It had a full kitchen, two bathrooms and a pull out couch for Carter.

Our room overlooked the pool which was pretty and clean.

We were actually impressed with the cleanliness of the whole place, they keep it in good shape.

And it turned out that we were just a short walk to the beach, which is something I didn't know from looking online.  I thought we would have to drive to the beach.

I never remember to get a picture before we make a mess of things though...

Once we were in the hotel, we just did some unpacking, grocery shopping and planning for the week ahead.

Our second dinner in Hawaii: scrambled eggs and toast.

We know to how party.

We played cards at night, like we do at home.

When we texted Ryan to tell him we had missed him for our nightly card game,

he laughed at us for doing the same thing in Hawaii as we do at home.

He has a point I suppose.