Road to Hana

We took an amazing private jeep tour to Hana with Alicia from Awapuhi Tours.

Secret Black Sand Beach

Lori and I at the Red Sand Beach,we took a path along the cliff to get here.

Entrance to the Bamboo Forest, which took us to a waterfall and swimming hole.

More highlights - the floral stand along the highway, picnic at the black sand beach, & venus pool.

Our tour guide Alicia, catered to us all day long!

The Venus Pool is a freshwater stream that flows into the oceans. Cliff jumping and beautiful clear blue water for swimming. Fabulous!

As they say, "Maui is the best!"

White Sand MN Style❄️

The Blizzard of 2014. We woke up Friday morning to an additional 11" of snow and 30 mph wind.  Our driveway was 3-4 feet of drifts. The only way to get thru was a snowblower, the snowplow was stuck at the top of the driveway and of no use to us. Chuck was amazing! By the end of the day Friday ,he had enough of the driveway cleared to get us out of the house. The snow was 3-4 feet deep, and I couldn't move the snowblower more than a foot! Luckily, Chuck has the muscle and perseverance to get the job done. On Saturday, he had a huge drift in front of the garage door left to be cleared. By 8 pm we were clear and it was a beautiful site!

Next year we will definitely be in Maui for the winter! Aloha🌺

Clear Bottom Kayaks

We didn't miss a thing with our clear bottom kayaks at Makenna Landing. We kayaked to Turtle Town and saw the Turtle Highway and the 5 underwater caves. Jennifer steered the kayak and I went over the side to snorkel. 

On the way home we drove thru the lava fields, to La Perouse Bay for the black sand beaches.

Lava rock on both sides of the narrow road, no hiking allowed on the lava, until you reach La Pereusse Bay. Hope to do that hike next time, it was too windy today.

We ended another day in paradise at the Maui arts & crafts fair in Lahaina. Just like the Maui swap meet, without the super juice. It's worth a stop with a lot of vendors who also sell at the swap meet.

Organic Sugar Cane Juice

We went back to the Maui Swap Meet, love that place. We drank raw sugar cane juice with lime. Here is the sugar cane press, it took about 3 long canes for 8 oz. with lime added.

Sugar cane juice is good for brain, heart, liver, diabetics, vitamins and minerals, and a cure for cancer :)

Just kidding, it tasted great, and another reason to go back to the Maui Swap meet.

Sugar Cane museum is worth a quick stop for some fascinating history on Maui.

Last stop Maekewea, a ranching town with cute stores.

On the way home we stopped at the Sacred Gardens and labyrinth. Lots of new age stuff here.

Upcountry Day Trip

First stop, Twin Falls, at mile marker 1 on the road to Hana. This is private land open to the public, located on a working farm, and a nice hike to the falls. You'll need tennis shoes for the hike and water shoes to walk thru the stream to reach the falls. Bring a swimsuit and take a dip under the falls.

We took a short cut, got lost, and went to Ocean Vodka Organic farms. Wonderful tour by the owner great start up story, can't wait to try Maui's only organic vodka, sorry no samples given out.

Vodka distillation process and sugar cane shoots, only takes a year to grow a full sugar cane plant.

Next stop was Ali Kula Lavender Farm, got lost again but it was a beautiful relaxed walk thru the gardens and home by 4!

West Maui Mountain Hike

We needed a break from the sun and a little exercise. This hike is 1 mile straight up, and 2 other short hikes. It's  3 miles and beautiful, no bugs, nice and cool.

The trails are part of the Ritz Carlton property. The shuttle bus brings you up the mountain, 2 hours to hike and the bus returns. Next time we will bring a lunch and sit at the picnic shelter while we wait for the shuttle to return.

Our Condo in Honokowai

A highlight of our condo, is the pool and the sunsets.