We checked out of our lodging in Lahaina on the morning of July 29, and would spend the rest of our day making our way over to central Maui until we got to the cottage we were renting in Kihei for the rest our stay in Maui. Before we left West Maui, though, we all agreed that we wanted to make one last stop in downtown Lahaina to get another taste of Ululani’s before we left the area.

Rising Sun shave ice from Ululani's
This time, I got the Rising Sun shave ice from Ululani’s – a combination of green tea, almond, and lychee flavors, topped with homemade mochi. I loved the Japanese-inspired combination of flavors – it became an instant favorite for me!

 

Ordering shave ice
The rest of the fam ordering their shave ice.

 

Miwa taking a bite of her shave ice
Miwa digging in.

 

Sad that I ate it so quickly...
Me, visibly sad that my shave ice went all too quickly…

 

Shopping in downtown Lahaina
We spent about an hour doing some souvenir shopping in downtown Lahaina.

 

Beautiful sky and waters
Beautiful sky and waters in Lahaina

 

Mio and I on the bridge
Mio and I on the bridge overlooking the shore.

 

Mio looking out at the sea
“Goodbye, Lahaina!”

 

Dan loves getting fresh fruit in Hawaii, so he had to make a stop when he saw this large fruit stand.

Dan checking out a fruit stand

 

We then drove over to Iao Valley State Park, which is one of the top attractions in Maui. Iao Valley is formed from the remnants of Maui’s first volcano that created the western part of the island, and the valley is a narrow gorge 5 miles long, flanked by heavily forested walls almost a mile in height. Iao Valley is also the site of one of the Hawaii’s most famous battles, the battle of Kepaniwai in 1790 when King Kamehameha I destroyed the Maui army of Kalanikupule in an effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands.

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Iao Valley State Park

 

Mountains by Iao Valley
The Iao Needle (on the left side of the photo) is a volcanic monolith 2,250 feet high, soaring nearly straight up 1200 feet from the valley floor. This is widely considered a lookout for warriors of Maui, and the view from the bottom is quite impressive.

 

Lush vegetation in Iao Valley
The Iao Valley was very lush, green, and beautiful.

 

Mio looks uncomfortable.
Mio looking uncomfortable on Dan’s back.

 

Iao Valley State Park
The family at Iao Valley State Park

 

Mimicking Dan's pose.
Ted and Miwa are mimicking Dan’s pose. Kosei was not a very good sport and didn’t want to play along.

 

Miwa and I at Iao Valley
Miwa and I against the lush mountains of Iao Valley

 

Interesting hut

 

River running through Iao Valley
It is said that during the battle of Kepaniwai (“damming of the waters”), the Iao river ran red with blood all the way to the ocean and that the number of warriors fallen held back the waters of the river, thus the name given to the battle. There’s some morbid historical background for ya…

 

A bed of red-leaved plants

 

Such ginormous leaves!
Look at these ginormous leaves! You could use them as umbrellas, like in Totoro!

 

For lunch, we stopped by Pukalani Superette and bought a whole bunch of poke, musubi, and other Hawaiian dishes to share and ate picnic style.

Poke and musubi lunch from Pukalani Superette

 

In the afternoon, we checked into the private cottage rental in Kihei and got settled in, resting and cooling down.

Resting at our lodge in Kihei
Mio was so hot that she refused to wear clothes.

 

Mio was happy to cool down indoors!
Although I have to admit, there’s something really adorable and cherubic about a baby clad only in a diaper…

 

Cheeks!
Mio, only a few days away from turning 16 months old.

 

Happy in Mama's sunglasses
Cheesing with Mama’s sunglasses.

 

After getting some rest and settling in, we walked over to the ocean which was right by the cottage, so we could get some beach time before we lost daylight.

Making our way down to the beach in Kihei
Making our way down to the beach in Kihei

 

The beach right by our cottage.
The beach was conveniently right by our cottage.

 

Mother-daughter moment on the beach.
Sharing a mother-daughter moment on the beach.

 

It was so peaceful!
There was no one else there, and we had the whole beach to ourselves! Although the beach wasn’t as breathtaking and manicured as those in West Maui, it was really peaceful.

 

Misono + Mio + Miwa
The ladies! 🙂 All of us (with the exception of Dan, so all of the Yokoyamas) were frequently mistaken as locals. With our darker complexions and Asian background, I guess we look Hawaiian to some people.

 

Sunbeams on the water.
Soaking in the last of the sun’s rays.

 

The boys frolicking on the beach.
The boys frolicking on the beach. Mio couldn’t stop laughing as Daddy held her and her uncles ran circles around her.

 

We retired early that night, since we had an early wakeup ahead of us the next day to catch the sunrise at the Haleakala summit! 🙂