With the rest of the family having arrived the night before, we could finally get our vacation off to a start with everyone on our second day in Maui. We fixed breakfast together, took a dip in the pool at our lodging, and then set out to hit the beaches!
A sleepy Mio with her morning pick-me-up. lol Preparing breakfast in the kitchen of the 2 bedroom condo we rented during our first three days in Lahaina. My brother Ted swimming in the pool. Mio had a great time in the pool with everyone! Driving to Kaanapali Beach. Mio and I at Kaanapali Beach. A sandy-faced Mio.
Dan teaching my brother Kosei how to snorkel. The girls soaking up some sun. Kaanapali is one of the resort areas of Maui, and it was really gorgeous with its clear blue waters, smooth sand, and well-manicured grounds. Dipping our feet in the water… Mio does not look very excited, probably because she’d just woken up.
A video of Mio giggling while playing on the beach with Uncle Ted:
After a couple hours at Kaanapali Beach, we moved a little further south in West Maui to Launiupoko Beach, which had a rocky cove, and had sand that was a lot darker, almost like a black sand beach. It was different from Kaanapali but still very beautiful!
A beautiful photo taken by my brother Ted.
My sister Miwa and I at Launiupoko Beach. Gorgeous skies and water!
My sister and I trying not to crack up while posing for our “candid” photo. It was so relaxing to just sit on the beach!
Dan and Mio playing in the sand
Sand creations in the gray (black?) sand.
Our family at Launiupoko Beach
My brothers and sister playing frisbee in the water.
Meanwhile, Dan, Mio, and I played in the sand. Watching the waves come in.
Mio was a little apprehensive of the waters, but she felt safe with her aunt and uncles.
Later in the afternoon, we drove over to downtown Lahaina area to visit the Banyan Tree Park.
Mio is all smiles with Daddy!
Our family by the Banyan Tree
The Yokoyama siblings
Our first time in Maui! The Banyan tree forms multiple trunks from roots that drop down from its branches. Here’s Dan and I by one of the clusters of its several trunks.
The huge central trunk of the Banyan Tree.
Mio’s face in this picture cracks me up…
We then walked around downtown Lahaina and did some souvenir shopping, and enjoyed an afternoon snack at Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice stand.
We had heard from our friend that Ululani’s had the best shave ice in all of the Hawaiian islands, and we were at first skeptical. Our favorite shave ice during our last trip to Hawaii was Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu, which we’d found out about from our friends who had lived in Oahu who told us it was so much better than the more famous Matsumoto’s Shave Ice (and sure enough, Waiola was 10 times better than Matsumoto’s)! Dan and I have been having cravings for Waiola since our trip two years ago, so it was hard to imagine any shave ice could be better than Waiola — but we were pleasantly surprised to find that Ululani’s ice was really similar to Waiola, but even better! The ice was really fine and soft, the flavor variety expansive with their locally made syrup, combined with lots of great topping choices (like sweet cream, azuki beans, mochi pieces, and the option of adding ice cream at the bottom), and they poke holes throughout the shaved ice before pouring the syrup on so that it gets evenly saturated. It was truly shave ice perfection — so amazing! Ululani’s has since dethroned Waiola in our minds, and it’s now the new shave ice we dream of tasting again. (Thank you Komy for recommending it to us!)
The wait was really long, but it was well worth it!
I had watermelon, mango, and lychee flavored shave ice with mochi pieces.
Obligatory pictures of every one with their shave ice…
Kosei in mid-complaint about Ululani’s being out of azuki beans.
Mio got to try a couple bites, too!
After a fun-filled day, we headed back to the condo to wash up, cook and eat dinner, and play board games at night (our favorite thing to do when we’re reunited with my siblings). I’ll post about Day Three next, in which we explore more of West Maui! 😀
(Special thanks to my brother Ted for taking some of the amazing photos that were used in this post.)
It’s been almost a week since we returned from our family vacation in Maui, and I’m finally getting around to uploading pictures and videos! We got to do a lot of things while we were there and there are so many photos we want to share, so I’m going to split the trip up by days, like I did with our previous vacation in Hawaii. Two years ago, Dan and I got to experience Hawaii for the first time when we traveled to Oahu and Kauai for our belated honeymoon, and we fell in love with the islands! We’d since been dying to go to Maui, as a lot of our friends (including friends who were originally from Hawaii) had told us that Maui was the most beautiful island in Hawaii — some even told us it was the most beautiful island in all of the Pacific Ocean! After spending a week and a half there, we could understand why. Maui has such a rich variety of different landscapes and gorgeous views! Last time we were in Hawaii, we felt like we experienced two opposite ends of a spectrum, with Oahu being uber-touristy and Kauai being much more rugged and rural; I enjoyed both, but a lot of friends had told us that Maui was a great balance between the two, and they were right. There are definitely resort-like offerings there, but very rugged and undeveloped terrains as well, and I really appreciated that multifaceted experience.
Our trip to Maui was also markedly different from our honeymoon trip two years ago, as we invited along my three siblings from Virginia, and because we had a toddler in tow. It was definitely a very different experience — it changed the type of lodging we stayed in (we opted for private cottages with kitchen and washer/dryer, instead of hotels), how often we ate out, what kind of vehicle we needed to rent (a minivan for our party of six), and what sort of activities we planned. Last time, we really packed each of our days full of activities, but this time, we focused on only one or two major activities/locations per day, and didn’t adhere to a strict schedule. It ended up being a really memorable and relaxing family vacation, and while we definitely faced certain unforeseen challenges of vacationing with a young child, we’re so glad that we went!
On the first day, we took an early morning flight out of Oakland airport and arrived at Maui’s Kahului Airport in the early afternoon. My siblings’ flight wasn’t coming in until the evening, so we had several hours to kill while we waited and didn’t have anything planned, so we mostly wandered around and took Mio to the local park and beach, and went shopping at Costco and other stores to gather groceries and supplies.
Our first order of business upon arrival was lunch! We couldn’t wait to grab some poke from one of the local markets…
Shoyu-marinated ahi poke… amazing!
Dan also got some wasabi ahi poke.
Mussel poke flavored with kimchee. This was also delicious!
Dan showing Mio our first look at the ocean upon arriving in Maui.
Walking on the beach in Kihei.
Mio seemed sort of stunned and overwhelmed. She just stood there, taking it all in.
Wading in the water and getting all wet!
Picking up seashells with Mio.
After some beach time, we took Mio over to the nearby playground.
As usual, she loved the swing!
Already trying to climb trees…
“How did you get up there?”
A gorgeous afternoon in Maui.
Look at this chubster’s smile! She went down the slides over and over.
Mio made friends with one of the local kids!
It was nice for all of us to stretch our legs after the 5-hour flight!
Walking around more of the beach.
After spending the afternoon running around the beach and playground, we treated ourselves to some shave ice!
wSurfing Monkey Snack Shack in Kihei
Dan can’t wait to dig in!
Mio got a taste, too!
Later in the evening, we went back to the airport to pick up my siblings (who were understandably exhausted after over twelve hours on the plane) and drove over to our lodging in Lahaina, where we’d stay for the next three days. Stay tuned for our adventures in West Maui! 😀
Day Nine was the last day of our vacation in Hawaii! :'(Â This was actually the only day that we didn’t have anything concrete planned, so we winged it. It was nice to just relax and drive around without a real itinerary for once. 🙂
For breakfast, we stopped by Sweet Marie’s, a gluten-free bakery in Kapaa. We just randomly found it and decided to eat there, but it ended up being really good! We recommend. 🙂
Breakfast at Sweet Marie's!
Gluten-free muffin and vegan cookie. The cookie was especially delicious! Who knew vegan cookies could be so yum?
Leave it to me to procrastinate on my souvenir shopping… Thankfully, the Kauai Products Fair on the East Shore had some really nice goodies — this is where we did the bulk of our souvenir shopping for my family. 🙂
The Kauai Products Fair on the East Shore
I loved these frogs! They made such cool sounds, so I got a bunch of the smaller ones as gifts. I really wanted to get a large one for my grandfather who makes bamboo carvings, but I had no room in my luggage for it.
An interesting doll we found at the products fair. Looks like something my brother Ted would like.
Upon completing our souvenir shopping, we went onto get shaved ice. (Yes, again!) This would be the last time we’d get shaved ice in Hawaii. :'(Â We went to Ono Ono Shave Ice.
At Ono Ono Shave Ice in Kapaa. Look at all the flavors!
Dan's shaved ice: banana + guava.
I got the "Zen Break": green tea + lychee. Such a great combination!
In the early afternoon, we returned to the Coconut Marketplace (which is right by our hotel) and watched a free hula show. One of the girls who was performing had been at a fruit stand we went to the previous day, and had urged us to stop by to watch her perform.
Free hula show at the Coconut Marketplace. These girls were adorable!
The female singer whose songs the girls were dancing to sang the famous Israel Kamakawiwo’ole version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It was so pretty of it, I took a video to capture the audio:
The girls performing a Tahitian dance.
We were able to get a picture with these very talented ladies!
The dancers' mothers were selling handmade leis to fundraise for the girls' costumes, so Dan bought me a lei to support them.
We were pretty hungry after the hula show, so we drove over to The Fish Express in Lihue for a late lunch/afternoon snack. Dan’s coworker had recommended the place for their good poke.
The Fish Express storefront.
So many varieties of poke! I wanted to get everything.
We got a whole bunch of stuff for only about $11.60! We couldn't wait to dig in, so we ate in the car.
This was seriously hands-down the best poke I've ever had! Perfectly flavored.
Ocean salad. This was also amazing.
Kimchee shrimp poke. I am drooling just remembering it.
I'm so excited about all the food we got at The Fish Express!
You can see the effect the poke had on me.
The Fish Express is definitely a place you must go if you’re in Kaua’i and love raw fish like us! My only regret was not going to this place sooner. I would have been totally content with having poke from there every day we were in Kaua’i.
One of the better known places in Kaua’i that we had not been to yet was Poipu Beach, so we drove down to Poipu once our stomachs were stuffed with poke fabulousness.
The sign at Poipu Beach.
A beached Hawaiian Monk Seal. Don't worry, it's not dead - just lazily sunbathing.
Poipu has a strip of the beach which extends down the middle, and the waves come in from either side and meet, and then retract again. I felt like Moses parting the sea; so powerful!
Dan walking further down the beach strip, where there's lava rock.
Me at gorgeous Poipu Beach!
Dan found a sea cucumber... for some reason, he is really good at finding these slimy things.
Walking on lava rock at Poipu.
Against the ocean at Poipu Beach.
The waves were really crashing against the rocks!
Never before have I seen a rooster on the beach!
Dan and I at Poipu Beach.
We had time to stop by one more location before having to grab dinner and head towards the airport, so we drove over to the nearby Wailua Falls.
Wailua Falls
With the video, you can sort of see a more accurate view of how the falls looked from our vantage point. We even caught a rainbow on camera. 🙂
Double waterfalls... too bad there was no double rainbow there, too!
The pool of water at the base of Wailua Falls.
For dinner, we decided to eat near the airport at the Japanese restaurant Kintaro.
Eating dinner at Kintaro Japanese restaurant.
My soba from Kintaro.
Tempura to go with the soba.
Great sushi!
Our last meal in Kaua'i... so sad!
I don't want to leave! :'( ::sniffle::
But alas, we had to leave. After dinner, we promptly returned our rental car and dragged ourselves to the airport to catch our flight. The lines for check-in and for the security check were heinous… it seemed like half the island was flying to LA! But after all the waiting and stress, we were able to safely board our plane. The journey back to San Francisco was anything but fun, since it was an overnight flight and I was freezing the whole time in the overly air-conditioned cabin. I barely got any sleep! We arrived at Los Angeles International Airport early in the morning, where we had a three-hour layover. Not fun! 🙁
Freezing and sleep-deprived at our layover in LAX. I knew it was a bad idea to return to the mainland...
We were surprised to find many more beached creatures lying around in LAX than on the beaches of Hawaii.
But eventually, we boarded our one-hour flight from LAX to SFO, and were able to get home safe and sound. It’s only been a month since we’ve gotten back, but I miss our time in Hawaii a lot. There’s still a lot I’d like to see if and when we ever go back, and I’d like to check out the other islands of Maui and Big Island someday, too.
Thank you to all of our friends who gave us recommendations on places to go, sights to see, and foods to eat! Our trip wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable if it weren’t for you!
On Day 7, our first full day in Kaua’i, we woke up at dark o’clock to drive over to Eleele, where we boarded a catamaran for a seven-hour tour that would take us up the Na Pali Coast and to see Niihau Island. Neither of us is a morning person, but we fought our sleepiness and embarked on the boat, banking on the promise that we would see some of the most stunning views of the island of Kaua’i.
Here comes the sun!
Leaving the dock.
We came across a small raft, that happened to be dolphin watching!
Spinner dolphin flipping about.
Dolphins swimming right in front of our boat!
They were super cute! I don't think I've ever seen dolphins so up close!
We sped up and soon approached the Na Pali Coast...
We were greeted by an amazing view.
The beautiful Na Pali Coast
This is what paradise looks like....
Towering mountains over a lush valley.
Steep mountains... this area of the Na Pali Coast is only accessible by boat or helicopter.
The Honopu Arch, where they filmed the movie Six Days Seven Nights
More majestic views of the Na Pali Coast
Na Pali Coast against a clear blue sky.
Dan and I at the Na Pali Coast
An amazing rock formation called The Keyhole.
Closeup of the natural bridge...
The hubby and I by the Keyhole!
Niihau Island in the distance
Approaching Niihau Island, a privately owned island known as the "Forbidden Isle" because it is off-limits to the general public.
The catamaran parked itself near Niihau Island, where passengers got the opportunity to go snorkeling for an hour before lunch. Here are some nice underwater shots that Dan took while snorkeling!
Fish in blue waters.
Uni! A sea urchin.
So many fish!
Closeup of a fish.
Underwater coral.
Trenches by Niihau Island.
Underwater life.
Here’s some video footage that Dan took with my camera while snorkeling…
The crew was super nice. Thank you Holo Holo Charters!
After snorkeling and lunch, it was time to head back to Kaua’i. The crew purposely gave us a very bumpy and exhilarating ride back! You can see more photos from the Na Pali Coast and Niihau Island in this photo album. If you are ever in Kaua’i and are considering a catamaran trip to see the Na Pali Coast, we really recommend Holo Holo Charters! They had top notch service and were really knowledgeable and skilled, and very personable, too! 🙂
When we got back to land, it was still the early afternoon, so we had plenty more things to do and places to see…
Dan before leaving Port Allen.
Jo Jo’s Shave Ice was strongly recommended as the best shaved ice in Kaua’i, so we stopped by while we were in Waimea.
Jo Jo's Shave Ice in Waimea
strawberry + guava + melon
Jo Jo's storefront
Dan enjoying his macnut shave ice!
Jo Jo’s Shave Ice was really good and was very refreshing, especially on a hot day! I personally still liked Waiola from Oahu better, but Jo Jo’s was definitely the best shaved ice we had in Kaua’i. (And we got shaved ice pretty much every day while we were on Kaua’i… haha* It was so hot there!)
A river running through the Kaua'i landscape.
An epic photo of Dan.
After making our way through winding dirt roads for over half an hour, we finally reached our destination in Waimea: The Waimea Canyon!
Arriving at Waimea Canyon Lookout
Stunning Waimea Canyon.
On top of the world.
The canyon stretching before our eyes.
A gorgeous view.
People at the Waimea Canyon lookout
Dan and I at Waimea Canyon
The pictures just don't do it justice!
Clouds over the canyon.
Hubby with the canyon in the background.
Dan was fascinated by the red dirt that could be found all over the island.
We picked up some fresh fruits at this roadside vendor right before they closed up shop.
For dinner, we stopped at the Shrimp Station in Waimea. If you know how much I love shrimp, you can imagine how psyched I was to go here….
Kaua'i's Shrimp Station!
I got shrimp tacos!
Dan got the Thai shrimp. Super good!
We wanted to try more, so we even got some coconut shrimp to go...
We then drove back to our hotel in Kapaa to kick back and relax for the rest of the evening.
Dan cut open this mystery fruit that he picked up at the roadside vendor. To this day, we’re still uncertain of what it’s called, but we were curious so we decided to try it out. To be honest, it was not very good…
Looks unappetizing... and did not taste very good, either.
Me enjoying some of our leftovers on our hotel balcony.
The hubby eating... the coconut shrimp was delicious1
The view of the beach from our balcony.
After waking up super early in the morning, we were totally pooped by the end of the day! We got to see so many amazing sights though, both along the Na Pali Coast and at Waimea Canyon — these are definite must-sees if you are ever in Kaua’i. 🙂
After spending our last full day in Oahu, we woke up early the next morning to get ready to drive down to Honolulu Airport to fly over to the neighboring island of Kaua’i. We were sad to leave Oahu, but were excited to see what was in store for us over at Kaua’i.
Our last morning at the Turtle Bay Resort.
The ocean by the hotel.
Saying goodbye to this beautiful view from our hotel room.
Dan bidding the Turtle Bay parrot goodbye.
We stopped by the Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua (North Shore) to get some breakfast before we drove down to Honolulu Airport.
Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua
Lots of baked goodies at Paalaa Kai Bakery
Azuki croissant for breakfast... so yum!
Waiting for our flight at Honolulu Airport.
The flight went very smoothly, and we arrived at Lihue Airport in Kaua’i in about an hour. 🙂
The Kaua'i shoreline from the plane.
When we first arrived, there was a slight drizzle, but the skies quickly cleared up.
We stayed at the Aston Islander on the Beach in Kapaa while we were in Kaua’i. The hotel was close to the airport and right on the beach, which was really nice. 🙂
Aston Islander on the Beach in Kapaa
The balcony of our hotel room, overlooking the beach.
After checking in and getting all of our luggage settled in, we were hungry for lunch and made a beeline for Hamura’s Saimin Stand, which was recommended to us by a few of our friends. (Thank you Rumi, Bryan, and Dan’s coworker Jay!)
The famous Hamura's Saimin Stand. I'm ready to eat!!!
The place was crowded and the wait quite long, but we stuck through it.
Saimin is a type of noodle soup that is unique to Hawaii, and is sort of a fusion of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino traditional noodles. It’s made out of soft wheat egg noodles… I’d say that in Japanese noodles, it most closely resembles ramen, but the broth has a much more subtle and light flavor.
Dan got the Special Saimin.
I got the Shrimp Special Saimin. It was very good!
We also ordered skewers of chicken and beef, which Hamura's is also known for.
A lot of people recommend the lilikoi chiffon pie, but we were too full at the time and decided against getting it. But if you ever get a chance to go there, apparently the pie is pretty darn good so give it a try! 😉
After driving around Lihue, we were starting to melt (it was a really hot day), so we stopped at Shaka Shave Ice (a random shaved ice place we found along the road) and got some shaved ice.
Me with my shaved ice. (lychee+watermelon+guava). It was definitely not as good as some of the places we went to in Oahu, but it was so hot that I was grateful for anything cold.
Oh, a funny side story: Some of our friends had strongly urged us to rent a convertible while we were in Kaua’i, insisting that the experience would be so much better if we were able to drive around the island with the top of the car down. Despite my persistent prodding to do so, Dan said it was too expensive and so we reserved an economy car instead when we booked our rentals a few months before the trip. But when we we got to the vehicle rental, the economy compact cars had been overbooked, so they upgraded us to a convertible with no extra charge! I got my convertible after all. 🙂
Dan with our "sweet ride." (JK... we quickly found that the Sebring was not as comfortable and convenient as we thought... It was still nice to drive around with the top down, though!)
For the rest of the afternoon, we returned to our hotel and spent a couple hours relaxing on the private beach at the hotel.
The private beach at Aston Islander on the Beach.
Dan walking into the water.
There was no one else on the beach!
Beautiful mountains in the distance.
Dan, who jumped at every chance to go snorkeling during the trip, busted out his snorkel gear and went exploring...
...while I kicked back and caught up on the gossip from the mainland.
We eventually migrated over to the hotel pool, which was also pretty nice.
Relaxing after a dip in the pool.
Poolside bar.
After freshening up, we headed out to have dinner. We were pretty exhausted by this time, so we decided to go somewhere close and chose to eat in the local town of Kapaa. Being the carbnivore and pasta lover that I am, I selected Kauai Pasta as the dining place of our choice.
Dinner was very satisfying and was the perfect way to end the long day of traveling and familiarizing ourselves with Kaua’i. We only had three days left in Kaua’i, so we were determined to make the best of it! 😀
