Picking up where we left off on Day Two, we explored more of West Maui on our third day. This was our last day staying in the Lahaina area, so we wanted to make the best of it! 🙂
Mio bathed in the Maui morning sunlight.
We spent much of the early half of the day at Napili Kai Beach and Kapalua Beach, which are right next to each other. It was a great area to snorkel in, as well as to just sit back and enjoy the beach.
Stepping into the ocean. Dan and my siblings getting ready to snorkel at Napili Kai Beach Resort. Ready for some snorkeling!
Mio stayed behind on the beach, and we took turns watching her.
We got some great underwater pictures thanks to the underwater housing that we brought along for my point-and-shoot camera.
A sea urchin embedded in the rocks.
Coral at Napili Kai
We discovered some sea turtles while snorkeling! We’d seen them last time we were at Tunnels Beach in Kauai two years ago, but it’s always such an exciting experience to see them.
Sea turtles in Kapalua Bay
One got on top of the other. We suspect they were mating…
Closeup of the sea turtle: such majestic creatures!
Here are a couple underwater videos we took of the sea turtles!
Some more underwater pictures that we took…
Colorful fish and a sea snake.
Returning to the shore, we had a great time playing in the sand together.
Mio having fun with the noodle. (I swear I’m not naked in this picture – bad cropping.)
Kosei burying Ted in the sand.
Kosei also dug a hole for Mio to stand in. She looks unfazed.
Mio made a friend on the beach, and we found out upon talking to his mom that they were from San Ramon! We actually ran into a lot of fellow vacationers from the Bay Area.
It was a gorgeous day.
For lunch, we went to Star Noodle in Lahaina, as a bunch of us were craving some ramen.
Mio usually loves being outside, but she’d had enough of the heat and was happy to cool down indoors.
Everyone at lunch.
For the appetizer, we had some awesome pork buns. They were so good!!!
My hapa ramen from Star Noodle, with black miso. Ehrmahgerd… it was some of the best ramen I’d ever had.
Dan got the saimin, which was also great!
Miwa and I, full and satisfied after our delicious lunch!
Next stop was D.T. Fleming Beach! It was so hot and we were experiencing some major food coma, so we just wanted to lay out in the shade and nap.
Resting in the shade.
Mio had so much fun with Uncle Ted!
Later in the afternoon, we drove up North to see the Nakalele Blowhole. Mio was napping in the car, so Ted (who injured his foot) stayed behind with her while Dan, Kosei, Miwa, and I made the trek down to see the blowhole.
Scary warning sign.
The hike down was pretty rocky, but we finally reached the blowhole area.
Dan was fascinated by these rock formations.
The Nakalele Blowhole
The blowhole in action. Definitely dangerous if you get too close!
Miwa and I by the heart-shaped hole near the blowhole.
It was a perfect heart! Very cute.
We had a wonderful time in West Maui, and thoroughly enjoyed all the beauty it had to offer! The next day, we’d move to our cottage in Kihei, and explore the central and Eastern part of the island during the rest of our stay.
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! 😀
