Swim time and Luau

After the rains ended, we enjoyed some playtime in the pools at the Hyatt. The kids LOVED all the pools and the two waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

We were all excited to attend our first luau- and it was at the Hyatt so we didn't have to travel too far :)

 

The view from where we had to stand in line waiting to get in to the luau.

The fire dancers were pretty phenomenal and we enjoyed learning a lot about Hawaiian history- both legend and fact.

The girls liked when the big guys stuck their tongues really far out of their mouths to scare off the enemy.

 

 

 

It was a buffet style dinner- all you can eat.  The girls all had Shirley Temples and loved the hula chicken.

Jessie decided to get onstage and hula along with the rest of the crowd.  After the show, a gust of wind came up knocking over what was left of the glasses and whatever else was still on the tables.  The tablecloths literally blew off the long tables and napkins were flying everywhere. Everyone got up and made a run for it.  It was the strongest wind we had ever felt and it was quite a chore to make our way back inside the hotel!

 

 

A hula lesson, the Hyatt and some pretty flowers

It was a cloudy and rainy day so we headed to Whaler's Village where we stumbled upon a Cultural Hula Lesson.  We learned the origins of hula, the types of drums used in "old hula" and how hula had to go underground for a long time because it was banned along with speaking the Hawaiian language while Christians were trying to convert everyone on the island to Christianity. 

 

We learned some basic hula movements and the girls really enjoyed how the movements matched the words of the song.

The hula instructor was very kind and really knowledgeable about the history of hula.  Afterwards, it was time to say goodbye to our condo (we were all a little sad) and hello to the Hyatt, where we would spent the last five days of our trip.  We were greeted at the Hyatt with fresh flower leis and little stuffed penguins and activity books for the girls. 

The room- shown nice and clean before we messed it all up with all of our stuff.

The girls loved to just walk around the hotel, looking at all the Chinese artificats from long ago and saying hello to the parrots that talked to us whenever we walked by.  There were also penguins, koi fish and an african-crowned crane named Spike who was hilarious and would show off and strut around if you yelled, "HI SPIKE" at him.

This was Luna, our favorite.  Some of his most frequently used phrases were:  "Hi Luna"  "Hola"  "Aloha"  "Pretty Bird" and "Goodbye". 

 

 

After checking out our new digs, we walked along the boardwalk and found a lot of beautiful flowers everywhere we turned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Private hula lesson at the Sheraton

Even though it was a bit rainy and a lot windy, we headed over to the Black Rocks by the Sheraton to see the sunset cliff diver.  When we arrived we found out the diving had been cancelled for the evening and we were getting ready to head back to our hotel when the sweetest Hawaiian lady who was dancing by herself up on stage called the girls and invited them up for a private hula lesson.

View of the Black Rocks from the Sheraton.

 

 

Welcoming the girls.

 

The woman had some fun hawaiian children's songs that she played while she taught the girls to hula.

 

 

 

Another girl joined in about half way through and they all had a great time.  I don't remember the woman's name but she was beautiful from the inside out and kept saying it was her honor to teach the girls to hula. Very sweet!

Rainbows, rainbows and more rainbows

The weather had been PERFECT up until this point in our trip.  The temperature fluctuated between 78-84 degrees anytime day or night.  Then came the winds.  And the rain.  And even more wind.  The islanders said it was the windiest it had been in the past six years.  We didn't mind too much though, as we all felt we needed to spend some time out of the sun for awhile, and after it rains in Maui there is always a RAINBOW.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see how windy it is by looking at the palm trees!

 

 

 

 

 

Whale Watching

It was our 16th anniversary (since we started dating) on this day, so we wanted to do something special to help celebrate.  We booked a whale watching tour through the Pacific Whale Foundation in Lahaina Harbor.  What an adventure it was!

We took the 9am cruise because we heard that would be the calmest time of day to go.  Even armed with Dramamine, poor Rian wasn't feeling too well by the end of the trip. 

 

 

 

We were told by the scientists aboard the ship that we were following a pod of five male whales that were competing over one female.  They were very frisky and aggressive- jumping up and slapping the water sideways with their tails in order to impress her!

 

 

The sight of the whales literally took our breath away.  It was one of the best and most amazing experiences of all our lives.  And I was so glad we splurged on a decent camera right before our trip!

 

 

 

 

The weather was overcast so it was the perfect day for a whale watching adventure.  On the way back to the harbor, one of the smaller whales must have been following our boat and did a full breach so close to us that we all just stood there speechless.  It was worth travelling to Hawaii just for this experience. Since the trip, I have been "gently" encouraging the girls that one of them should be a marine biologist when they grow up so they can watch whales full-time!