The TRIP - Day 16

June 28

One evening Outside Our Condo

We got up and did most of our packing and went to church "on the beach." It wasn't actually on the beach, but on the out door seating area of a restaurant. However, you could sort of see the beach from the place that we were at.
It was interesting; here was a group of maybe 40 people singing hymns, praying and listening to a sermon, while at the same time people walked by and were oblivious to the worship of the One who created all that they were seeing and enjoying.
Afterward, we had brunch at McDonald's and then went back and layed out on the beach for awhile.
We finished packing, checked out, and went to the airport  for our trip home.

Goodbye
 

The trip was long and uneventful.
We got back to Indy and said our goodbyes to Larry and Wanda.
We were home; the TRIP was over.

The TRIP - Day 15

June 27

Today, we got up and went to a public park - Honolua Bay. It was about 15 minutes from where we were staying. Gloria had read in her guide book that it had the best snorkeling. The park bordered a highway, and there was no parking lot. Everyone parked along side of the road - we did too. It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach through some woods. The beach was mostly rocks; so, there were only a few places to sit very comfortably.

 Honolua Bay

The snorkeling was the best that we had. All kinds of fish. We saw another eel. We also saw an enormous school of fish. The fish were swimming in a huge circle just sweeping along back and forth. The fish were about 8 to 12 inches in length. Every now and then another fish would spook them and they would scatter like fire works. But, very quickly, they would regroup. We watched them for at least 15 minutes. It was the best thing that I've seen while snorkeling.
There were some biologist there with some books who helped us identify the fish that we saw. And, the best of all, all of it was free.

 Two Snorkelers in Honolua Bay

After we left there, we went to Napili Beach. It was about 10 minutes from our condo. It was the best beach that we visited on Maui. It was too bad that we found the Bay and Beach so late in our stay.

 Napili Beach

After we returned to the condo and cleaned up, we went to Moma's Fish House for dinner. Gloria and I went there 15 years before on our first visit. It was still very good.
Tomorrow, we leave our paradise.

Outside Mama's Fish House

Enjoying the Beach after Dinner

The Trip - Day 14

June 26

Larry and Wanda did the bicycle downhill today, while Gloria and I did the road to Hana.
This was enjoyable for about an hour and a half. It was scenic but slow, ~20 mph with hair pin turns and one way bridges.
There were many water falls that we stopped at. 

 Gloria and I at Ching's Pond

We stopped at Pi'lanihale Kahanu Gardens which had a ancient temple which reminded me of the pagan temples that I learned about in a video study called That The World May Know by Ray Vander Laan.

 The Ancient Temple

 

Unfortunately, we couldn't stop at many spots because they only took cash and we hadn't brought much.
However, we passed more water falls of which we stopped at several. I convinced Gloria that once you saw two falls, you saw them all.
The road to Hana took several hours at 20 mph with all theturns.
When we got there, there was NOTHING! We found a hotel to eat, and started back.
We had a choice to go back the way we came or continue on around the island. We chose to continue. We knew, from the travel guide, that the road got very rough and very narrow. It did! However, the worst parts of the road had been patched over many times. Probably, the last time was about 30 years ago; in some places, the road was gravel..
The road did indeed narrow in some places to about 1.5 lanes - total. We did have to pull over several times to let on coming traffic get by. It took several hours at 20 mph to get back.
After picking up Larry and Wanda from their bike trip, which they enjoyed, we went back to our condo to freshen up for supper.

 Larry and Wanda during Their  Bike Ride

 One of the Sites that Larry and Wanda saw after the Bike Ride

 

We did take out at Okazuza World of Flavors.

The Trip - Day 13

June 25

In the morning, Wanda, Gloria, and I went snorkeling off the beach outside our condo while Larry rested on the beach.

Three Snorkelers and Toes

Later, Larry and Wanda hung out while Gloria and I went to the aquarium. It was very nice. The entire aquarium is powered by wind.

The Maui Aquarium

Afterward, Gloria and I went up the coast to watch the wind surfers, and after that, we went to a fish market to pick up a fillet for supper. 

 Wind Surfers

 

After supper, we went out for ice cream.

The TRIP - Day 12

June 24

Today, Larry and Wanda went golfing; while Gloria and I went exploring.

The first place that we went was a garden. We saw lots of tropical plants and some interesting wild life.

 Some of the Tropical Plants

 

They had free range chickens, which I have been told are the best eating. Unfortunately, we didn't get to taste any. I also saw a beautiful dragonfly. I tried to capture it on pixels (e.g. not film), but it was too fast, and it didn't stay in one place long enough for me to snap a picture.

We also went to Aio Needle state park. Aio Needle is a very steep, and very high mountain where the final battle was fought that unified the Hawaiian tribes.

 Gloria at Aio Needle State Park with Aio Needle

in the Background

After we went back and picked up Larry and Wanda, we rested and had spaghetti for supper.