Hawaii 2025 (Part 2)

Here was the first part of this post, and here's a small post with pics and videos from us learning to surf in Hawaii.

Picking up where I left off in Here was the my last Hawaii post... we were headed out for another big day - our biggest day of the trip. We got up early to head down the "Road to Hana" along the north and east side of Maui. It's a famously beautiful and treacherous drive that winds along many cliffs with 59 single-lane bridges. It's a slow drive with lots to explore.

Selfie early on!










I think this stop was just after getting some amazing banana bread!


Mom and Dad!


Stopped at an arboretum a few miles down the road.


Bree with some rainbow eucalyptus trees!


My family with the rainbow eucalyptus trees.


Half way there!




Some sort of delicious mango juice!


Lots of waterfalls to see at every bend (quick photo my wife snapped as driving).


Spent an hour at Black Beach at Waiʻānapanapa State Park.


My boys in a mini cave.


Waves crashing into the cave.


Selfie in the cave.


Climbing up the cave.




Ian and Henry.




These next few pics are from my wife as she and Charlie hiked down the beach farther.








Charlie on a lone portion of beach.


Some lizards at a "food truck park" down the road.


My lunch!!


Some of the gang outside of a bunch of food trucks.

At that point, my Mom was getting over a cold, my Dad didn't care for the winding roads, and my niece was a bit carsick, so Dave drove them back. The rest of us kept going a bit farther:

Stopping at Hamoa Beach.




I found a swing. :)


Lots of waterfalls along our drive.


We entered the other side of Haleakala National Park.


Part of the Seven Sacred Pools and Pipiwai Trail.






We all did a nice hike here.










A huge banyan tree!












Across this foot bridge was...


... an entrance to a surreal bamboo forest!


This was amazing, and pictures don't do it justice.






Back on the bridge with the bamboo forest behind us.


Back near the car post-hike. My wife is a cute hiker.

We were racing the fading daylight to get off the Road to Hana. And we didn't make it. It was dark by the time we got off the road, and then we still had a decent drive back to our hotel. (And we were stuck for 90 minutes or so behind a car that didn't turn on their lights, so they STOPPED at every curve in the road - some locals flew past them, but most of us weren't about to do that in our rental cars on those skinny roads!) But we still stopped for a few more adventures along the way:

Mango pits littering the road!


We stopped at this waterfall for a dip...


... we got DAMP.


It was ROARING.




A stop at a farm stand for fresh mangos!


Charlie's best buddy.




We called our hotel ahead of time to have room service drop off supper, because it was LATE.


My sister cutting up the fresh mango.


Exploring along the beach the next morning.






We snuck away to spend FIVE MINUTES in the "adults only" pool.
















Nachos as a snack.


Dressed up for a luau! On my mom's bucket list!


Waiting outside of the Old Lahaina Luau.


Family pic at the luau!


Mom and Dad with the grandkids.








The meal was multiple courses served sort of "family style."










The show started as the sun was setting.










This was on the beach after they had all the couples slow dance together.


Final good-byes!


Our lobby looked cool lit up at night.


During some snorkeling down the beach the next morning.






A big sea turtle swam right past us!


Charlie and the turtle!


Some underwater pics of the fish out there...






Back in the arcade. Just a lazy day around the beach and hotel.


We always took the best profile photos.




Two sea turtles on a little beach that was ONLY for sea turtles.


The boys and the turtles.




The boys playing chess.








Some early morning intervals along the road outside of our hotel.


The road back to our hotel had the most amazing trees and lights.


We drove to a remote lava field on our final morning there.


Nothing was "active" - we just hiked through the lava rock.












Henry and I did a little snorkeling out there.






Heading back.




Driving back.




I beat a Predator game as it was free, so I kept spamming new lifes.


Some final pool-side time!

I think most of us loved the slow speed of Maui over the city vibe of Honolulu, but both were fun. We all enjoyed the history of Pearl Harbor. I would have loved to spend more time hiking on Haleakala after the sunrise excursion in part 1 of our Hawaii trip, but I'm super happy Sarah and I stuck around for our hike in the clouds. Likewise, I could have spent more time on the Road to Hana - maybe starting a few hours earlier to spend a bit more time making mini-stops on the road, and then have more time on the far side of Haleakala National Park to do more hikes as well. And the luau was a blast too. So besides doing MORE of what we did, there's not much I would have changed! It was a great trip. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Again, here's some pics and a video of us learning to surf, and here's part 1 of our Hawaii trip.