Video: Babymoon in Maui

This video is a little longer and slower than my usual, but at least it has a "waterfall montage"!! And don't worry about some of the dialog that's hard to hear, we didn't say anything important.

Maui Day 8: Exploration Complete

Now that we have sufficiently explored every inch of this beautiful island, it is time to head home to plan our next adventure.


Thanks to the Orens for letting us stay in your sweet condo!

Maui Day 7: Banana Nut Pancakes

Breakfast on the beach in Napili. Thanks Liz for the tip!


Mmmm... Stella.

The Best Way to Do the "Road to Hana"

Standing on the edge of a 300-foot waterfall:


The road...


1. Leave your hotel/condo by 6am.
2. Head straight for the "Seven Sacred Pools" (past Hana) stopping at 3-5 quick (just off the road) waterfalls to break up the drive.
3. Do the awesome hike up from the Seven Sacred Pools to see beautiful waterfalls, eerie bamboo forests, and even an infinity pool. It's called the Pipiwai Trail and it's one of the best hikes on Maui -- 4 miles roundtrip, takes 2 1/2 - 5 hours to hike, and ends at Waimoku Falls, a 400-foot lava rock waterfall.
4. Now you have plenty of time to head back and check out the scenic stops that you skipped along the way and you don't feel rushed. And you can laugh at all the people driving the other way in traffic who slept in. Some of the stops we enjoyed: red sand beach, black sand beach, blue pool. If you're going to Maui, you will buy the "Maui Revealed" book so I don't need to go into more detail here.

Here's the infinity pool:


Follow this and you'll be home by sunset. Don't believe everyone that tells you it's a grueling drive and you can't do it in a day. The road is nicely paved; we saw everything we wanted to and even fit in some long hikes.

(Note: The "Seven Sacred Pools" are neither seven nor sacred, but they did see an increase in visitors when they renamed it from "O'heo Gulch"--it's all in the marketing.)


If you see a sign like this one, it means you're on the right track to something cool...

Maui Day 5: Cliff Diving in the Waihe Valley

This morning we woke up to find a gecko crawling on our picture of Maui. I found it interesting enough to take a picture.











The Waihe Valley trail features some cool swinging bridges, impressive 100 year old aqueduct work, and a good waterfall at the top for cliff diving.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I think our best dinner on the Island was this place at sunset.













Fun music, great food, and a beautiful sunset.









A honeymooning couple was seated at our table for some good dinner conversation - they were in Lahaina for the evening from a cruise ship parked out front. They wished they had flown to Maui instead of sitting on a ship for 4 days to get there.

Maui Day 4: Huge Manta Ray!

Today we went snorkeling aboard the Frogman II, a 55 foot catamaran. First we went by "Turtle Town" (the various snorkel tour companies go to many different places to see turtles, but they all call the places "Turtle Town"--I guess that sounds better to tourists like us) and sure enough, we saw more turtles -- AND a 6-foot wingspan blue and white Manta Ray! One of the guys working on the ship didn't believe us at first until he went out to look for himself. Then off to Molokini crater with an amazing 180 ft visibility. We saw all of these fish and were particularly impressed with the Morrish Idols and Trumpet fish.













The two pictures above show the clarity of the Molokini water and the many fish. Unfortunately my pictures of the cool fish didn't come out that well... maybe next time. Dinner was at Leilani's on the beach, then we enjoyed the sunset on the sand, and took the "most romantic sunset stroll in Maui" along the Kaanapali beach.

Old Lahaina Luau

This is the best Luau in Maui.

This is the pig we ate at the best Luau in Maui.

This is Natalie giving tips to the best Luau performers in Maui.

Maui Day 3: Nakalele Blowhole

This is what I look like when I walk uphill:




















Today after checking out Whaler's villiage in Kaanapali, when drove north past Kapalua to the Nakalele Blowhole. The waves shoot up over 60 feet from a hole in the rock.

Maui Day 2: Attacked by a Turtle

Our first full day in Maui and we already feel like we've seen enough for a whole week. Jetlag got us up at 5:00am for a nice sunrise breakfast on our condo balcony--we even saw a few whales breaching right outside! Most of the day was spent south of Mal'alaea past Kihei at Wailea beach , Po'olenalena beach, Big beach, and down near La Perouse Bay.

Our favorite was Po'olenalena beach, hardly anyone was there and we found great snorkeling. At one point we turned our heads to find a huge turtle heading staight for us with a mean look in his eyes. After we were done freaking out I think we got a good picture with the underwater camera. His name is Earl:


Watching the whales from the balcony...

Natalie enjoying "Big Beach."

Dave on some lava rock.

We also toured the Grand Wailea. Wow. Someday we hope ride the waterslides down to one of the the poolside bars.

Baby's on the way!

Natalie's got a 13-week old little soccer player growing in her belly!!! Here's the first ultrasound at 6 weeks, the baby is .625cm tall and you can already see a heartbeat...
I know you want to see another ultrasound so here's the 2nd after a couple more centimeters of growth... And Natalie's getting huge to accommodate...











We are excited to be parents and are praying for both Natalie and the kid's health in these early weeks of pregnancy.

No, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet.