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.

Story of a "Lost Boy"

Last night I had the honor of meeting Micheal, one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, who came to speak at our Bible study. His incredible story reminded me once again that I have nothing to complain about. Here's a short synopsis of his account of the genocide in Sudan:

In the mid-1980's when the Muslim government was killing the Christians in southern Sudan, Micheal's friends and family knew they would soon have a choice--covert to Islam or die. His village would choose death...

One evening in 1987 Micheal was playing with the other boys his age (5-7yrs) outside the village when they heard gunshots back home. The elders had taught the kids that when the government came to kill them, they were to run and never get captured--so they ran. They traveled by foot for 1000 miles, meeting up with thousands of other kids along the way. Many of them were caught and killed by the Muslims, many were killed by wild animals and disease, while others died of starvation and dehydration.
30,000 kids ended up in Ethiopia where they were held in refugee camps, but still without food, running water, or medical attention. After 4 years there, their numbers had dwindled to under 10,000--then war broke out in Ethiopia. Once again, Micheal was on the move; after a dangerous river crossing where many of his friends were eaten by crocodiles or shot, he walked 1000 miles south into Kenya, where he found another refugee camp and was able to eat one small meal a day. He said all of the kids were begging the U.N. workers at this camp for education, and they finally got it. For 10 years he lived there; he'd get up, go to the church service, go the school, eat one meal, and go to bed.

He lived that way until 2001 when 3800 lost boys were brought to the United States. He went to Atlanta, then Wisconsin where he got his GED and majored in International Studies in college. He is very grateful to the US for bringing him in for a better life. Amazingly he still keeps in touch with 90% of the 3800 lost boys, and he's not sure how old he is (his mom said he was born in 1982, the U.N. says he was born in 1980--all the lost boys celebrate their b-day on Jan 1st).

Regarding the current conflict:
Micheal said that the Muslim government misled the people of Darfur in the 80's by promising them that they would go to heaven if they killed Christians. The government even went so far as to give them keys around their neck that would "open the door to their house in heaven." The people of Darfur were the ones who killed Micheal's friends and family, and destroyed their way of life. But Micheal forgives the people of Darfur, he knows they were misled, and now he seeks to save them from the current genocide as the Muslim government turns on the people of Darfur.

Q&A (paraphrased):
Q: What are the best ways to help?
A: 1. Pray 2. Encourage the church leaders in Sudan 3. Support for food, water, transportation, and education.
Q: How did you make it?
A: God protected and saved me, there is no other way I could have lived. I think it is for some reason that he kept me alive, maybe to speak with you tonight. I also knew that Jesus understood my suffering, because he also suffered.
Q: How did you deal with all the death and atrocities you witnessed?
A: Our life here is short, we will be in heaven soon.

If you want to read more about the history, here's a good short summary.