Hawaiian Family Vacation Day 1

I’m not sure there is a “great” way to get from the Midwest, U.S. to Hawaii. But I’m thankful my kids are good little travelers. I think the excitement of knowing you’re headed to paradise outweighs any need to be whiney or crabby after being up since 3:00 in the morning.

When we finally got to our destination, we picked up our Turo ride (first-timers) and took the half-hour drive to our condo in Kihei, Maui. We found a lovely two bedroom, two bathroom condo with a shared pool that was within walking distance to the Kamaole Beach Park III, a quant little beach park with showers and bathrooms and a gorgeous beach.

We of course had to check the beach out first. There were a few homeless people living at the park, but they were super friendly, and not in the “Can you spare some money?” kind of way. They wished us Aloha with a smile and went about their business. I was almost jealous of them. I’m sure there are tough times in their life, but to be in paradise, with a shower and bathroom and beach right there and no commitments or places to be, their life seemed desirably simple.

To the left of us were some pointy black lava rocks with some tidepools and to the right was a long sandy beach that lead to a large grassy opening where people were playing frisbee and enjoying the beautiful day. Just before the trail to the grassy area, someone had carved an amazing sand sculpture with an octopus and whale. In the distance we could see plums of mist shooting up from the water, Humpback Whales were in the area and we saw a lot of them from afar. We were all starving, so we went for a short walk to Coconuts Fish House for some food and drinks. We took advantage of their happy hour and got some coconut shrimp, a Mahi-Mahi fish & chips basket, and some fish tacos. Mattix said they were the best fries he has ever had. We all thought everything was delicious.

Once done eating, we shopped for a bit. The rest of the fam looked at potential souvenirs while I tried to decide if the amount I would need to pay for a few beers was worthwhile. A 12 pack of Whiteclaws was around $35! I settled on a 12 pack of Rolling Rock for $13.99.

After our early dinner, we checked out the condo’s community pool for a bit. It was a bit chilly, but felt good after walking along the beach and streets all afternoon. If you follow my other posts, you know, we try to catch the sunset every night while on vacation and made it a point to do so that night. We caught a beautiful golden sunset, and watched the whales in the distance before heading back to our condo for some much needed rest.