We flew Alaska. It was a little disappointing - no screen behind the seat and the seats were a little tighter than other flights.
MAui!!!!!
Lodgings
A few years ago I spent our entire trip staying at my daughter's house. Last year I rented a car and stayed the first week at the resort. This year was entirely at the resort.
Aiden's mom joined us on this trip but stayed mostly with MIssy (my daughter), so you will see some pictures with her in them.
We stayed in the same resort as last time - I highly recommend the Aston Ka'anapali Shores. They even gave us special gifts and discounts for returning.
Highlights
Hike
Pete, Aiden, and myself went on a little hike near Kapalua.
It was warm out --- a bit of uphill. 4 miles, 2 hours. We saw some interesting things... like what I can only call, 'rooster ducks'.
Diving
Aiden went on a Molokini Crater dive from a boat. I went on a night dive from Lanai shore.
Aiden isn't into taking a lot of pics, so I took some of Molokini Crater from the shore and of the boats they were on. For my night dive, I didn't get a lot of of pics, but there is a video on my YouTube channel.
Windsurfing
Last year we tried surfing (I say 'tried' because I was definitely NOT a natural!). This year we took a windsurfing lesson.
Of course it is hard for me to get a lot of pics while trying to balance on the ocean. Should be a vid on the YouTube soon as well.
Kula Botanical Gardens
Me, Aiden, and Sarah (Aiden's mom) spent the day heading up Haleakala. Our first activity - the Kula Botanical Gardens
Haleakala
Haleakala is the volcano that pushes Maui up above the surface. Over 10,000ft up and you can drive to the top. It was cloudy, so our view was mostly of clouds. Looked like we were looking out an airplane window.
The observatory at the top tracks a lot of near Earth objects and monitors half the planet's exposure to collision threats from space.
Snorkeling
I spent EVERY morning in the ocean. Swimming, snorkeling, and taunting the live video feed.
The live video feed camera was just a quarter mile up the coast from my hotel.
I will have a lot of snorkeling videos on our YouTube channel. Will link them in here soon.
Family Time
My vacation would not have been complete without family time. We spent less time together this year - the school year had already started and everyone was busy. Most of the pics I have included are of the mansion the kids were staying in while we were there. The place was amazing.
I didn't see any while I was there, but this seems like the coolest thing ever. A spider with a smiley face tatoo on it's bumb!!!
