Before returning to what we call "Real Life"

 Tomorrow I go back to school and Monday Will and Ivy do too. Our summer's end has been fun and fast! We forgot to report on the fun gift Ivy got from Faith for her birthday. Faith gave her socks with Luna's face all over them. They were a big hit!

The day after Ivy's birthday, Bill and I went to Maui. It was so much fun as neither of us had been before! We were pleased with the VRBO that we rented. It was in in Downtown Kihei and the view from our balcony each morning was surfers. The waves were small and there was a surf school just a block away that had people out there.

The first day we rented mopeds, which was mostly fun until near the end. We tootled around Kihei and Wailea and got our bearings for what cool beaches we wanted to return to and maybe snorkel.

On of the best parts of our first day was finding Paia Fish Market just a few blocks away from where we were staying and eating the most amazing mahi mahi and shrimp tacos. (We went back the next night even though the lines were long both nights!) Afterwards we walked along the path by the beach at Kalomo Park and watched the sunset.

We ended up renting a car and first took it to beaches east of Kihei. We swam at Kamaole Beach.

Then we headed even further east to the lava fields. This was the most memorable part of the day (but Bill is the one who has pictures of it!) We hiked across the lava fields which were so cool. We both just wished we had worn sneakers instead of flip flops because we would have gotten father!

Another day we determined to drive all the way around the west side of the island. (I do not recommend it.) However, we stopped where it looked interesting to snorkel, which turned out to be super fun. Our first stop was Wahikuli Wayside Park in Kaanapali. There wasn't really anyone out, so we had it to ourselves and saw some cool fish and swam for a bit with a sea turtle. A great start to the day!

Our next stop at Naapili was spectacular. There were reefs so close to shore and snorkeling was like getting a bird's-eye view of the movie "Finding Nemo." As I was swimming to shore, about 15 feet from shore I saw a perfect indentation of a manta ray in the sand under the water. I must have missed it by seconds!

Lots of our selfies look like we are trying to figure out smartphones and the selfie process. I think they're kinda funny.

Next we stopped at DT Flemming park for lunch. We just packed lunches each day so we wouldn't be searching for places to eat and we could just hike and swim. I thought it was one of our better decisions. We didn't snorkel, but we did have lunch and small nap on the beach :) The most incredible part was the this park was next door to Dragon Tooth Ridge in Kapalua. We could see it from the beach we were on and decided to hike over to check it out. It was dramatic and awesome!

I didn't get actual pictures of the "dragon's teeth", but you can Google it if interested :) On the north side of the point the waters were rough and there were sea turtles near the rocks cleaning their shells. We saw at least a handful of them.

On the south side of the point the waters were mild and protected in a bay where the water was turquoise and people were cliff jumping. We couldn't resist. The waters were so clear and beautiful! We jumped in too.

One of the days we took a snorkel tour that was pretty fun, but plenty crowded. We went to Molokini (where Bill found a puka shell necklace for me at the bottom of the reef!) and to "Turtle Town" where we did see turtles, but not as many as the day before.

One of the things about the islands that I forget are all the animals hanging out everywhere and not penned up. We saw goats at the lava fields and there were chickens everywhere. These ones below were in the parking lot of Queen Ka'ahumana mall in Kahului. Crazy!

Ivy and Will did great without us. Will worked a lot and Ivy spent some time with friends and did chores. (I left a list for them)

Last night we went to an unofficial pole vault meet. It was a beautiful night for a meet. We have had real monsoons this year with clouds and rain almost daily. The sunset was amazing and it was fun to watch Will jump.

Will's best pole vaulting friends are girls since Michael left. Brynn is to his left and Kiera is stretching to Brynn's left. Coach Gravo is in the black shirt waiting for a pole vaulter.