Let's just pretend....

From Karin:

For the sake of allowing me to still call myself a blogger, let's just pretend we're still in Hawaii.  Yes, we're back home in Milton, but I find I'm a much happier person if I intermittently pretend that I'm still sitting at my desk in our lovely house in Haiku, blogging away, a trusty Corona by my side.  It's been a slow adjustment (to say the least) back to the realities of life at Milton, in the dorm while figuring out how to worry about people other than my husband and 2 boys.  I think that has been the greatest gift of this entire sabbatical: we were given the opportunity and permission to be completely selfish.  For most of our trip, we only had to worry about the four of us and what we were going to do, eat, read, etc.  Coming from a place as hectic as Milton where our life is dedicated to teaching, coaching and caring for kids...lots of kids... it's nice to be given the chance to just think about your own, immediate family.  It was time we needed and time we deserved, as we transitioned into a family of four and focused on doing, and being, just that.  I can't imagine a better place to have done so and I would have to say we did it well. 

So, enough of that...let me fill you in on our last 2 weeks in Maui.  By the middle of May, the tradewinds along the North shore became our constant companion, making trips to our local beach very difficult.  By 9 am, the water was already choppy and by 11 am our skin was being sandblasted as flying sand whipped down the length of Baby Beach.  In fact, the topography of the beach changed dramatically in a very short period of time, as major quantities of sand were relocated away from the shoreline and deposited further up the beach close to where I was trying to hide out with Carter!  We tried to make a go of it two times before I decided that my beach days with Carter were over.  Finding sand in every one of your infant's crevices does not make you feel like you've made the proper parenting decisions.

Enter Wailea.  This little slice of heaven in south Maui was about 40 minutes from our house and a world away in terms of beach conditions.  Sunny, breezy and absolutely delightful with sand as fine as powder, great small waves for boogie boarding and oodles of friendly and curious green sea turtles.  We spent our first day at Wailea Beach which is a public beach that abuts the beach directly in front of The Four Seasons.  We found a lovely shady spot and spent hours relaxing, splashing, riding, dozing and building.  With a stop on the way home for ice cream, we quickly deemed it the perfect day.  (And then lamented that we hadn't found such paradise sooner.)  Two days later we were back to find Secret Beach, a widely photographed beach popular with the locals and mainlander brides looking for the perfect location for a Maui beach wedding.  In many ways, it's even better than Wailea Beach because it is more remote and more rustic.  Getting there required hiking over some lava rocks, but this was also the perfect vantage point to stand and watch the turtles who come to this rocky outcropping to feed and play in the surf.  More shade, great waves for Davis and a cool cave to explore once you got past the nudists who also inhabit the far end of this beach.  Our last day in Wailea was spent again on Secret Beach, followed by a drive to the southern most tip of the island, through the town of Makena and into an area of new, barren land created by the most recent lava flow around 1790.  By the time we reached La Perouse Bay, which is the end of the line, we had driven every possible mile of road around the perimeter of the entire island.  What a feat!  The land here is barren, crumbled a'a lava, wind whipped and striking black against choppy, aquamarine waters.  A refuge for dolphins, it has some great places to kayak and hike.  All in all, we have decided that this entire section of the island will be THE place to return to when we have more time back in Maui.  (Notice how I said when, not if.)

Wailea Beach.  Umbrellas, lounges and toys for resort guests only.  Well, excusez moi.

Secret Beach.  Look for a larger, better, framed version of this picture the next time you come to visit us in Milton.

My little hideaway.  It's amazing I got any tan at all, as this was my beach life with Carter.

Heading down to check out the cave (while trying to avoid the boobies and the hineys.)  Too many questions from a four year old when people are naked in public.

Perfecting his surfing technique.

Even when in the shade, one still needs the proper beach attire.

Watching the turtles from the rocks.  Try as I might, they are impossible to photograph.

On the way to Makena, a view of the beach through a break in the rock wall that protects it.

In the center of the photo, the cinder cone that erupted to create acres and acres of new land.  The heights of Haleakala are in the background.

Davis in the barren lava field.