Day 1 - South Maui

Our first morning in Maui we all woke up quite early due to the time difference.  I kept hearing noise and had a difficult time trying to get back to sleep.  I decided it would be a bright idea to walk down to the beach and enjoy the wee hours before Mr. Sun decided to wake everything up.  It was quiet, aside from a few birds and not a single soul could be seen up and down the coast from where I was.  I noticed the Pacific Ocean wasn't nearly as fishy smelling as it is back home.  So I had to taste it; not as salty either, I wondered why.  If I wanted to know the answer I would have consulted the all knowing Internet.... but I just wanted to enjoy the morning, sitting alone, contemplating life and watching the water.

I was soon joined by the rest of my family.  They decided to go for a walk down the beach and take pictures.  I went back into the condo to prepare for the day.  I whipped up breakfast and some snacks for the day.  My mom and aunt wanted to go to church that day so we thought to stick close to where we were and the church was located.  For the day we explored South Maui, from the top of Kihei where we were staying all the way down towards Makena Bay.  It was good we took our first day slow and easy to enjoy the relaxing sights and get mom and my aunt used to the change.  They are both coffee drinkers not water drinkers, they probably thought my sister and I were annoying them reminding them to drink water.  It was warm and I didn't need anyone having heat issues or dehydration issues.

Kalama skatepark in Kihei.

While my mom and aunt went to church, my sister and I took the opportunity to write out post cards, have some beer and enjoy the scenery.  Shortly before we were due to pick up our mom and aunt we decided to drive around to see what Sunday had to offer.  As luck would have it, a craft fair was right around the way from church.  My mom and aunt are suckers for swap meets and craft fairs so we took them after church. They had a great time checking out the local crafts and my sister gifted me a neat glass blown necklace (thanks Sylvia). Since we were up before the birds and had to start our next day early (Road to Hana), we headed back to the condo so I could try my hand at the BBQ, in my lifetime BBQ has always involved oak wood... not propane.  It was a challenge figuring out how to work it but once it was on, it's much easier than cooking over oak.

Rooftop BBQ with Haleakala off in the distance.

There was an older chap upstairs with a bunch of his buddies asking how often we visit Maui.  I told him it was our first time and he mentioned that he and his buddies always stay at the same condos and they have only seen the top of Haleakala from the rooftop twice.  I felt pretty excited that I got to see it and after the first rooftop BBQ, it was the last time I saw the top of Haleakala.  At least until I was actually standing on Haleakala (more on that later).

My family got to enjoy the sunset in Maui from the roof of our condo before going downstairs to enjoy a delicious dinner. 

This is the view right out on the lanai that we got to enjoy every night and every morning while we stayed in Maui.  Sometimes it was darker than other times.  Sometimes we weren't there to actually catch the sunset.  Other times a fist sized frog would hop across the grass and scare the crap out of my aunt.  I really wish I had caught one, just to mess with her... but she knows where I sleep @_@