The Boys Are Back In Town

I’ve been meaning to post more pictures of our Hawaii trip, but my boys are back and my head has been just with them. Add getting ready to launch a new product at work and a few business trips to the equation and you’ve got me running around like my head’s been chopped off. Needless to day, it’s been a busy couple of weeks.

Most important thing is that my boys are home and I’m very happy. They are still adorable as ever, maybe even more so now with their new haircuts courtesy of a professional barber who can do more than just a short buzz. Michael is very fond of his haircut. He even took to styling it when he was at my mom’s house. Here’s a conversation recounted to me by my mom.

Michael went into the bathroom and was in there for a little while apparently styling his hair. When he came out, he went over to my dad.

Michael: Gong-gong, how does it look?

Gong-gong: Oh, it’s looks good.

Michael: Remind to comb my hair tomorrow.

Should I be more concerned that he needs to be reminded to comb his hair or that he's taking more time to do his hair than me?

The Road to Hana

The day after we went on our bike excursion, M and I decided to drive around on the island along the Hana Highway or “The Road to Hana.” A-MAZE-ING. The road itself is pretty terrifying especially past Hana. It was full of tight turns hugging the edge STEEP cliffs. There was a long stretch where it was unpaved and so narrow that when we met oncoming traffic, we had to pull over into the bushes to let the cars pass. But the views and stops along the way made the drive worth it.

Our 1st stop along the Hana Hwy. was called Twin Falls where we huffed and puffed up a hill for about a mile. Then it was off to a couple more waterfalls and lookouts. The best stop was at Seven Sacred Pools.

When you see the place, you can understand how it got the name. Imagine a fountain with 7 levels of pools, with the higher pools flowing into the lower pools creating cascades at each level. Them at the lowest of the pool, the cascade flows into the big, wide ocean. It was, let’s say it together, amazing. We took a little dip and watched people cliff dive. We only lasted a little while because the water was cold.

The trip took us pretty much the whole day. With all the hiking and the walking, we were satisfyingly exhausted, which is better than unsatisfyingly exhausted, I guess. Well, it made me feel less guilty about all the food we ate at the very least.

Here we are in front of Twin Falls

The view from 1 of the lookouts we stopped at on the way to Hana

Another lookout picture

One of the pools at the Seven Sacred Pools

Pure Joy

My waterbabies in Santa Cruz.

Home of the Sun

We are back from beautiful Maui! Even though M and I had an amazing time there, it’s always nice to come home. I do miss the nice weather, the awesome scenery and the lounging around. So many things to write about that I don’t know where to start!

We stayed in Wailea for the first for 4 days and had a room with an awesome view of the ocean. Our 1st excursion was biking down Mt. Haleakela. We were driven up to the summit of Mt. Haleakela and saw the volcanic crater with the ancient lava flow. We were up about 10,000 ft. and with the cloud cover below, it felt like we were walking in the sky. No wonder they call this place “Home of the Sun.”

After our time on the summit, we were driven down to about 6,000 ft. and were given bikes to ride down back to the bike shop. It was such a thrilling experience to zip down the mountain, navigating the hairpin curves and stopping at different points during the ride to look at the breathtaking ocean view.

M did such a great job making sure we didn't get run over by passing cars! I was very proud of myself for taking on this challenge. Something I would not have done if I didn't have M with me to keep me safe. It was one of the most unforgetable experiences I've had.

View off the balcony of our room.

Up near the top of Mt. Haleakela. This site is supposedly where the ancient Hawaiians sacrificed the virgins to the gods.

View down into the crater

You can see the ancient lava flow in this picture. It's the darker shade of gray behind M.

This is a Silversword plant (not yet flowered). It used to grow all over Mt. Haleakela, but was almost extinct because wild goats ate them up. It's now being protected and is slowly making a comeback. It only flowers once in its lifetime and the blooms can last from 10 to 30 years. It really is silver. The picture does not do it justice.

Tough Life

Before M flew to CA to drop the boys off, he asked me if I was excited to go to Hawaii. At the time, I was dreading the day that I would have to say good-bye to my babies, and I was not looking forward to buttoning things up at work before taking time off so I sullenly said “No, I’m not.”

He said something to the effect of “Oh no. What a tragedy. You get to go to Hawaii on vacation for 10 days. Life is so hard.”

I’m not certain, but I think he was being sarcastic.