Sadly, all good vacations must come to an end. Today marked our final day on Maui. With check-out at 11 a.m. and our flight at 10 p.m., we had one more day to pack in the fun. We started off with a final beach excursion to Oneloa Bay since it was only a short walk from our condo. The morning was windy & a little chilly, so we spent less time in the water and more time exploring the lava rocks on the beach. We scouted out the rock formations and discovered that tiny hermit crabs and little fish lived in the pools of water in the rocks.
Exploring the lava rocks.
This is a video of the boys on the beach.
You may want to turn down the volume
as the wind gets a little loud.
It's a rare day when you can say you've driven from sea level to 10,000 feet! After we left the condo, we drove more inland on Maui to Haleakala National Park. This massive shield volcano forms more than 75% of the island of Maui. We had hoped to see the large volcanic crater at the top, but unfortunately, thick clouds prevented those views. It was still quite the experience to see the different ecosystems as the elevation changed.
The boys loved that we were above the clouds!
Scott, Papa, Luke & Reid hiked to the top.
The Chauffeur
View of the ocean on the drive down Haleakala.
After being along the coast most of the trip,
it was amazing to get a different perspective
of Maui from high above.
Next stop: Alii Kula Lavender Farm. This was a beautiful garden of a variety of plants. We took a walking tour of the grounds.
Look closely and you'll see someone perched in the tree...
Lavender fields in the middle on the left.
Ocean in the background.
Next stop: Tedeschi Vineyards. We took a 15 minute drive further down the road to Maui's winery. It is nestled in a very agricultural region of the island known as the Upcountry, which sits high upon the hill overlooking the rest of Maui. Lush green fields, roaming cattle, and little fences made of stacked lava rocks made this drive a great finale to our island adventure since it was so very different than our days on the coastline. We stopped at the vineyard's Tasting Room where we sampled the Maui Splash pineapple & passion fruit white wine, the Ulupalakua Red blending merlot & syrah, and the Maui Blanc pineapple wine. All delicious!
The boys enjoyed playing on this big tree
outside the winery!
The Tedeschi Vineyard Tasting Room
Our Whole Crew
With only a few hours left until we had to catch our flight, we returned back closer to the airport and grabbed one final meal based on a recommendation by the vineyard staff ... to go to a restaurant called Da Kitchen. It's a favorite among the locals and serves some great traditional Hawaiian fare!
After that, we returned the rental car & made our way through the airport. When our flight departed at 10 p.m., we were sad to be leaving such a fantastic vacation but had happy hearts with all the memories we shared and experiences to remember! Mahalo (thank you), Maui, for the trip of a lifetime. We hope to see you again some day!
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