A last minute decision to go to Maui resulted in a little change in our typical itinerary. We could not get into either place we typically stay in and had to venture out to a new place. Ended up staying at a condo at the Kapalua Bay Villas. The condo itself was pretty dated on many levels, but the location, size, and view were amazing. Main living was downstairs with a sofa bed, dining table and chairs for four, a kitchen, and shower bathroom. The upstairs had an incredible master bedroom, laundry closet, small lanai, and large bathroom. It also had this incredible view from our bed….
After dinner the first night, we cam across this large praying mantis. ‘R’ asked it they bite, and I said ‘no’, and picked him up. After placing him/her back down, ‘R’ picked it up, and as I was getting ready to take a picture, it opened its mouth and BIT ‘R’! It did not hurt much, and we had a good laugh over it. I felt bad, though, that I gave wrong information.
This was the lovely view I got to enjoy all by myself on an early morning run…
Overlooking Kapalua bay…
After church, we met up with our snowbird friends, Jeff and MC. They spend Jan-Mar at the property we typically stay at (Napili Shores) and go to the same church we go to when we are there (Kumulani Chapel). We became friends with them when the boys were little ones. But, we have not seen them for about six or seven years because our Maui travel has not been over the months they are there. It was wonderful to get caught up with them and have them see how the kids have grown.
After breakfast, while the adults sat and talked, ‘A’ and ‘R’ went to play on the (Napili) beach. When we met up with them, we discovered they were making a treasure map, and this spot was ‘x’ marks the spot. They buried a piece of coral as the treasure…
Walking back to Jeff and MC’s place, we saw a palm tree had been transformed into a Tiki Totem…
I have a thing for koi. The colors, textures, and how they interact with water, and each other, is beautiful…
Our focus for this trip was relaxation, restoration, and refueling. It was a hard year for us in 2013 and we wanted to begin 2014 in a good way. We did not do hardly anything other than read, watch movies, or listen to podcasts in the morning, then snorkel, swim, or bodysurf in the afternoon.
However, one very special thing we did do was to take the boys to see The Beach Boys in concert! They were celebrating their 50 year anniversary. How could we not miss this! The group had two of the original members, and everyone else has been with them for many years. They also had a special guest star of John Stamos (Uncle Jesse from ‘Full House’) who played with them the whole concert, and the last song prior to the encore, they had Willie Nelson’s son do a guitar solo…it was an amazing, bucket-list, night…
This is a picture of the church we attend while on Maui. It’s actually a two walled shed (they call it “The Barn”), and is located on the Kapalua golf course. The first week we were here, this area was very full, with a big golf tournament of champions. But, the next week was nice and quiet. 
This is not the largest snail I have seen on the island, but its still pretty big…
We bought ‘A’ a Go Pro camera for Christmas. He enjoyed taking underwater video and other action shots. I wrote this on his knee. He was so tickled by it, he asked that I take a picture…
We have another set of friends that live on the island full time. They are the parents of my brother in laws girlfriend. We try to see them every time we are over. This time we met at Kobe Steakhouse for a fun night out!
Cowboy and David…
Carol and me…
After dinner, we were in the parking lot that had a breadfruit tree. There was a breadfruit on the ground and the boys wanted to open it. They tried everything. Finally, Cowboy stepped in and used a sign as an ‘axe’ to chop it open.
Hiding the breadfruit under his hat…
Aloha Maui. Until next time…
