maui day 5

thursday was the day we'd looked forward to all week. we rented a car, mustang of course, and drove over the island. we chose, sadly, to stay away from the very popular, very scenic road to hana. while beautiful and natural, it's very windy and crazy. we figured that maybe my car-sickness mixed with being pregnant might not make for a very pleasant trip. we, instead, headed in the opposite direction and make our way to lahaina. the drive was gorgeous. the weather was perfect for the convertible top to be down. out one side of the car, you could see the beautiful mountain side of maui. out the other side...the ocean. the air smelled sweet and coastal. we honestly felt lucky to be alive.

the driver.

the navigator. and no...i did not nag.

a small scenic stop spot. too bad we didn't see any whales.

the car: top down. sooo nice. :)

in the center of lahaina, is a tree. a single tree that takes over an entire park. the limbs have grown out and down and rooted themselves into the ground. it was a beautiful sight.

while walking down the boardwalk, we passed a few dozen boats. anything you wanted to do on the water, could be found on this boardwalk. we happened by one boat just returning from a deep sea fishing trip. a ton of tuna and a few others. they were huge!

we were almost talked into taking a small boat out for some whale watching when she realized i was pregnant. shut down! it would've been so fun!

since we couldn't whale watch, we made up for it with some more lappert's. look at the caramel in this cup. how could that not be insanely delicious?! sorry, jenny...

we continued the drive up the coast and checked out a few more towns and scenic spots. the drive was beautiful. michael found a nice beach for some snorkeling. i watched from the beach.

on the way back down the coast, we stopped at a low-key spot for some more snorkeling. it was the perfect place. just off the highway, the water was completely calm. a long reef about 100 yards from the rocky beach helped break the waves. the water was less than 2 feet deep for about 15 yards. it then slowly makes it's way to water you can swim around in. full of reefs. they weren't incredibly colorful or stocked full of fish. but...there were fish and it was fun. however, i have discovered that i am definitely not an ocean swimmer. i was scared! i was having fun, but i kept turning around making sure a shark wasn't lurking in that cave or around that turn. i tried to just forget about it and enjoy swimming and breathing underwater. it wasn't to happen. it eventually got to be too much for my scardey-cat mind and i made my way, rather quickly, back to the rocky beach. michael finally looked up to see me sitting patiently on a rock waiting for him. he was a little disappointed that i didn't have as much fun as he did, but i think he mainly thought i was funny.

he kindly helped me pack my snorkel gear and head back down the road.

this rooster was roaming free outside our hotel when we got back.

and...another surprise was awaiting us in our room...