Maui, Day 4 (December 29, 2025)

 On our way to Haleakala National Park, we walked on the nature trail in Hosmer Grove. We looked for 'amakihi, a common, vibrant yellow-green honeycreeper. We saw one of the little yellow birds on our way into the forest but not through the telescope. The experimental grove of non-native trees such as pine, spruce, cedar, and eucalyptus was developed in 1909 by Ralph Hosmer. His plan for timber farming in Hawaii didn't work out. Only 20 of the 86 species introduced there survived.

We saw a nene, the Hawaii state bird. The medium-sized goose, endemic to Hawaii, is endangered. 

Maui, end of Day 3 (December 28, 2025)

What better way to end a perfect day than with an open-bar plus dinner and possible whale spotting sunset cruise from Ka'anapali Beach? Thanks, Ryder! We waded about 20 feet from the shore to climb a ladder onto the Trilogy III.
 

Sisters taking in Maui

Papa and Brandy let the tequila sunrises and margaritas begin! 

The sister boat like ours

Headed back. We saw whales in the distance, but not up close. 

Time for a swim! I love the way this photo depicts the changing moment in parenthood when the child still needs Mama (to hold his shoes) but is moving away on his own, and his footprints are disappearing.

Sunset over the Pacific near Black Rock on Ka'anapali Beach, looking toward the islands of Lana'i and Moloka'i west of the beach.

Maui, more Day 3 (December 28, 2025)

We explored the Olivine Pools, so named for the semi-precious olivine encrusted in the surrounding lava and sandstone. See the tiny people in the pool? It was quite a scramble down from the road. As the tide rose, splashes from the ocean created little waterfalls over the rocks.

Mya, Piper, and I work our way down the sometimes slippery trail. I think this is to the Olivine Pools but it might be the trail to the blowhole. Both trails are steep and rocky.

Two markers on the way down warned us about rogue waves that washed people out to sea in 2017 and 2018. 

Ryder and the kids explore the rocks surrounding the three pools.
 
 

Maui, first part of Day 3 (December 28, 2025)

The Nakalele Blowhole, as described in the Maui Revealed guidebook, is like "a jet engine roaring into the sky." The man-sized hole is in a lava shelf undercut by incoming surf that blasts through the hole. Don't lean over it! Someone was sucked through it and swept out to sea in 2011!

Mya, Brandy, Ryder, and River wait for the next 100-foot explosion. We had to scramble down about a 200-foot trail from the road above, over a lot of rock, to reach the blowhole.

Mya and Piper stood close enough to be covered in spray.

Ryder and Brandy at the Nakalele Blowhole

Maui, first part of Day 2 (December 27, 2025)

 We started the day shopping for floaties and noodles.  Not $22 each at the resort shop, but around $4 each for the identical items at a store down the road! Piper's catching some sun after snorkeling.

The bay is sheltered from pounding surf. But the coral reefs can skin your knees!

River's almost ready. The water was cold at first!

Brandy and Tom relaxed on the beach. Brandy eventually rode her floatie out to see the Hawaiian green turtle. It poked it's head up right in front of Ryder's face!

Papa, Mya, Ryder and me calling it a day. I couldn't have done it without my kickboard. I'm not a strong swimmer. On to Hawaiian shaved ice!

Maui, second part of Day 2 (December 27, 2025)

THEN: Ryder and Brandy honeymooned in Maui after their lucky 07/07/07 wedding in Vegas.
 

NOW: A mere 18 years later and Piper, River, and Mya have joined the family!

After snorkeling at Kapalua Bay--where we all saw a Hawaiian green turtle! (except Papa who stayed on the beach)--we stopped at Aloha Shave Ice in Lahaina. The shave ice is made with fresh fruit and if you request it, a snow cap of coconut condensed milk. So refreshing!

We finished the day at the resort pool. River conquered the slide!

We're all together! (December 26, 2025)

We couldn't check in until Ryder showed up in person as he'd made the reservation. The wait was short and pleasant. Our room is Piper's birth date!
 

Piper couldn't wait for a swim! Mya watches.

First full day in Maui (December 26, 2025)

 Due to the Austin-Maui time difference, we had a 28-hour Christmas Day. We spent most of that time at ABIA, flying to San Diego then Maui, and 2 hours in the Budget car rental line. Oh! I was so discombobulated I left my carry-on luggage at baggage claim. Thank goodness for the long car rental line which gave me time to realize the suitcase was missing! I ran back into the airport and everything was closed except for the United Airlines customer service office. They had my bag and were about to send it to lost and found! 

We enjoyed coffee at Kanaha Beach Park, where we watched windsurfers. We then visited the botanical garden of native plants.

A traditional island shelter

We then shopped at Costco and headed to the Outrigger Ka'anapali Beach resort near Lahaina to wait for the Moraga Lewises to fly in that afternoon.

Big Boy wants to drive Xena too (December 21, 2025)

Big Boy likes to jingle the car keys. If he ever takes them off the hook, we'll have no idea where to find them. Once, when Ryder was a crawling baby, I let him play with my car keys. I just happened to see him slide them under the refrigerator. I would never have found them if I hadn't seen that!

New shorter style (December 18, 2025)

Went with a long shag to let natural curl shine. I think the color's too red. Miss my black hair! Also, the curls only work until you run a brush through them. Someday I'll have a long silver braid down my back. Not ready to be treated like an old lady yet though.

Jim's Christmas concert and Lucy's dance performance (December 16, 2025)

Grand-nephew Jim plays viola in the McCallum High School orchestra. 
 

Following Lucy's hip hop performance: Jim, Jake, Jan, Lucy, Tom, me

Kirk, Lucy's friend, Sarah, Lucy, Jake, Jim

Christmas cactus right on time (December 12, 2025)

Enjoying Martin's Christmas cactus for the third year. How does it know it's December?
 

Meet Xena! (December 5, 2025)

I've missed the Zoomer since hail did it in back in 2022. Losing Max became the big chance to find a stick shift replacement. I wanted something with reasonable mileage and a reasonable price, preferably a Toyota, Honda, or Mazda. We found only ONE car in the entire Austin area that fit the criteria! Apparently nobody drives standard anymore. The Toyota dealership near us came through with a 2018 Mazda3 with about 76,000 miles on it. I had to drive it for the gas fill up because the salesperson didn't know how to drive stick! We knew Xena was the right choice when they put on the new license plate and it ends in "6-7," the 2025 word of the year. Nod to Otis for defining the term for us. :-)

Bye-bye, Max! (December 3, 2025)

 Max needed a new engine. No rebuilt engine was available because Max is a 2011 SUV. A junk yard had an engine with 100,000 miles on it. Repair estimate: $7,500. Sorry Max! You faithfully took us many places, mainly to the bee hives. We'll miss you!

Sold to a junk dealer for $350. Hopefully Max's good parts will be useful for another Mazda CX7 owner.

From Danny to Fox (December 1, 2026)

 Danny's clean closet became Fox's bonanza. She loves the leopard pajamas! 

Very classy!

Break down! (November 27, 2925)

After Thanksgiving lunch with Greg, we were on our way to the bees, nearly to Georgetown, when Max lost power. Tom was able to get across a few lanes of traffic to the shoulder before Max died, thank goodness!
 

As luck would have it, a TxDOT Hero was behind us. They monitor I-35 for breakdowns. He pulled over, set up cones, and took a look under the hood for an easy fix such as a dead battery. No go. He advised us to call a tow truck.

Couldn't believe how easy it was to get a tow truck to our favorite mechanic Dan at Elite Auto in Austin. We got to see Greg again. He met us at Dan's and took us home. Thanks, Greg!