Monday, August 13, 2007
The morning of our last full day of vacation was spent lazing around the condo, trying to decide how we wanted to spend our final hours of the trip. By late morning we packed into the car and headed south to Wailea and Ulua Beach. This beach sits among several of the high end resorts located in Wailea and displays a wide, white-sand beach, with a lush, tropical back drop due to the landscaping from the adjacent resorts. Lava points and their associated reefs to the north and south provide some good snorkeling, and the waves that lapped the shore were again small and benign. At this point of the trip, after spending several days playing in and around the small surf, both Landon and Colt had become noticeably more comfortable frolicking around in the ocean’s surge. They would giggle and flop themselves down in front of the incoming whitewater, unconcerned as water rolled over them and tossed them around. They both continued to leap into any available arms willing to carry them out into the deeper water beyond the swells, where again their comfort level in the water was significantly more apparent compared to similar ventures made early in the trip. Landon commandeered an abandoned sand castle that had roads and tunnels for his trucks and trains - it didn’t take too long however until hurricane Landon struck the compound, leveling it down to beach level in a few glee filled moments. The air was still on the beach and as the morning temperatures continued to rise Rhiannon joined me for a swim out to the reef to take a look at some of the local underwater residents, it was great to hold her hand as the ocean’s surge pushed us gently along the top of the reef.
We put the boys down for their final, Maui fever induced naps and Justin, Rhiannon and I slipped out for some last minute souvenir puirchasing. We ended up at Pupu’s Grill again and were distracted from our original shopping target by a few happy hour mai tais. From there we walked around the nearby flea market, but the only gifts purchased were a set of bibs embossed with Hawaiian prints for the triplets. Nothing jumped of the shelves as a fitting tribute to help memorialize our trip, and as the hours ticked away from our last afternoon we scurried back to the condo to pack up everyone else for one last island sunset and evening of splashing waves down at our traditional south shore beach.
The boys crawled into a large tide pool again and repeated their games of throwing rocks into the surging ocean. Justin caught a snapper species that we had never hooked before in all of our previous trips. The fish was released into the boys’ tide pool and swam around their excited feet for a few minutes before finding its way back out to sea. The sun flicked between clouds on the horizon, coloring them pink and orange as it slipped below the water. It was a beautiful end to the vacation.
As dark crept in, Justin piled into the backseat of our sedan and wedged himself between the car seats to join us for the drive home. The back seat erupted into a laugh filled ruckus developing first from the boys both screaming “Ducky!” at their uncle at the top of their lungs. No one is completely sure how this nickname developed, but the boys found it hysterical. The laughter then turned into a dance party as Justin and the boys kicked and squirmed to the beats emanating from the radio which was nothing short of hilarious. As we drove for the last time down the local, ‘rooster hunt’ road in the dark, Rhiannon jubilantly screamed as she pointed to a toad hopping across the road. I stopped the car and she jumped out, grabbed a net from the trunk, and proceeded to scream even louder in disbelief as she captured the warty amphibian. I drove the remaining few blocks to the condo with my hand out the window, holding the net and its imprisoned prize until we could park the car so Landon and Colt could investigate. Both boys seemed impressed by their Mom’s bravery and skill and after a few pokes and prods the toad was released to go find his, “mommy and daddy”.
My parents picked up Alexander’s again on the ride home, so the local fish that we enjoyed as our first meal of the vacation would fittingly also be our last. The food was a delicious repeat performance. We then headed upstairs to say goodbye to the rest of the remaining Mleynek family before they also left behind their island home for the colder shores of Portland, Oregon.
Soon thereafter, inspired by Rhiannon’s hunting prowess, Landon and I snuck out in the hopes of capturing a few more toads under the supervising glow of the moon. With flashlights and nets in hand we crossed the perimeters of the Maui Sunset lawn, and our exploits were not to be in vain. Together we located and caught eleven brown, bumpy toads, several of which Landon caught without any assistance from his Dad. It was another final trip down the memory road as Justin and I had underwent similar late night toad hunts under our dad’s supervision some twenty-five years prior. We returned to boast of our successes, and Landon’s pride filled descriptions of our adventures were the absolute prize of the hunt for me. After tucking the boys into bed we headed down to the jacuzzi for a short soak, and then joined my parents and Justin in a final game of Boggle. The game was filled with laughs and recollections and sighs as we realized that tomorrow morning our wonderful family outing would draw to an abrupt close.
The morning of our last full day of vacation was spent lazing around the condo, trying to decide how we wanted to spend our final hours of the trip. By late morning we packed into the car and headed south to Wailea and Ulua Beach. This beach sits among several of the high end resorts located in Wailea and displays a wide, white-sand beach, with a lush, tropical back drop due to the landscaping from the adjacent resorts. Lava points and their associated reefs to the north and south provide some good snorkeling, and the waves that lapped the shore were again small and benign. At this point of the trip, after spending several days playing in and around the small surf, both Landon and Colt had become noticeably more comfortable frolicking around in the ocean’s surge. They would giggle and flop themselves down in front of the incoming whitewater, unconcerned as water rolled over them and tossed them around. They both continued to leap into any available arms willing to carry them out into the deeper water beyond the swells, where again their comfort level in the water was significantly more apparent compared to similar ventures made early in the trip. Landon commandeered an abandoned sand castle that had roads and tunnels for his trucks and trains - it didn’t take too long however until hurricane Landon struck the compound, leveling it down to beach level in a few glee filled moments. The air was still on the beach and as the morning temperatures continued to rise Rhiannon joined me for a swim out to the reef to take a look at some of the local underwater residents, it was great to hold her hand as the ocean’s surge pushed us gently along the top of the reef.
We put the boys down for their final, Maui fever induced naps and Justin, Rhiannon and I slipped out for some last minute souvenir puirchasing. We ended up at Pupu’s Grill again and were distracted from our original shopping target by a few happy hour mai tais. From there we walked around the nearby flea market, but the only gifts purchased were a set of bibs embossed with Hawaiian prints for the triplets. Nothing jumped of the shelves as a fitting tribute to help memorialize our trip, and as the hours ticked away from our last afternoon we scurried back to the condo to pack up everyone else for one last island sunset and evening of splashing waves down at our traditional south shore beach.
The boys crawled into a large tide pool again and repeated their games of throwing rocks into the surging ocean. Justin caught a snapper species that we had never hooked before in all of our previous trips. The fish was released into the boys’ tide pool and swam around their excited feet for a few minutes before finding its way back out to sea. The sun flicked between clouds on the horizon, coloring them pink and orange as it slipped below the water. It was a beautiful end to the vacation.
As dark crept in, Justin piled into the backseat of our sedan and wedged himself between the car seats to join us for the drive home. The back seat erupted into a laugh filled ruckus developing first from the boys both screaming “Ducky!” at their uncle at the top of their lungs. No one is completely sure how this nickname developed, but the boys found it hysterical. The laughter then turned into a dance party as Justin and the boys kicked and squirmed to the beats emanating from the radio which was nothing short of hilarious. As we drove for the last time down the local, ‘rooster hunt’ road in the dark, Rhiannon jubilantly screamed as she pointed to a toad hopping across the road. I stopped the car and she jumped out, grabbed a net from the trunk, and proceeded to scream even louder in disbelief as she captured the warty amphibian. I drove the remaining few blocks to the condo with my hand out the window, holding the net and its imprisoned prize until we could park the car so Landon and Colt could investigate. Both boys seemed impressed by their Mom’s bravery and skill and after a few pokes and prods the toad was released to go find his, “mommy and daddy”.
My parents picked up Alexander’s again on the ride home, so the local fish that we enjoyed as our first meal of the vacation would fittingly also be our last. The food was a delicious repeat performance. We then headed upstairs to say goodbye to the rest of the remaining Mleynek family before they also left behind their island home for the colder shores of Portland, Oregon.
Soon thereafter, inspired by Rhiannon’s hunting prowess, Landon and I snuck out in the hopes of capturing a few more toads under the supervising glow of the moon. With flashlights and nets in hand we crossed the perimeters of the Maui Sunset lawn, and our exploits were not to be in vain. Together we located and caught eleven brown, bumpy toads, several of which Landon caught without any assistance from his Dad. It was another final trip down the memory road as Justin and I had underwent similar late night toad hunts under our dad’s supervision some twenty-five years prior. We returned to boast of our successes, and Landon’s pride filled descriptions of our adventures were the absolute prize of the hunt for me. After tucking the boys into bed we headed down to the jacuzzi for a short soak, and then joined my parents and Justin in a final game of Boggle. The game was filled with laughs and recollections and sighs as we realized that tomorrow morning our wonderful family outing would draw to an abrupt close.
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