The Road to Hana

My brother Mike and I rented a mustang convertible for the drive to Hana. A little town in the middle of a twisty, narrow, over crowded road full of beautiful sights. We stopped a lot, it was definitely about the journey not the destination at the end.

Beautiful Trees

 

Flowers Everywhere

 

 

Ocean Arch

 

Kihei Beach

Its easy to fall into the rhythm of the sun in Hawaii. I was up without an alarm at sunrise, usually on a beach run with Mary Kay and Chris by 8, and in the water by 9am. We all stayed at Kamole Sands condos, and the beach was literally across the street. It had beautiful sand, good snorkeling, and sometimes good boogie boarding. A very easy place to spend time.

Mary Kay and I Ready to Snorkel

 

Very Chill Turtle

 

Diving

 

The Sisters

 

Boogie Boarding in Hawaii

Boogie boarding might be one of my favorite beach time activities. Its super simple, and endlessly amusing. My brother Mike and I rode our scooters down the road to big beach and my sister Laura, Mom, and Dad met us there.

Mike, Mom and Laura Catching a Wave

 

Mike, Mom and Laura in the Wash

 

Big Beach

 

Hiking in Hawaii: Haleakala

My whole immediate family, minus my brother Joseph and boyfriend Ryan, flew to Hawaii over the week and met up for a Hawaii Thanksgiving. It was awesome. A direct flight from anchorage to Maui only took 6 hours.

One day we decided to leave the beach and go up to Haleakala the 10,000 foot volcano. It is awesome you just drive right to the top. I read off the internet that you lose 5.5 degrees every 1,000 feet of elevation you gain, and I think it was pretty spot on. It was surprisingly cold up there, especially in the wind.

Mary Kay, Chris, Me, and Mike

 

Mom and Dad took Mary Kay and Chris's three young spirited children while we went on the Sliding Sands trail down into the crater, across it, and back up, in a 13 mile half loop. It was beautiful with multi colored sand, volcanic mountains, blue skies and puffy clouds.

Mary Kay and Chris Descending the Trail

 

Volcanic Feature That We Passed

 

We all thought that the coolest part of the hike was the trail at the end that ascended a ridiculously steep mountain wall up 1,400 feet, yet never exceeded a gentle 10% grade. They carved this trail into the rock and it was so nice to walk on, plus the views were pretty awesome too.

The Trail Back Up

 

I am really lucky to have such a cool family, all around they are just interesting and genuinely good people that I'm proud to be related to.

Lazy Mountain Day

Its been too long since I've hung out with my good friends David and Alisha. She made the most awesome homemade hazel nut pancakes and then we had a great afternoon catching up on the walk up Lazy Mountain.

David, Me and Alisha

 

The light was great, the trail packed, company good, can't ask for much more.

 

Evening Ski at Hatcher Pass

Rapheal and I pulled into the parking lot at Hatcher Pass as the clouds were starting to turn pink. We toured up the road to the pass through a few inches of fresh and a decent base.

 

 

We enjoyed the quiet night and beautiful view then skied down in the last bit of light.