Maui: Leoda's and Shark Pit

We got to eat some yummy food in Maui, but our two favorite places were a little bakery/cafe called Leoda's and a restaurant that used to be a taco truck called Shark Pit.  

Leoda's is just out side of Lahaina, not to far from the condo we stayed in.  Our friends from church, Jen and Jon, who I went to Nicaragua with, recommended it to us.  They have some amazing pies and the best breakfasts.  We had an ahi Benedict to die for. 

Here we are out front...

And here is some of that delicious pie!  Yes, we had pie for breakfast.  We got a few mini ones to share.  

Shark pit used to be just a taco truck, but they opened up a storefront in a shopping center as well.  Our friends Mitch and Lu raved about it, so we had to give it a try.  They had an eclectic decor, mostly just cafe tables, but they also had a huge old fashioned dining table with some fancy dining chairs.  

When we got seated, the waitress told us it was a BYOB establishment.  They didn't server alcohol, but they said we could go next door to the grocery story and buy whatever we wanted.  LOL.  So wes got us some liquid aloha to go with our amazing tacos.

The tacos were amazing, especially the shrimp.  The kids devoured the fried rice, we had to buy a few orders of them.  

Yay for good food!

Maui: Parasailing & Baby Beach

For my Dad's last day in Maui, he and Wes went on a parasailing adventure out of Lahaina.  They had fun out on the boat and floating through the air.  

Meanwhile, Great Grandma and I took the kids back to baby beach to play.  We watched the skies to see if we could spot Papa and Grandpa parasailing, but they were too small to identify from there.  Here's what they would have looked like from our view, but this wasn't them. 

The small inlet at baby beach is just perfect for little kids.  It almost creates a little pool to swim in.  

The only downside is the bathrooms are a bit of hike, and I had to make a couple trip running with kids on my back to carry them across hot pavement.  It was a little crazy but some friendly locals land us some flip flops that I'd left behind in my haste to not have a potty accident on our hands.  Anyway, all's well that ends well, and we loved swimming at this beach.

Maui: Paia & Sea Turtles

Another day trip we took on Maui was out to Paia.  Wes lived in Paia for about a month when he was 19, so he wanted to go over there to drive through and show us around a little.  First we went to Ho'okipa State Beach to see some green see turtles.  This state beach has a sanctuary resting area for the turtles to come rest before heading back out to sea.  

The turtles were amazing to watch, then we had some beach time.

Then we headed into Paia for some lunch.  Here's grandma and the girls, and the whole crowd.

Maui: Napili Beach

One of our favorite beaches to play at turned out to be Napili beach.  It sits in this little cove with both good waves to play in, as well as some calm water to swim in.  The color was just amazing.  It was a bit of a hike in from some street parking, but maybe next time we could stay at one of the hotels close by.  Gosh, we hope there is a next time!  

Here's some of our time at Napili beach.

And one more bonus one of the girls in their matching dresses and leis :)

Maui: Luau

Next up to celebrate Dad's birthday was a luau.  Aunt Diane booked us at the Hyatt Luau where they do some fire dancing.  The show was an eclectic mix of different types of dances from cultures around different islands.  I didn't get many pictures of the show since it was dark, but here are some pictures from before the show.  

We got the girls some beautiful dresses to wear to the luau.  Too bad no one was in the mood for pictures before the show.  This was the best we could do.

The traditional sibling shot.  We missed Uncle Rick who couldn't make it.  

Another with Grandma and Emeline.

The birthday boy, ready to celebrate.

Kids enjoying their pint of tropical juices.  Yes, we spent the majority of the time in the bathroom.

Sweet Adele.

Grandma, John, & Susan.

Dad, Diane, & Miles.

The whole table.

Fire dancers!