Our third day in paradise was my birthday!
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Here's me at the beach on my birthday! |
We went to my favorite farmer's market, and then to Lahaina in the afternoon! I also share a birthday with Robert's dad, and it was Auntie Sloane & Uncle Brian's anniversary (the reason for our trip!), so it was a full day of celebrations!
My favorite Farmer's Market is located at Sugar Beach, right next to the Bakery! (Pictures below)
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It's pretty much open-air, and there are tons of different things to buy! |
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Fresh coconuts! |
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I don't care what anyone says; you cannot get any better coconuts than in Maui! |
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Choosing which one I wanted! |
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The man helped me choose - meaty or milky? Milky, of course! |
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I gave him my ticket... |
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...and he cut it open for me! |
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See the jar with the yellow lid? It's tips for the "coconut samurai man's insurance," lol! (I made sure we tipped him!) |
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Yay! |
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My happy birthday coconut! |
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Oh yes - it was SO GOOD! |
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Ellie Jo got her first taste of fresh coconut, too! |
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She LOVED it! |
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I'm not sure if mommy or baby got more coconut milk, lol! |
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She totally figured the straw out! |
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She kept signing "please" and "more" |
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Everyone shared with baby! |
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(As you can see, all of Ellie's "friends" had to come with us to the Farmer's Market - but she couldn't be bothered to carry them!) |
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Deciding whether she liked the taste! |
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Sugar Beach Bake Shop! This was not there in 2010, I don't think! (Sorry for the surprise selfie, Bryce!) I bought some goodies for us in the Bake Shop! |
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My new invention: Island Biscotti (AKA Kona coffee w/ Vanilla creamer + dehydrated coconut) You may have seen this on my Instagram already! |
After the farmer's market, went back to the condos. Elizabeth really needed a nap, and I really
really wanted to go down to the beach. No one wanted to go with me, but I didn't care - the most important part about this trip (for me) was to spend time just enjoying the beach. Feeling the sand between my toes, wading into the sparkling clear water, and just being in the moment. I spend so much time on the go and doing stuff for other people, that I purposed in advance to take time for myself on this vacation. So, Robert stayed at the condo with Ellie (he and Bryce were still badly burned from the day before, anyway), and I went to the beach.
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At the beach! |
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It was so clear! |
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The beach wasn't very crowded, either! |
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Fishing boat in the distance |
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So much fun! |
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This is looking south, towards Wailea |
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I only had my iPhone, but I couldn't stop taking picture after picture! |
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I like this one because the wave looks green! |
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Gorgeous beach |
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Looking north towards Lahaina (around the bend of the hill you see in the distance) |
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The sand was sooo soft! |
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Ahhhh toes in the sand... |
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I'll never forget that feeling! |
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The waves did start to get a bit choppy |
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I was amazed at how the sand rolled and turned so much in the surf, and then just rested so fast! |
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You can see the clouds rolling in, as it's nearly time for tradewinds |
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The waves would go out with such pull that it tickled my feet! |
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I was searching for fish! |
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The waves sometimes had yellow & black fish in them! |
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This is a good picture of what happens to the sand in the surf |
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Robert texted me right before I took this picture, saying Ellie was awake, but to take my time. |
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I had no problem hanging out for a few more minutes! |
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Sparking sand! |
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I could stare at this all day long, every day. |
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Again, green waves! |
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This was when the wind started picking up a little |
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I think this is my background at work now! |
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Goodbye for today, beach! |
I made my way back up to the condo, helped get Ellie ready to go, and we loaded up to go to Lahaina.
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I asked if we could stop at the Papawai Scenic Lookout on the way to Lahaina, since I've stopped there every time I've been to Maui. |
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Here's Robert and me at this same lookout in 2010! |
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And here we are as a family of 3 in 2014! |
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View from the lookout! |
Last time we were at this lookout, we saw whales! We didn't see them this time, since it wasn't the same season. Maybe next time!
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So beautiful! |
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Auntie and Ellie! |
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Even the clouds were pretty! |
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You can see where the wind is hitting the water, but unlike the Pacific Northwest, there are no white caps! |
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Stunning views |
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I wouldn't want to hike down there! |
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No filter |
We got to Lahaina, and went straight to the Banyon tree and Courthouse!
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Planted by William Owen Smith 1873 |
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Courthouse records |
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Lahaina Visitor Center, bottom of the Courthouse |
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My silly girl sitting in the window downstairs in the Courthouse |
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Ellie as a juror! |
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She was jumping, lol |
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Cool exhibits upstairs in the Lahaina Courthouse |
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One of the neatest things in the museum! |
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Another neat exhibit! |
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Ellie and mommy upstairs in the Courthouse |
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She wanted to be Miss Independent... |
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We couldn't get a good picture at all |
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She was eating her snack there, lol |
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This is Daddy, hoping she sits nicely for the picture |
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She kinda sat nicely, lol |
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Staircase at the Courthouse |
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The Banyon Tree! |
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Family Picture at the Banyon Tree |
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The Courthouse! |
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That Banyon Tree is seriously huge! |
The Courthouse sits on the water side of the street in Lahaina, and right across the street from it is the Banyon tree. Because Robert and I were only in Lahaina at night last time we were in Maui, we never saw the Banyon tree, and only saw the back of the Courthouse, and couldn't go in because it was closed.
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McKinney Group! |
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Everyone all together! Not a bad picture, considering we did it with the timer on the stroller! |
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25 Years later! (And, I don't think the stroller was there before, lol!) |
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2010 |
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2014 |
Some of the pictures we took were purely to re-create fun we had in 2010!
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2010 |
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2014 (Notice - Robert is wearing the same shirt in both pics!) |
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You can really see how bad his sunburn was around his eyes! |
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We're back - with a new addition! Same table and everything! Hoping we can make it back again soon. |
When we were in Maui for our honeymoon in 2010, we went to Lahaina Coolers for dinner the second night we were there. This is where we discovered the wonderful Fried Brie salad! We kept making it again and again at home! So, we wanted to go back there to eat for my birthday this year. It was a lot of fun to be in the exact same place we were 4 years ago!
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Crab wontons! Incredible! |
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Fried Brie Salad!! |
You can see this cute little shop right next door to Lahaina Coolers, and it has adorable (expensive) gifts in it! Rather than purchase stuff for myself, I took pictures so I could always see all the cute stuff without the price tag, lol. (I seriously was not willing to pay $75 for that pillow!)
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Storefronts in Lahaina |
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Yep, Karina's Boutique is still there! But slightly different looking than last time. :) |
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Karina's in 2010 |
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Beautiful flowers growing on the side of the road in Lahaina! |
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Old building in Lahaina |
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Cool view on our way out of town |
The end of the day was a stop at the Lahaina Canery Mall where we saw a free hula show.
We voluntold Auntie Sloane and Uncle Brian to get up and be the "audience participants," lol.
Enjoy the videos that closed out our evening for the birthday/ Anniversary celebrations!
More to follow....