Our final day in Maui was as close to perfect as you can get. We managed to cram a little bit of everything into our day without it feeling rushed or stressful. In the morning, we visited one final beach so Kaden could splash around in his beloved "osh" one more time. This beach was south of Lahaina on the west coast of Maui and was perfect for small kids because they stacked some rocks to create a shallow tide pool. James said he imagined this was the beach where all the moms took the babies while their husbands were golfing. haha.
Kaden had fun digging around with his sand toys and wading out into the water. I did my best to soak up all of the beautiful beach scenery: the palm trees, turquoise water, white sea foam where the ocean met the shoreline... We even caught a glimpse of a cruise ship docked off shore.
After we were finished at the beach, we went home, showered off and took a nap. When Kaden woke up, we got dressed up and took a few family pictures (which made mommy very happy). Most pictures of the three of us from the trip were snapped on our phones using our new Korean selfie-stick (sort of like a monopod that acts as an extension of your arm). But I wanted one taken with my real camera so the quality would be good enough for printing and framing. These were taken in front of the banana trees by the condo's pool, and on the patio where I snapped all of our amazing sunset photos earlier in the week.
We had a little more Christmas shopping to complete, and so we drove south to Lahaina and had fun strolling up and down the main street and collecting souvenirs. I had a hard time exercising restraint since I just wanted to hoard anything and everything that might help bring the tastes, smells, and feel of our island vacation back home to Korea...
Thankfully, we had dinner reservations at Duke's Beach House that seriously limited my shopping time. We arranged to eat right at sunset so we'd have a spectacular view as we feasted on island cuisine. Just like our last trip to Hawaii, the sunset on our final night was by far the best. I had a hard time staying in my seat and enjoying my meal because I had to keep taking pictures of the changing colors in the fiery sky. I have a very understanding husband, guys. ;^)
The palm trees, sunset, and tiki torches definitely created a great atmosphere. Our meal was fantastic too. We actually asked for a second basket of the purple Hawaiian sweet rolls to take on the plane because they were SO. GOOD. Everything was fresh, deliciously seasoned, and comforting. Unfortunately, we did not have room for hula pie this time. But that's probably for the best. James ended the night by buying me a red rose from the passing flower vendor. I can't think of a better evening out with my family!
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| Coloring on his placemat |
Before we knew it, it was time to return to Korea. Normally when we travel, we're sad but relieved to go home. We always have fun, but usually hit that point where we miss the comforts of our apartment. But that never really happened on this trip. Thanks to our fantastic condo rental, we were well settled and relaxed and could easily have stayed there for a long, long time... Sigh. Thankfully Kaden was good on the trip and we made it home without any problems. He loved watching the airplanes and trucks while we waited at the airport, and kept everyone entertained around us with his toddler antics. He is such a sweetheart.
I know he won't remember his first big travel adventure to Maui, but we will treasure these photos and memories forever. It definitely made an impression. Months later, he still talks about the ocean and points it out in pictures or videos. I'm thankful we're moving to South Carolina so we can take him to the beach fairly frequently and continue developing his love of nature and sense of adventure!
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