Monster Maui Trip
June 2019
Hey look everyone, we have a real live Hawaiian terrorist over here!!
While Flip & the kids went to Maui early, Craig ate cakes at Ted's...alone.
The first official shaved ices from Ululani's. Do you notice anything missing in this shot?
The pavilion at the Ekahi main pool was under construction for our visit this year. It's gonna rock.
After a few days, Craig is finally able to leave work and head over. Hey, that's Apple Headquarters.
Ryan getting ready to get some shots on his phone at Ahihi Cove.
Right from the airport, the entire Jacko clan hit Flatbread Pizza in Paia. Always a good pie.
An early morning shot of the view from the lanai...man I can taste the Kauai Pie Coffee.
Early mornings and calm water means its time to get in some snorkeling. Here's Makena.
A pretty clear shot of some pencil urchins in the lava fields.
Ryan must be pointing to some major turtle action. But we were hell bent on finding an octopus.
Everything at Nalu's is delicious. Here's a shot of Craig's Crabcake Sandwich.
The next day the waves were down again so we headed to Turtle Town to resume our quest.
A cool shot from underneath a big sea turtle, as the clear sunshine pours through.
Big News! After a decade searching, Ryan spotted an octopus (Baracktopus). That brown clump.
Ryan leaning into it just as the wave is about to crest. Polo Beach has the best boogie board waves.
With are decade-long octopus quest finally complete, it was time to catch some tasty waves.
We capped off a truly all-time day on Maui with a picnic dinner at La Perouse.
It was a nice sunny day and the water was super clear, which was great for GoPro shots.
The octopus hunter and his proud father set up camp for their dinner feast at sunset.
I don't think this guy likes us very much--we tried to get a few too many pics of him.
Golden hour looking good on these two as the ocean breeze keeps things nice and cool.
Zoe wanders around looking for cool lava rocks and coral while snapping a few sunset pics.
I don't think we'd been to La Perouse at sunset before--it was a great spot to end the day.
Molokini doesn't seem that far away from this part of the island.
Back to Turtle Town to look for Baracktapus--no luck, bud did get this all-time heart shot.
Flip's make-shift sea shell speaker did a good job of adding some tunes to the lanai.
Some delicious ahi sashimi at Matteo's. I loved his pizza place but his newer restaurant is amazing.
Anyone who's been to Maui knows these colorful guys are everywhere.
Stopping at the local produce stand to pick up some treats and something to drink for the road.
One of the many pools at the "seven sacred pools" area.
As one of the most famous people in the world, Lindbergh wanted privacy late in life. He got it.
The view of the Pacific from the cliffs behind Charles Lindberg's property near Hana.
Flip just loves her some fresh coconut juice.
One of the few spots where the driving is a little tricky on the southern route to Hana.
Craig & Ryan started the next date at the big drop-in at The Dumps. Ryan reacts to the chilly water.
But Dumps is worth the slightly cooler water, as you're likely to find huge schools of big fish.
Hard to tell from the camera but these butterfly fish are about 12 inches long.
We took a break from water and headed around the souther route to Haleakala. First a bistro lunch.
Flip found a couple of guys who would actually sit still and listen to her restaurant food complaints.
You can see how the shape is different in this shot--he's just peeking out at us to have a look.
Another epic shot from a trip that had many. This desolate stretch of road is absolutely beautiful.
The famed Kaupo Store was not open anymore--hard to believe this one finally went away.
The surf was crashing in hard. We hiked out to the cliff's edge to get a great view of the waves.
This school of black triggerfish followed us for a distrubingly long amount of time.
Here's a school of yellow tangs, which always seem to stick together on certain reefs.
Ok, it was a little chilly but it was worth it.
We then headed back to the condo to hit the pool for the day to get a little sun.
There was enough wind that day that this dude cruised right past us from the pool.
Ululani's can get pretty packed on summer afternoons. Nothing beats the heat quite like shave ice.
The next morning we hit Kihei Cafe and saw this gem. Sean? Sean? Sean?
Flip and Zobo looking pretty fired up to see Paul in the flesh.
No, it wasn't embarrassing at all for Flip to be the first to set up camp in front of the interview stage.
Zoe and Anhdai getting ready for a nice meal at Duo at the Four Seasons.
Whenever Bigs gets the GoPro, you end up with a lot of shots like this. Nobody knows why.
I love the shots that the GoPro gets in the water--one of these days I'm gonna get an epic curl shot.
This was the year
that Ryan started
body boarding like
a local. He's really
carving up the
waves now.
Huge palms with a full moon high above at Four Seasons.
The best part about dinner at Duo is the homemade cotton candy dessert.
Someday, Flip and I will take a weekend from the condo and stay here.
The next day we were ready to face a new swell coming in. We weren't dissapointed.
That evening, we made our way over to the Film Festival again this year to see Paul Rudd!!
Ryan and Zoe looking like they're up to trouble at the quiet pool near the condo.
Ryan jumping right into the action.
Here is Ryan getting a nice right carve going.
Now that's some serious face action.
In between sets, Ryan finally took a break to watch the old man flop around.
A couple of young studs taking a picture for the media the Maui Film Festival.
We always seem to get treated to beautiful sunsets whenever we come to Duo for dinner.
The next day the boys hit the water again, this time with Craig's new badass board in tow.
Here he is in action about to slap down on this decent wave and hopefully take Ryan down too!!
Before the nights films begin, we get a traditional hula performance to set the mood.
Then he came out to pick up his award and answer about six questions about his career. So fun.
Ok, not too bad now that the waves are smaller. Shoot that curl, kitty!!
Before he was introduced, they showed clips from a bunch of his work--my personal fave.
An hour or so later, the rest of the crowed showed up eager to see Paul accept his award.
Nothing says poolside relaxation by an utterly trashy novel.
The view of the top of Haleakala with the full moon high above.
Chilling outside what used to Cafe Ciao...Makena Market is so lame.
Anhthy and the boys were around--here she is with Anhdai heading to Polo.
The Jackos on the deck of their starcruising tour--always a highlight if the moon is right.
The sun setting as we cruise out to sea to look at stars.
The full moon really lights up the ocean in Maui.
The waves were still really big a few days in. I guess we better get our butts out there!
The view from underneath as these powerful waves made their way over us.
These waves were moving pretty fast and it was hard to get back out--but Ryan rode like a champ.
Here he is getting a nice edge on a really clear wave coming through.
The Tobins joined us for dinner at Sansei--always a highlight when we're in town.
Ryan doing some meditating while he waits for tasty treats from Sansei.
Quinlan, Ryan and Zoe are all settled in for another Maui Film Festival night at the Celestial Cinema.
Tonight Olivia Wilde got an award for being a great new director.
Harriett Witt settles in for the cruise and gets ready to chat about space.
We're reaching that point in the trip where you see the arriving planes and get a bit jealous.
Flip loves her dude. Here they are about to get some dinner at Monkey Pod.
Flip joined us for a quick snorkel and a little sunshine.
Ryan introduced the world to backboarding and it's taken off like wildfire. Ok, a small wildfire.
Cool shot of a cresting wave.
Ryan pondering the upcoming couple of months college admission work. Or waiting for a wave.
Later that day we headed up to Ho'okipa to check out another beach and look for rainbows.
We hiked out to the edge of the overlook and found some pretty cool scenery.
World-famous Ho'okipa Beach, where wind and kite-surfing were born.
Aside from being a legendary wind-surfing spot, it's also a sea turtle resting spot.
Ryan gets his camera ready to catch some good surfers in action.
With our stay winding down the boys snorkeled for the cycle, starting with The Dumps.
Part of Ahihi Cove (which is what I've been calling it all these years), The Dumps is big fish time.
The first official shaved ices from Ululissing in this shot?
We found this big boy (large tail protruding) making his way up for some air.
Back to Turtle Town to see if we can find Baracktopus. Still no luck but plenty of fish and urchins.
Boom--one down and three more to go. It's on to the fabulous Makena by the old Prince Hotel.
The view from above as Ryan inspects a few choice sea turtles.
Cool patterns on the Makena beach as we made our way out to head for our next destination.
But before we got too far, we discovered this road-side shack and decided to grab a quick bite.
On to number three--the world famous Turtle Town and the exclusive home of Baracktopus.
No Barackatopus but plenty of these amazing sea turtles. Getting to know these guys by name.
Clearly losing their minds at this point, the boys arrive at snorkel site #4--Ulua, right by the condo.
We tend to under-rate Ulua because it's walking distance but it's a very solid spot for sure.
The best fish tacos we've ever had--totally amazing. Can't believe we've never been here before.
Afterward we stopped by Paia and decided to give Paia Fishhouse a try for a change.
Meanwhile Craig and Zoe snuck over to the quiet pool to relax and do some reading.
After a long morning of snorkeling and backboarding it was time for some Angels baseball and a nap.
After a grueling snorkeling session, we hit the pool for some chill-time.
Here is Zoe with her virgin lava flow and a snappy smile.
The elder Jackos looking like they've had a very relaxing few weeks.
Ryan hanging out in the lobby while we check out the property.
Zoe got some big sunglasses on this trip. They weigh close to 18 pounds.
By the time we got out, the surf was kicking in a bit, so we decided to stay a bit longer.
It's always a tough snorkel run when you know you won't see these cool creatures for a while.
We finally decided to splurge on a trip up to Kapalua and dinner at Plantation House.
Can they make it to
five in one morning
some year? Stay tuned!
Then we got an explosion orange and purple that you had to see to believe. Amazing sunset.
The sun still pretty high up, so we decided to enjoy the view for a bit and make our way down.
Our final full day on the island so a closing snorkel run to Turtle Town was in order.
A view of our "always ready for action" Jacko rig before we pack up and head back home.
Up at the very top, Ry looks back to see what's taking Craig so long.
A nice picture of Craig celebrating his greatness on the top of Haleakala.
Before packing up and heading to Haleakala, we hang out at the condo for a little bit.
On the drive up, Craig couldn't help himself from another cherry shave ice.
Up on top of Haleakala and the always-cool view of the top of the volcano.
Amazing that those cinder hills have been there for hundreds or thousands of years.
On the drive down, the sky was shaping up to delivering an outrageous sunset, so we chased it.
This view of Ma'alea Bay was taken from the end of a Kula neighborhood that we found.
We've never stayed or even eaten here, but it looks pretty chill.
As the sun dropped, the colors just kept getting more amazing.
Their coffee shop had some delicious Filipino donuts, which lasted all of 2 minutes.
Zoe and Ryan enjoying the awesome water of Maui and looking forward to big school years.
We hit Polo on the way back to and see this a-hole hold a sea turtle above his head. Texans.
Zoe enjoying the water outside Polo Beach with the Kea Lani in the background.
Craig takes a selfie with Zoe as he waits for some waves to show up. It's been a great trip.
The sunset view from our
table at Ferraro's, site of
our delicious farewell
dinner. Good times.
The next morning we promised Flip we would all walk over to the Andaz to get some coffee.