Hiking in Maui

We spent one day hiking to some waterfalls called Twin Falls. I was a little hesitant to go on a hike with the family, I don't recall ever going on a hike as a family before, but I knew the draw of the seeing the water falls would help the kids get there.  We had a great time!  We found some falls that were fairly close and not much of a hike in a guide book called Twin Falls. Seeing the waterfalls was better than described in the books.  Beautiful, cool, clean water was a great change from the sticky salt water.  The second waterfall had some teenagers jumping off the cliffs, so the kids and I climbed to the top.  The kids wouldn't jump of the top with me, but I talked them into taking the plunge farther down the cliff.  The same teenagers told us about a few more waterfalls farther up stream so we attempted to follow the trail and found another pristine pool with a smaller water fall.  Even Monica couldn't resist a dip in our own secluded water fall.  We attempted to follow the trail even farther up stream but kept having a hard time finding the trail.  It gave me memories of walking through Tiajuana as a kid with my family as my Dad kept insisting that we weren't lost.  We were lost then in Mexico and now as the father of my own family, I'll admit we were lost in Maui too.  It didn't take much to find our way back down and on to the main trail again.  All in all, I think we're gonna see some more family hikes in our future.

Surfing in Maui

In Maui I learned the secret to surfing in the ocean: Weigh 50 lbs or less! Caleb and Abby both loved learning how to surf.  I scouted a few businesses that taught people how to surf and then Caleb and I rented a surfboard and tried to stay within ear distance while they taught the basics of surfing.   We then hung out at a great learning area with small consistent waves. With a little push to get him going, Caleb was easily surfing for 100 yards plus.  The hardest part was him trying to get the 9-foot board back out past the breaking waves.  He beat at the waves until I body surfed in to help him get back out to the rolling waves.
  Abby joined us on the second day of surfing and surprisingly she loved it.  She seems to think that all surfers keep their hands fixed in the 'hang loose' sign,  constantly posing while on the surf board. She did great. I'm now a proud papa of two surfers.