maui memories part 2

one of my favorite parts of our trip was driving the road to hana. hana is a tiny town, tucked away on the

south side of maui, and is right in the middle of a rainforest. the drive meanders through spectaular views, waterfalls, beaches, and an amazing variety of plants, trees and flowers.

again, i was sorta obsessed with seeing plants and flowers and moss springing out of and in between rocks and concrete....

i loved seeing this red plant, which i think is a red ti plant popping out of this lava rock wall...

and these roots growing on top of this decaying rock wall.

this pretty church looked ethereal surrounded by tropical plants, a lava rock wall, and a manicured lawn.

the color of the window trims was the prettiest shade of grey-green. 

this was, by far, my favorite house that i saw while we were in maui. i love the way that this traditional home has been infused with a huge dose of island style....love those wide eaves and the porch railings.

i know its hard to see from my pictures, but the entire foundation is covered in lava rock.

the wide front steps are covered in a light green slate that looks beautiful with the  blue shade of the house.

isn't the detailing on this house gorgeous? 

these lava walls were all over hana, and each one seemed to have it's own personality.

i love the texture and colors!

this one had a really great undulating top.

along the drive, we spotted this arched top red door nestled in a tall rock wall...

wouldn't you love to see what on the other side of that door?

 
a few miles past hana, there was this little outdoor "farmers market". i have to admit that when my husband pulled in, my eyes got really big, and i looked at him like "uh...i REALLY hope you know what you are getting us into here..." well, it turns out that this was one of our favorite things we did on our entire trip.

 
we were able to taste sugar cane, star fruit, avocados, passion fruit, pommelo, mangos, coconuts, apple bananas, breadfruit, and had an AMAZING dessert---fried bananas wrapped in phyllo, coconut ice cream and sweetened breadfruit.

 it was similar to pf changs friend banana dessert, but WAY better. all of the fruit was grown right there on this little local farm, an it was all SO good.

the "back side" of the drive was amazing, and like the way to hana, was along the coast, so you go to the the ocean at every turn...the first few miles are rainforest, and then the landscape slowly changes until you are driving through what looks like a desert.

this church was standing all by itself in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. can you see the ocean in the background?

we spent the last few nights at the hyatt regency. it has an open air lobby, that was really impressive and filled with vegetation, sculptures and even parrots.

the decor had an asian flair, which i thought was pulled of really well.

there were orchids everywhere. i liked how these shades of purple perked up the neutral interiors.

i loved, loved these wood benches. there were three of them near the pool restaurant.

the *pool was spectacular!

the best hotel pool i personally have ever seen.

we all had a great time enjoying the pool!

can you even stand how gorgeous this is??

*sigh.

this is the view from the edge of the resort...

this is a picture of the marriot in wailea. we went there for a luau one night, and i really liked this open 

seating area.

i was particullay drawn to the furniture, the rug, and the banding on the "drapes". the whole thing has

a very laid back, tropical vibe without being too much.

i also loved the contrast of the light stone and the dark subway tile on this fountain/pool.

anyway, thanks for coming along with me! the trip was really wonderful. i felt that it was the perfect balance of activities and down time, city life and wild nature. we felt like we really got to see and do everything that we wanted to, and the kids were SO excited to get to tag along with us. 

happy 15th sweetie!

i look forward to the next 15 with you...