May 2nd, 2008

During week 2, we drove up the side of Haleakela volcano and stopped in at the Lavender Gardens.

We took a half-hour tour of the estate, and of course, shot copious photos of Elliot.

Afterward it was up the switchbacks to the summit of the volcano. The temperature dropped from 85 degrees to 45 degrees by the time we reached the top!

I snapped a quick pano of the rainy sky from the summit, then we walked around a bit before heading back down.

Chris and I took a whale-watching cruise on the Pacific Wale Foundation's catamaran. We got to see some of the Humpback wales before they swam up to Alaska for feeding time. They mate and calve in Maui, which is their home. May is apparently a rare time to see them since they're usually gone by the middle of April, but I guess we were lucky. We even saw a baby humpback.

We retrurned to Io with Ross and Chris for more dinner and sunset perfection. This time we also brought Elliot along and he did great.

Eventually it was time to pack it up for home, and on the last day we hit Lahaina Town once more, then the Acquarium, where Elliot got to see all kinds of exotic creatures!

The flight back was easier, since it was in the middle of the night, and Elliot slept most of the way without problems.

It was a great vacation in the purest sense of the word...

-Rob and Nicole

Elliot uses his kissy-suction in an effort to pull his mom throught the glass, so she can join him outside.

This a rare proteus flower.

"Dad, hold me back! I just can't resist lavender cookies!!!"

"Ha Ha, I just crapped right after you put a new diaper on me! How do ya like that?"

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"Get lost camera dork, this pool is only for cool kids!"

Grandma's dinner date is looking rather sharp in his crisp dress shirt and khakis...

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This little guy was headed for the malibu rum bottle.

Sportin' his new clothes, ready for some action on the town.

Some of the locally-strung fresh leis in Lain.

Much to our amazement,, he kept these on for most of the breakfast.

We took him to the Maui Aquatic Center on our last day.

Here's a parrot fish, like the ones we had swimming out front of our condo.

That night we had our last dinner of the trip at Capesce

Our last sunset, until next time...

The tour guide at the Lavender Fields estate cuts some flowers for us to smell. They smelled like lavender. Inside, they sold lavender-flavored coffee, chocolate, cookies, etc. I think they had purple toilet paper in the bathroom but I didn't verify this.

Around the grounds of the Lavender Fields estate, there were some beautiful decorations, some of which broke the "purple guidelines".

Ross and Elliot spend some quality flower-picking time together.

After the lavender experience, we drove the windy road up to the 10,000 foot high Haleakala volcano, and were rewarded with this chilly view of the north part of the island, Maui Nui.

Elliot shows his brand-new top fangs.

Nicole carefully stretches and prepares herself physically and mentally for some extended lawn-chair novel reading.

At Io in Lahaina, Elliot is mesmerized by the LED candles, and he studies them for a mercifully long time.

The beach beyond our dinner table at Io.

Chris and I took a whale watching trip out of Lahaina, and we saw quite a few humpbacks, including a baby. The crew were very professional and respected the wales by always keeping a generous distance of at least 100 meters, with the engines almost inaudible at low RPM. Even at that distance, we were able to see them pretty well and a a couple of the males jumped out of the water.

Surfers catching waves just beyond the breakwater in Lahaina.

I get my exercise from Elliot-curls, Elliot-presses, and Elliot-raises.

He peers into the jellyfish tank...

The lobster tries to intimidate Elliot with its cold black eyes...

Surrounded by sharks, rays, and other sea creatures, Elliot's reminded of his bedroom back home... (pics of that coming soon...)