Maui Day 5: Lahaina + Kapalua Tide Pools

By Saturday we had checked most things off our “must do” list so we were feeling pretty chill. My son and I started the day trying to track down some turtles with our friend and their 1yo. We found a trio on a nearby beach, just snoozing.

The top of the beach was covered in these vines with beautiful purple flowers. I love the flora of Hawaii.

Later, our friend wanted to go to the Lahaina Yacht club because he’s a member of a Yacht club at home and there is reciprocal admittance.

When he called to make the reservation he was told there would be an event happening, but it wouldn’t be a problem. When we got there we realized, after we’d ordered drinks, that the event was a memorial service, and they had placed us at the table directly in front of the microphone, so everyone who was remembering the deceased had to look past us to see the speakers. It was… incredibly awkward.

We quickly finished our drinks and paid, but we couldn’t find anywhere else to eat because it was between lunch and dinner service. Our friends also had to get back to put their 1yo to bed early. So we split up for the rest of the afternoon.

My family walked around a bit in Lahaina, which is a very touristy town. We saw this incredible banyan tree (it’s supposedly the largest in the world) and then decided to head north to eat.

After eating, we kept driving north to the Kapalua tide pools. We had to drive into a hotel complex and wait for a spot in a small public lot, but eventually we arrived at what felt like the end of the earth.

There wasn’t much actually in the tide pools, but the lava rock formations were amazing.

It took us a while to drive all the way down the north western coast, but we arrived at home in time for this amazing sunset.

I always feel ready to go home on the penultimate day, and then become sad about leaving on the final day. It’s a pattern I’ve noticed this summer, and I guess it makes sense.