Barrett Turns 12 in Maui!

We started Barrett's 12th birthday at 2:30 in the morning! We stumbled out of bed to hit the road by 3:00am. Destination: Sunrise at Haleakala.

It's about a 2 hour trip from Kaanapali. We figured the kids would sleep most of the way but it turns out there was quite a light show on the way! There were devastating fires in the area between here and the airport yesterday. The fires were still burning, which were absolutely stunning to see in the darkness of night. We were literally less than 100 feet from some burning trees, with raging fires less than a mile from the road. It was truly amazing to witness.

The winding road to the summit rocked the kids to sleep, but my nervous wife kept me awake every 30-60 seconds with a "Slow down!" The majesty of the mountain was hidden in the darkness of early morning but it was clear just from the headlights that the vegetation changed radically as we climbed two miles above sea level to the top of this dormant set of volcanos.

At the top, we met many other early morning travelers, all bundled up like we were. Just about every spare bit of clothing covered us all, and yet we were all shivering from the cold and the wind. The stars were stunning, with the sky filled with a starfield like we've never seen before. We only had to count to 30 or so before we saw a falling star streak across the sky. As it turns out, the star show really was the show for the kids.

The sunrise was extraordinarily cool, but probably more so for those of us over the age of, say, 12. It's not that the sites weren't cool--it's just that the temperature was so cool, as in wind chills in the 30's.

Once the sun came up, we explored some other trails high up on Haleakala. Whether due to warmer temps or less insane time of day, all 3 kids were totally into trekking to some breathtaking views.

Quote of the morning, from Christa: "I wish the clouds were like trampolines so we could jump on them."

After avoiding bike riders on the journey down, we stopped for breakfast at a highly recommended Kula Lodge. The food was fine, once it showed up. We faked sleeping when the waitress brought the food over an hour after we had walked in. Thankfully she had a good sense of humor.

The afternoon found us at the beach and snorkeling around Black Rock. The big prize today: manta ray! Funny how people seemed less interested in trying to touch these guys than the turtles (by law they weren't supposed to be touching the turtles either).

We went to a nearby luau for dinner, to celebrate Barrett's birthday and take in a little Polynesia. The overwhelming consensus was that the fire guy (think a scantily glad guy twirling a baton that's lit up on both sides) stole the show. He was incredible! The other highlight was daddy and Christa on stage learning how to hula together. Christa was very focused on the luau lady demonstrating the moves! Beyond all that, perhaps the funniest part was listening to the kids discuss whether or not the dancers on stage were wearing underwear or not. In this discussion, we did not reach consensus!

From 2:30am to crashing around 9:00pm, this was a full day of celebrating Barrett's 12th birthday!