Another low-key day for vacation.  This morning we went to Iao Valley to see the Iao Needle.  The needle is considered to be a religious location due to the ancient Hawaiian belief that it was the reproductive organ of the God of the Ocean.  And we drove out of our way to see it.  The sign explaining the site actually used the word “phallus” and fortunately Rylie was too busy looking around to read it, and Chloe just skimmed over that section.

Iao Needle in the clouds.

After the overlook of the needle we walked down to look at the stream which carved the valley, and it was really unimpressive.  The is picturesque, but it looks like something which could have easily been seen in Maine.  I learned that there are periods of extreme flow which were likely when the carving was done.

This is Hawaii. Honest.

After the stream we walked through a small area at the park which I believe was supposed to be some sort of little village.  It was interesting, but not overly exciting.  Chloe decided she was tired of walking (we had covered a total of maybe a half mile) so I picked her up.  I think people were confused about whether or not I was her parent or some crazy guy abducting her.  But no one stopped me.

Fireman style.

On the way back to the hotel we decided to stop by the Royal Lahaina Hotel and Resort which is where Michelle and I spent our honeymoon while on Maui.  It has changed in some ways, but not in others.  The biggest change was that it was a private gated entry.  Michelle wanted to turn around, but I wasn’t giving up.  I explained the situation and asked if we could enter to see where we spent our honeymoon.  He gave me a big smile and said that the Royal Lahaina family was always welcome to return.  To celebrate we had the kids take a picture of us in the same spot our favorite picture was taken 13 years ago.

The person who took the original picture was little taller making more of the ocean visible. Oh well.

After a quick lunch in the room, we headed to the beach.  All week the surf has been crazy, but today the undertow was harder than it has been and we had a full time job on our hands watching the kids.  Everyone was safe, but eventually the waves got big and were breaking close to shore.  Numerous waves were six plus feet.  The kids enjoyed boogie boarding safely in the break, while the adults stayed out a little farther maintaing a watchful eye.  Of course, we also enjoyed watching the people on the beach who weren’t used to waves get knocked around.  It was a hysterical.

I explored the reef near the beach with a snorkel and saw two fish.  Awesome.  Then we found out there was a turtle so I grabbed the camera and headed back out.  Turns out there were two, a father and a baby.  By baby I mean probably under 10 years old.  Dad was a big boy, well larger than me.  I took a number of pictures, but only one came out really well.  Tomorrow I’m hoping to to have more time to look around and explore some of the other reefs.