🌺

The Eckert Family
Maui Adventure

April 27 – May 4, 2026  ·  Ka'anapali, Maui, Hawai'i
"Things we did in Maui" — as recorded by the kids ✏️
8 Days
13h Road to Hana
🐢 Sea Turtles Met
∞ Cats Befriended
🥥 Coconut Glen's
From first steps on Hawaiian sand to saying goodbye to the beach cats —
eight days on the most beautiful island in the world.
✈️
Day 1 · Monday, April 27
We Made It to Maui
  • Walked along the Ka'anapali boardwalk — first time ever first
  • Met the famous beach cat lady + all her cats and chickens 🐱🐓
  • Walked on Hawaiian sand for the very first time 🏝️
  • Dinner at Duke's restaurant on the beach 🍽️ food
Walked on sand for 1st time — clearly a big moment.
🐢
Day 2 · Tuesday, April 28
Sea Turtles at Black Rock
  • Walked the Kapalua Bay Trail 🥾 adventure
  • Snorkeled at Black Rock Beach (Pu'u Keka'a) snorkel
  • Met sea turtles underwater — face to face 🐢🐢
  • Picked up snorkel gear in the morning (ready for the week)
  • Walked the boardwalk again in the evening 🌅
Black Rock is one of Maui's top snorkel spots — sea turtles nearly guaranteed at the rocky point.
🌊
Day 3 · Wednesday, April 29
Wailea, Shaved Ice & a Gecko in a Coconut
  • Drove south to Wailea road trip
  • Snorkeled at Makena Beach Park — coral and fish snorkel
  • Shopped at Wailea's fancy resort strip 🛍️
  • Wailea Beach — windy! + beautiful coral swim
  • Ululani's famous shaved ice 🍧 food
  • Hot tub + lazy river at night with Mama + Dada 🛁 family
  • Found a gecko living inside a coconut by the boardwalk 🦎🥥
Gecko inside coconut by Boardwalk — possibly the best discovery of the whole trip.
🌿
Day 4 · Thursday, April 30
The Road to Hana (All 13 Hours of It)
  • Drove the legendary Road to Hana — 13 hours total 🚗💨 epic
  • Garden of Eden botanical garden — with peacocks 🦚
  • Coconut Falls — lush and green 🌴
  • Stopped at roadside fruit stands food
  • Chicken food stand roadside (cash only!) 🍗
  • Waimoku Falls + 4-mile hike through bamboo forest with massive Banyan trees 🎋 hike
  • Wai'anapanapa State Park — black sand beach + big waves 🌊
  • Coconut Glen's ice cream stand 🍦😊 food
  • Car sickness on the 620 curves 😊 (noted with a smiley — resilient kids)
The Road to Hana is 52 miles, 620 curves, and 59 bridges. 13 hours is doing it RIGHT — stopping everywhere worth stopping.
Car sickness 😊 — the smiley face here says everything about this family's vibe.
🐟
Day 5 · Friday, May 1
Koi Ponds, Waterslides & Whaler's Village
  • Fed giant fish in the Koi Pond 🐠
  • Waterslide, hot tub + pool day 🏊 family
  • Morning by the beach 🌅
  • Grilled food for lunch 🔥 food
  • Weird air siren after lunch 🚨 (a tsunami test drill — a Maui tradition)
  • Shopping at Whaler's Village 🛍️
  • Passed Mama down the beach at sunset — gorgeous 🌇
  • Gelato 🍨 food
🌺
Day 6 · Saturday, May 2
Merriman's Sunset & Riding the Pool Elevator
  • Waterslide at the Airbnb — first thing in the morning family
  • Morning beach walk + saw the cats again 🐱
  • Snorkeled at Black Rock Beach again (it's that good) snorkel
  • Used the pool + waterslide at the Sheraton Maui 🏨
  • Dinner at Merriman's Kapalua — watched the sunset 🌅 food
  • Rode the pool elevator up and down solo for 5 minutes 🛗 (the real highlight)
  • Made cookies at the Airbnb 🍪 family
"Pool elevator up + down alone for 5 minutes" — kids find the best things.
💨
Day 7 · Sunday, May 3
Honolua Bay, the Blowhole & Dada's Foot
  • Honolua Bay — walked the jungle trail, met chickens, hiked over rocks 🌴🐓 hike
  • Attempted to snorkel Honolua Bay — tried hard, conditions were tough swim
  • Nakalele Blowhole hike 💨 hike
  • Back to Black Rock for more snorkeling + Sheraton pool 🐢 snorkel
  • Waterslide — Dada cut his foot 🩹 (worth it)
  • Sunset photos by the beach 📸 🌅
  • Ran around in the grass with the cats 🐱 family
Nakalele Blowhole: a lava tube that shoots ocean water 100 feet in the air. One of the most dramatic natural features on Maui's north shore.
🏠
Day 8 · Monday, May 4
Last Morning, Goodbye to the Cats, Fly Home
  • Packed up + checked out of the Airbnb at Honua Kai 🧳
  • Last walk at the ocean — said goodbye to the cats 🐱🌊 family
  • Cinnamon buns for breakfast from Papi's Ohana 🍩 food
  • Returned the snorkel gear
  • Sacred Garden — parrot + chickens 🦜
  • Makawao Forest Reserve — forest hike in the rain 🌧️ hike
  • Paia town — shopping + Paia Fish Market 🐟 food
  • Ho'okipa Beach — watched the surfers + sat on the rocks 🏄 🌊
  • Flew home ✈️
Said goodbye to the cats — they made friends with a whole community of beach cats. Peak Maui experience.

Trip Highlights

The moments that made this trip

🐢
Sea Turtles
Met face-to-face while snorkeling at Black Rock
🌿
Road to Hana
13 hours, bamboo forests, black sand beach, Coconut Glen's
🥥
Gecko in a Coconut
Found a gecko living inside a coconut shell by the boardwalk
🐱
The Beach Cats
Made friends with the famous Ka'anapali beach cat colony — and said a proper goodbye on day 8
🌺
Ululani's Shaved Ice
The best shaved ice in Hawaii, full stop
🛗
The Pool Elevator
Rode it up and down alone for 5 full minutes. No notes.

Mahalo, Maui 🌺

Eight days. Eight pages of pencil notes. One family that snorkeled with sea turtles, survived 620 curves on the Road to Hana, befriended every cat on the island, and ate their weight in shaved ice and coconut ice cream.

Until next time.