Maui: Days 7-9

Wednesday was a training day for Joe, so Rowan and I headed to the beach while he worked out. Joe had a good, long day of training (I included some photos on Flickr that he took of Bubba and Daniel pole vaulting--Joe has gotten really good at sports photography, now if he could only take pictures of himself! I always seem to be chasing after a 2 year old when there are opportunities for me to take pictures of him!) Rowan and I had a relaxing, long day at the beach. Rowan had a breakthrough in the ocean---she suddenly overcame her fear and was fully committed to body surfing. We were on a fairly calm beach, but waves were still crashing right at the shore. She was rolling around, trying to catch them and surf herself in. It was fun. As soon as Joe returned from working out, we had to take him back to the same beach so she could show him. There are a few pictures...didn't get a good one of body surfing, but there are some cute ones of Joe and Rowan in the surf.

Thursday was another "rest" day for Joe...which we truly treated as rest. We went to a few different beaches (are you sensing a routine here?) because the weather was just perfect. Every day the forecast has been 50-60% chance of rain, but we have barely seen any so far. We've been bracing for a rain-day, and saved things to do for a non-sunny day...so we feel compelled, when it is nice, to be outside. Because of the big storm and all the rain before we arrived, we've been shocked by how ideal the weather has been. But Thursday was a very chilled day---played a little ball with Rowan, built some sand creations, but mostly just laid around and played in the
waves. There are a few pictures at Flickr.

Friday was a very windy day, so Joe dropped us off at the aquarium before he headed to train. Before we left for Maui, Rowan had been looking at this guide book (the very best guidebook for for Maui is called "Maui Revealed"...not a mainstream guidebook, but one written by people who've lived here and are not getting paid by any advertisers. There is also an "Oahu Revealed" and one for each island. Great history, stories, secret places, and very candid reviews). She saw a photo of some kids at an aquarium in the guidebook, and ever since, Rowan thinks that a main reason for our trip to Hawaii is the aquarium. So we had to go. We had a lot of time to burn at the aquarium since Joe had the car, and it was fun to do it at Rowan's pace. I'm a very efficient person, and tend to rush through these kinds of places. Friday I let Rowan take the lead, and I was astounded by her attention span. Our favorite part was watching a scuba diver feed a huge tank of sharks, giant rays, and other fish. We sat for over an hour watching all this.
Friday night we went to a church that Scott (Dan's friend who Joe has been training with) invited us to. It was a very loud, contemporary service with a minister who was quick to tear up and easy to listen to for 45 minutes. Rowan loves worship music--she dances wildly and tries hard to learn the words. Quote of the night from Joe: "who knew that if you crossed a Baptist with a Christian Reformed, you'd get a Pentecostal."

For more photos of the last few days, click here.