Day 8: Kama'ole Beach

On day eight, Jim wanted to surf.  The waves around our hotel weren't good surfing waves, I guess they didn't roll in long enough or something, so Jim checked out one of the three Kama'ole beaches earlier in the week and deemed them surf-worthy.  Our eighth day was dedicated to Jim surfing.  We made our way to the beach, and some of us played while others surfed.

Jim just had a little board from Costco.  Nothing close to what the pros use, but even with his little board, he was able to stand up and surf on a few waves several times.  Jim's one of those people who can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to.  It's kind of sickening sometimes to see him jump from beginner to intermediate level in a mater of minutes.  What he can teach himself in a few minutes would take me years to learn.  Ha!

Jim surfing

Cas and Tralee.  They had on the same swimsuit!

Jim helped Cassi and Tandra ride in a few waves as well

Tandy wrote this in the sand -- AWE!

Tandra, she got really close to standing!

Hunty catchin' some rays with his cousins

After surfing, we knew we couldn't take the little surfboard with us on the plane, so Jim went up to a little boy and his mother and passed it on to them.  They seemed appreciative, so we felt good about it.  Next we went back to our hotel and played in the kiddie pool and at Ulua beach the rest of the day.

I didn't take any pictures the rest of the day because it was our last FULL day in Maui, and I just wanted to enjoy the experience without feeling the pressure of snapping pictures.  I have a lot of mental images though.  Here are some of my favorites:

1.  Body surfing with Tandra and Cassi.  We shared our two body boards and rode in some really big waves together.  It was SOOOO fun!

2.  Taking Tralee further out into the ocean with me.  We held hands and I helped her jump over some of the larger waves.  She was having the best time of her life and kept shouting, "I love you mom!  You're the best mom EVER!  This is SOOOO fun!  I LOVE IT!"  I loved it to!

3.  Helping Tralee body surf on a board.  She was scared, but knew I would be right next to her, so she did it!

4.  Watching Tralee surf on the waves "wipout" a board.  She layed on her belly, with her back towards the ocean and fearlessly waited for those big waves to scoop her up, and push her towards the shore.  She was pummeled a few times, but she wasn't scared.  I was so proud.

5.  Laying down in the water and watching the waves come in.  They looked really big from floating position, then when I stood up, they didn't seem that big at all!

6.  Walking away from Ulua beach -- hand-in-hand with Tralee -- and thanking it for all the fun it provided.

7.  Telling Tralee to stand with me in front of the ocean and breath in our last deep breaths of Hawaii.  We gulped in as much fresh ocean air as we could.


  That night we all showered and while Jim got the kids to bed, Ade, her girls, and I went to check out the shops in Waelia.  Before that, Ade treated us to some virgin pina coladas, and dessert at our hotel's restaurant.  Yum!  The shopping center had lots of fun art galleries, an ice cream shop, and other nice shops.  We even saw a fire dancer while shopping.  That was fun.  It was nice to hang out with some of my favorite girlies!

When we finished shopping, we walked back to the Marriott, and hit the hay.