Maui, Hawaii- in collages

warning: this entire post is collages and there are lots of plant pictures. 

Thanksgiving 2012. The first year we did not make apple cider. And I was fine with it. You know it's going to be a good week when you can pack nothing but short sleeved shirts, swimsuits, and coverups, and go fly to Hawaii to a condo right close to the beach. My little horticulture brain went crazy. And when I got home I realized that more than half of my pictures were of plants. I guess this just goes to show that I chose my major for a reason. Anyhow. Good weather, forests, fish, snorkeling, beaches, luaus, fruit, and other such adventures in Maui...sounds like a good idea for me. 

"Things that you struggle to grow in greenhouses...they grow like weeds on the side of the road there."

SNORKELING. Every Day. Obviously not many pictures for this one because we were underwater. But Maui has some incredible beaches with insane amounts of the coolest fish ever. We went out in a little cove, to the airport beach, and the black rock beach (favorite) and swam with schools of fish, watched eels, looked at all the colorful fish that I'd never heard of, and (my favorite) almost swam right into the face of a turtle. SO SOO cool! 

The Smoothie Bus that we found on our drive around the mountain (best. smoothie. ever.). Giant shark jaws in one of the windows on the Lahaina street (like the Hawaiian version of Park City's main street). Giant coconuts that are fallen all over the road and giant avacados. Basically all the fruit is huge and delicious. The streets are just strewn with flowers and fallen fruit. I love how the paths in the jungle smell like guava and are covered in these orange flowers. Little crosses all along the road. And geckos jumping on the leaves of the flowers I bend over to smell.

I learned very quickly the power of the ocean. It's so incredible the energy that is in the waves. But it was not so fun before I realized that a small slow girl like myself cannot, in fact, out run the waves of a rising tide when trapped in the awesome little cove she found with her faster sisters. So yes, I did get a few battle scars from being knocked over and then rolled on the lava rocks and feeling like Tom Hanks on Cast Away when he gets smashed on the coral. Thank goodness for sisters who can save you from those kinds of things. 

And yes. I was very much pleased when we got to make stops like 'Arboretum' and 'Kumu Farms' and I got to name off flowers and see the things I've been learning about in person..and just be amazed at all the tree types and how they grow SO MUCH produce there. 

BEACHES!

Hey Sabrina- lay down next to your Hawaii sign and I'll take a picture of you *as a big wave is on it's way*....the things we do to little sisters :)

Banyan trees + an art in the park type of deal...coolest thing ever- the tree takes up the entire park because it has expanded so much. It's in Lahaina.

 The Old Lahaina Luau. They made us a Hawaiian style Thanksgiving dinner, I actually ate some of that pig (yes, after seeing it in the pit with a face), had orchids and live music everywhere, and the hula dancing was awesome. Plus...the desert was super good- except that white thing was like some kind of coconut tofu tasting deal.

 Oh! The fancyness of the tropical flowers and orchid leis - and I was in heaven.

 And what happens when your server takes your camera...

Here's some Hawaiian dancing videos...

The Road to Hana (some of the previous pictures were from this as well).

Hiking through the jungle and swimming in hidden waterfall lakes. 

Native villages where they grow taro and eat fish they catch from the ocean, and Scotlandesque beaches. 

Black Rock Beach

Red Rock Beach

The Seven Sacred Pools

And more plants....because who knew that left-picture is what the inside of center-picture looks like, and right-picture is what the center of a banana tree looks like?

And awesome flowers that I had never seen before.