Day 12-Play Day with Xander

While Mom & Dad went scuba diving this AM Xander stayed home and worked on his toy skills.  He’s already mastered the “squishy book” genre and is tackling spinners next.  He was a good boy, ate lots to keep up his physique and had two good naps. 

Have I talked about the chickens in Hawaii?  I think their population exceeds the tourists from the Mainland and possible the Hawaiians as well.  This little nuclear family (so many of the roosters abandon mom and the kids) greeted us at our car as we headed out for dinner. 

After Ry and Mattie returned and rested a bit we enjoyed a nice dinner and drinks to the accompaniment of a great guitarist and an inviting sunset evening at Maui Brewing Company. 

Just in case Child Protective Services sees this, that is definitely not  Xander’s Mohito.  He only drinks Marg’s. 

Ry hasn’t been to the gym lately so he “farmer  carry’s” Xander around the brew pub for a days worth of exercise.  He’s a pretty dense little dude that Xander. 

Day 11- Walk, pool, eat, repeat

Easy but modestly active day today.  Ang and I started our day with a 6 mile walk to the post office to get a stamp for a postcard for her sister Marcie.  Marcie loves to send thoughtful post cards whether she’s traveling or not so we thought she was more than worth a 6 mile walk to the post office this morning to send her one.  She’s getting over Covid also so she’s got that going for her too. 

We had a lot of Xander time today while Ry and Mattie got out by themselves a couple of times.  Hanging out on the lanai Xander tells us a joke but he can’t hold back his smile ahead of the punch line very well.  I’m sure he’ll get better at telling jokes.  After all he’s only 8 months old.  

Xander wanted to get some laps in at the pool too.  He says he’s trying to slim down on his baby fat. I just think he likes to check out the chicks.  One things for sure, he’s definitely got the rapper stare and crossed arms down. 


Mattie and Angela had their eyes on the Paia Fish Market for dinner tonight. Ry wasn’t feeling hungry so I joined the ladies for a two and a half walk round trip walk while Ry hung around with Xander Bander.  It was a great dinner and a great evening walk there and back.  Xander was asleep when we returned and we weren’t awake much longer either!

Day 10- Cinnamon Rolls, Haleakala, Xander B-day

Queues form for these cinnamon rolls every morning so Angela and I went on the Dawn Patrol at 6am to snatch our bounty. 

Shortly after this feast of sweet carbs we all went into a sugar coma except for Xander who’s still pretty much a breast milk man with the exception of a little yogurt here and there. 

Our adventure of the day was a road trip up to the cloud covered volcano Haleakala about an hours drive away.  It was a pretty drive through the fields and up through the alpine zones all the way up to a high desert environment at +10,000 ft. 

Haleakala means House of the Sun but it was cloudy, misty and cool for us. I guess it’s not been good weather for star gazing the universe either. 

We celebrated Xander’s eight month birthday at the beach where he showcased men’s beachwear and signed autographs for fans.  

I don’t know why some people say Angela has her head in the sand about me. 

Ry and Mattie got us both luxurious and real leis which we modeled with Xander in front of the gorgeous flowers on the grounds. 

Angela got her pork and pineapple birthday pizza one day delayed at Pizza Madness a few miles down the street.  We all ate until we almost exploded, went home played euchre and then played dead on our beds until overcome by sleep and tryptophan. 

Day 9- Angela’s Birthday!

Today’s Thursday and Xander likes to start his Thursdays off with a little stroll so we were happy to oblige.  

Xander had an emergency hydration event we needed to take care of as we strolled down the beach.  Xander said he was feeling a little light headed but I think it was just an excuse for him to keep bulking up. Angela was happy to quench his thirst beachside. 

Even though it’s Angela’s birthday today the little boy demanded we focus our attention on him, or else! I think I have a picture somewhere dedicated to Angela and her birthday. Hope I find it soon.  

These are Angela’s hands as she deals her favorite card game, euchre (because it’s her birthday), while Xander watch’s her closely for a cheating deal. Mattie and Ryan are playing a parental supportive role. 

We spent some time at the pool as well. Xander worked on his freestyle and butterfly stroke before catching a few rays with Mom and Dad. 

Here’s Xander showing me how to do a better job of taking a selfie.  See how he pushed me out of the frame?  He’s so smart. 

And finally!  After dinner on the lanai we celebrated Angela’s birthday with one of her favorites, Key Lime Pie.  Happy birthday my dear and thanks Ryan and Mattie for the dinner and the birthday pie!

And we ended the day with a walk along the beach as the sun set. Another great day in Hawaii and very good birthday that Angela was able to spend with part of our family.  

Day 8- Maui

The boy Xander had a rough night adapting to Maui time, this impacting Ry and Mattie a bit but we managed to get our act together for breakfast just down the street at Beech Street. 

Of course we had some beach time, especially considering it was Xanders first experience at the beach. There were lots of photo ops and he did very much enjoy the waves washing over his little dough feet.

Naturally Xander was also the coolest kid under our umbrella!

Towards the end of the day Angela and I snuck outside and enjoyed our Mai Tai’s at a water feature just outside of our condo. 

Xander awoke from his afternoon nap ready for a stroll along the beach which we felt it was necessary to oblige him. 

And we all enjoyed the sunset on our first and very good day on Maui!! Good evening. 

Day 7-Kaua’i to Maui: Xander’s Vacation in Maui!

Today Xander is flying to Maui from Denver on a vacation. Unfortunately the darn airline won’t let 7 month olds fly alone so his Dad and Mom had to come along too. 

While Xander flies across the Pacific with Ryan and Mattie Angela and I are leaving Kaua’i for Maui. 

We’re in Maui an hour or so ahead of the Brand family so we decide to sample the Mai Tai’s at Kahului Airport.  Verdict, not that good, but we killed some time while we waited!

Xander’s flight is actually early but the silly Hawaiian Airline jet is delayed leaving the gate again so he has to wait patiently with dad’s help. 

TaDaaa! We’re here!

Xander has a pretty bad case of jet lag, his first time flying you see. So he’s a bit out of sorts and has what’s commonly called the “1,000 yard stare”. 

After some low-light therapy he gets a little snooze in on the 40 minute drive to the resort so he doesn’t have to make Papa feel uncomfortable with his staring. 😬

Finally at the resort in Kihei, and after a brief period of consciousness and mother’s milk he continues his nap in low-light.  

Ryan and Mattie took a break to get themselves a couple of serious Island drinks to help kickstart their vacation and brought back dinner while Nana and Papa watched over the little one.  Soon we were all getting low-light therapy and sleeping! Let the Maui vacation begin!

Day 6: A Hanalei Rain Day

Monday, our seventh travel day, was a mostly rainy day.  We didn’t realize it at the time, but our usual morning walk, this time to the far east of the bay, was one of the few moments when we wouldn’t have rain today. 


Angela waives from a little delta formed at the mouth of the river into the bay.  A friend of ours who used to live and surf here for 14 years said he used to ride the river stream out into the surf to get to a distant point break that was often good for surfing. 

Shortly after our walk and breakfast at the Hanalei Bread Company the rain began in earnest. 

Spending time on the lanai, or horizontal on a couch inside, we read and we read. Then we snacked a little and read some more. There might have been a little nap in there somewhere, I forget for sure.  But the day passed leisurely until late afternoon when we got a little break from the rain. We did a little souvenir shopping for friends, grandkids and maybe a little for ourselves, had a take away pizza, and got back to our place before then rain started again.  Our seventh day was a day of rest, a pleasant one. 

Day 5-Hanalei

Sunday morning was easy peasy with a light breakfast and reading on the deck for Angela.  Today our thoughts for the near future continue to be easy, and slow.  

Easy and slow didn’t preclude our morning walk to the west side of Hannalei Bay today.   This is actually a little cold water river running in from the cloud encased mountains to the south. 


Lots and lots of driftwood and downed trees along Hanalei Beach. 

The day started out as a mostly cloud covered day especially around the mountains. 

The channel that was carved by the little river running onto the ocean offered us a plethora of coral that we collected for the grandkids.  The broken bottom of the beer bottle we just recycled. 

Beach Part Deux: The Afternoon.  We had some afternoon sun while Angela enjoyed reading her book.  

I enjoyed doing nothing other than watching the clouds, the surf and the surfers while occasionally pondering my owy from my flip flops on my winter feet. Soon I’ll have summer feet back and say good bye to my pink bandaids of shame.  


Dinner at the Hannalei Gourmet starting with the obligatory (but always tasty) Mai Tai’s. 

Meanwhile the Mango Brothers on guitar and an 8 string Ukelele jammed very well on a combo of Hawaiian tunes and great standards like Hotel California. 

A view from our front yard lets us watch Venus setting below the waxing moon as we end another wonderful (and easy) day in Hawaii.