moloka'i

todd has wanted to visit moloka'i from the moment he first heard about the island. when we first moved to maui he had a few students from moloka'i & they constantly raved about it. in fact, my friends that have visited all the islands say that is the most amazing of all the amazing hawaiian islands. molokaians say that moloka'i mo bettah. although, i was more than a little interested to see check out moloka'i for myself i was terrified of the getting-to-moloka'i process. you see, you either have to take a teensy little 1 engine 10 seater plane or cross the second worst channel in the world via ferry. neither of which sounded appealing. i conceded to the idea that as much as i wanted to visit moloka'i it just wasn't itn the cards for me. so for todd's 30th birthday i gave him a weekend solo on moloka'i. after his 31st birthday had come & gone & countless times encouraging him to go he still hadn't made it to moloka'i. he said he wanted us all to go experience it together. so i talked to everyone i knew, i read every review & i finally agreed to take the ferry. and that is how our moloka'i adventure went from a dream to a reality.

 todd found a great deal on mokulele so he, cooper, & mylo flew to moloka'i. todd said the flight alone was worth the trip. they had gorgeous views of the island & the pali coast. tj & i had a boat date on the ferry. it worked out perfectly. the crew said we had abnormally smooth conditions & we even passed a pod of dolphins along our way. we spent the next few days covering every possible inch of the island & taking in all the incredible beauty. it amazes me how i can live on maui & honestly know it like the back of my hand, yet, i can visit other islands & literally have my jaw drop in amazement. every side of the island was gorgeous in it's own unique way. there were plants & terrain i've never seen before. there were so many vibrant shades of blue, green, & brown that made the whole island feel alive. moloka'i definitely lived up to it's reputation as the friendly isle. the people were the kindest i've ever experienced. the whole island is full of aloha. it was incredible to see the moloka'i lifestyle. the sign outside the market reads, "aloha spirit required. if you're not ready to share it than please come again another time." we should all follow that mantra every time we get out of bed.

we loved every inch of moloka'i, because every single inch is breathtakingly gorgeous. and we covered every bit of the island that we possibly could in our few days. we visited the east side, west side, north side, south side, & every spot in between. my favorites were halawa valley, the make horse tide pools, & being relieved from photography duties. todd loved the pali coast & cinnamon butter hot bread. cooper loved finding treasures among all the rubbish & finding an awesome cave at mo'omomi & ono dragon fruit. tj was super excited to drive around in a truck & hunt for treasures on mo'omomi. mylo loved the park at one ali'i, & moloka'i pizza.

halawa valley

 kalaupapa

mo'omomi dunes

papohaku beach

fishponds, kamakou preserve, dragonfruit (probably the only thing that costs less on moloka'i than maui.)

make horse beach & tide pools

mo'omomi

we opted to camp since we could easily bring all our gear on the ferry & the boys have been begging to bust out the tent all summer. i definitely, recommend taking any & all food with you. the selection is very limited & so overpriced. we wanted to try a night at each of the different campsites but due to torrential rain upcountry palaau was ruled out at the last minute. camping at papohaku was gorgeous & felt like real forest camping even though one of hawaii's biggest beach was only a few yards from our tent. our favorite was one ali'i. it is so centrally located at close to kanemitsu's so it makes for an easy late night hot bread run, which is a total moloka'i must. at one ali'i our tent was only feet from the beach & we had the most gorgeous views of maui & lana'i. the first morning we woke up a huge fever of stingrays right outside our door. it was incredible.

 the boys loved camping. i mean, what little body doesn't love tree climbing, crab hunting, flash lighting, marshmallow roasting, & late nights in a tent. it was like heaven. i was shocked with how well they slept. but i guess when you play hard you crash hard. cooper was the best little helper. always gathering wood for fires, building the tent, or finding any other need he could fill.

our moloka'i musts are: kalaupapa, halawa valley, kamakou preserve, mo'omomi, phalic rock, kanemitsu's bakery hot bread, pali coast, make horse beach.