My husband and I just celebrated forty years of marriage by going to Maui, my very first trip to Hawaii. It was amazing and I took over seven hundred photos and videos. And that is way too many images to share, just ask a couple of my family members.

I picked two or three of my favorite photos from each of the eight days of our trip to include in my art journal pages (which I'll be sharing later) but for now I'll share just those few here.

Plumeria, palm and kiawe trees on the beach.

The very first thing that struck me as we started driving around on Maui was all of the different plant life. Normally as I drive or walk around, I am used to being able to name most of the plants that I see but there were so many different trees and shrubs that I spent most of the time there trying to discover what they all were. I even bought a couple of plant and flower guide books to help me. I was especially taken by the trees that grow practically right on the beach there, very different from my home state of California.

One thing I learned is that all the plants and trees bloom all year round in Hawaii, unlike only in certain seasons in more temperate climates. This tree was in the resort where we had dinner the first night we were in Maui.

Hawaiian ti plants, traveler's tree and white bird of paradise at the Garden of Eden botanical garden.

One of the first things we did on Maui was take the famous drive on the Hana Highway, a winding road that works it's way through the jungle with so much beauty that it is astounding. We stopped at the Garden of Eden, the first of two botanical gardens we visited during our trip.

Once we arrived in Hana, we stopped at this food truck, typical of so many eating establishments there, and had some very tasty shaved ice.

We stayed at a condo in West Maui, just a bit north of Lahaina, and this was just outside of our patio. I took several images here.

Scott heads out to snorkel at Baby Beach.

My husband Scott, was eager to snorkel (thanks to childhood trauma, the thought gives me a case of the heebie-jeebies.) I was more than content to hang out on the beach. The water was super clear and he had a great time in the crazy blue water.

This was the view looking down Baby Beach, lined with kiawe trees, that look very much like the mesquite trees they are related to. They provided spotty shade and sometimes a bit of a wind break.

I was surprised to learn that Maui is home to monarchs, along with a few other butterflies. We visited the Maui Butterfly Farm, which was near where we stayed. We got to see monarch caterpillars and gently handle a few different kind of butterflies. It was a lovely experience.

We drove to south Maui to see more snorkeling beaches, but the surf conditions were not ideal, so we drove as far south as we could, and were rewarded with some amazing views right on the road.

The following day we visited the Kula Botanical Garden in central Maui. There were so many beautiful plants and flowers and almost all of them had identification plates, which made me super happy. I love knowing all of the names of plants, even if I keep having to look them up again!

We ended up hanging out at Kaanapali Beach a couple of times. The snorkeling was very nice there and it wasn't too crowded. We preferred the beaches that were a little bit away from the resorts. One thing that really struck me was how narrow most of the beaches were, again comparing to many of our beaches in California.

While we did keep fairly busy with some new adventure most days, we also made sure that we spent plenty of time resting.

I had decided that while I would spend a lot of time resting, I also wanted to make some still life images of local flora. Especially since there are strict rules about not bringing in or taking out any plant life. I prepared by packing white poster board to use as a background and the patio table in the shade made the perfect studio space. I also plan on finding flowers and plants back at home for some Hawaiian inspired still life pieces in the future, another reason I wanted to know names of plants!

The condo we stayed in at the end of Honokowai Beach.

I walked the beach where we stayed at least once every day. There were always beautiful views to enjoy.

View along the North Loop Coastline Road Highway 30.

We drove north from where we stayed and spent some time exploring the coastline, where with the help of a guidebook, we found an amazing blowhole, some crazy natural swimming pools and more beautiful views.

Performers at the Royal Lahaina Resort Luau.

We felt like a trip to Hawaii wouldn't have been complete without going to a luau, where we got to be right next to the "sunset stage."

It was a great way to celebrate our fortieth anniversary!

Every morning as we had breakfast on the patio, we were joined by several different kinds of birds, including common house sparrows, who hoped we would share something tasty with them.

Monkeypod trees create a tunnel over Highway 30 through Olowalu.

We drove through this tree tunnel of monkeypod trees several times, including on our way back to airport at the end of our trip. Monkeypod trees looked like giant mimosa trees to me, so I was happy to know that they are in the same family.

Of course, there is no way that just nineteen photographs could really show all of the beauty there is in Maui. The trip really helped me feel the peace that nature can provide and I'm looking forward to sharing more of those feelings of peace through artworks with you in the future.

Maui in Less Than Twenty Photos

It's the Little Things

The Evolution of an Artwork