The Road to Hana

Today we completely set aside for a drive to the North Shore of the island. Everyone has told us that we simply must do the drive to Hana, but that it is too much to undertake in one day. Looking at the map, we felt we could handle it in one day, veteran road-trippers that we are, so we set off early morning revved up for a full day excursion. After a quick Starbucks fueling and an even quicker gas fueling, we headed east through Lahaina along the Honoapi'ilani Highway (also known, mercifully, as Route 30.  Although we have found that if you try to speak Hawaiian words with a smile and Aloha, you can get along okay). :)))

Lahaina looked much sleepier in the early morning sun. There were already several paddle board surfers in the water though, and we enjoyed a very nice display of their skills as we passed by.

 

It is interesting how many different types of surfers there are. Some surf on kite boards, some on sail boards, some on long boards using a paddle to steer and balance through the waves, and some still use just the traditional surfboard. All are fun to watch.

As we continued along the highway, we saw several more humpback whales making their annual pilgrimage. We watched their spoutings, tail lobs, and fin splashes. How beautiful they are!  The spouting puffs are something we will not forget- it's very much like the puff of a powerful steam engine.  It is quite common here to see groups of people standing on a cliff, or an overlook, or right on the beach with binoculars scanning the waters for whales. Although we wanted to remain there watching this spectacle as long as possible, we continued on our way and reached the Hana Highway which is close to the Kahului Airport.

The road to Hana is a must-do if you come to Maui. Actually, I would call it THE must do. David and I both agree that the drive from Pa'ia to Hana and beyond was the highlight of our trip to the island. The breathtaking ocean scenery, the jungle-like tropical terrain, the assorted waterfalls, the funky roadside fruit and snack stands, the various attractions along the way - all make for a day filled with wonder and excitement.

 

In Pa'ia, we stopped at Ho'okipa Beach to once again watch the surfers. The east and west sides of Maui contrast greatly in their climates, and this contrast carries over in terms of the roughness of the waves at the beaches. The west beaches are fairly calm with smaller waves. But here at Ho'okipa, we saw the massive waves one always associates with Hawaiian surfing. It was thrilling to watch the expert surfers tackle these big monsters.

From Pa'ia, we drove until we saw the sign for the twin waterfalls. As you drive the Hana Highway, you will see areas every so often where many cars are parked along the side of the road, and occasionally you'll also see people gawking at something. If you don't know ahead of time that there is some sort of interesting thing to see or do, you may obliviously pass something really interesting. So it's probably a good idea to read up on what you may see. We did not do this!  But fortunately our concierge at the hotel told us what to look out for. So we knew that the waterfalls were coming up shortly.

In order to view the falls, you need to hike a little over a mile each way into the jungle. It isn't a bad hike by any means, but you must be prepared to get a bit wet and/or muddy. The dirt we walked on was quite muddy in areas, and there was one place where we had to cross a creek and opt to either remove our shoes or get soaked up to our ankles. If you want to go all the way to the base of the falls you need to wade, probably past your knees. Not a bad idea to wear your swimsuit under your shorts.

The falls and the walk were worth doing. As Oregonians, it is difficult not making comparisons with Multnomah Falls when we see a waterfall. We are spoiled by its height and majesty!  But this was very nice too.

Almost immediately following the falls, there is a grove of eucalyptus trees they call "rainbow eucalyptus" for their bright, multi-colored bark. Very cool!  We had never seen anything like it!  They almost look fake, as if someone took a paintbrush to them! We only saw two stands of them and they are close together. Once again, if you see a lot of cars parked along the road you know you are close to an attraction, so slow down and start looking for a place to park.

Did I say slow down? One thing you need to know about this road is that you are going to be driving VERY slow. Most of the time you will be driving between 25 and 35 miles an hour. Never more than 45 and that only for a few minutes. I (David) could not understand how the distance was only about 50 miles but the GPS said it would take 3 hours to get there. After driving it you understand. Much of the time you will be going only 10 or 15. I thought that surely I could beat that time. Nope. Put that thought out of your head. It ain't happenin. You might as well just relax and enjoy. There is simply no place to pass and if there was the road doesn't allow it. In fact many times you have to wait at a wide spot for the traffic coming the other way because the road isn't always wide enough to allow two way traffic.

After a quick and delicious pork taco from a food stand, (I see Karen didn't want to mention the fresh coconut pineapple bread, but I can't let her get away with that!) on toward Hana. Our next stop was at Wainapanapa Park to see the unusual black sand beach. This was quite lovely!  We trekked down to the water so we could stand on the black sand. What a wild and rugged beachfront it was!

A bit more driving, and we arrived in Hana. The town seems to have been untouched by any major development over the last several years.  There is an abundance of natural, scenic beauty and a small-town feel. We drove through it and intended to continue onto our next attraction - a large waterfall in a state park further along the road - but we turned back, since we had a dinner reservation to get to.

We retraced our steps and arrived back in the town of Pa'ia two hours later.  We had made a reservation at Mama's Fish House, highly recommended by many people we spoke to in town, tourists and natives alike.

From the name, we were expecting a small, homey casual restaurant with inexpensive fish and chips, etc. That is not at all what we got!!!  This was one of the finest meals we have ever eaten, in a setting that can only be described as world class. The quality of the food, the presentation, the service, the amazing private beach setting- everything was unbelievably top notch.  David had a local fresh-caught opakapaka, prepared in a mild orange butter sauce and herbs, dusted with macadamia nuts with rice and a veggie medley.  Karen had mahi mahi stuffed with crab, lobster, corn, sautéed pineapple and macadamia nuts with rice and salad. What a meal!!  A nice walk along their beach finished off the experience.

We made our way back to the hotel and turned in early.

Good night everyone!


Karen and David







Sent from my iPhone

Kihei, Wailea and Makena

We had planned for this day to be somewhat laid back.  David, still trying to stick as closely as possible to his gout diet, had a nice breakfast of fresh pineapple from the local farmers market and lovely ripe strawberries.  Then it was off to Starbucks for a satisfying cup of espresso for David and Karen’s chai tea latte.  

Today’s agenda was to drive south and east to Kihei, Wailea and Makena.  We have a friend at our home Starbucks in Hood River who has a best friend that operates a food truck in Kihei.  That was our first stop – to try and find the food truck.  Alas, search as we might, we never did find it.  Sorry Kathy!

Continuing around the coast from Kihei, the next town was Wailea.  You could immediately tell that this was the “high end” area. The fancy resorts (Ritz-Carlton,Four Seasons, etc.) lined this stretch, and the uber upscale retail shops (Tiffany’s, Coach, etc.) were right beside them.  No doubt this was a beautiful area.  Everything was perfectly manicured.  But, as beautiful as it was, it lacked the natural beauty that we found in other locations on the island.  This could have been Beverly Hills, or any other toney place.  These towns are all very close together, and the flavor changes quickly.  Within just a couple of miles, we had left the beautiful people and got back into the more aboriginal setting of Makena.  Ok, I somewhat jest here.  Makena is just a little toned down from Wailea.  But, once having passed Makena, we quickly got to, literally, the end of the road.  In fact, the sign read “This road leads to nowhere.”  We figured that even in our rental jeep, that this was a good place to turn around.

Backtracking along the coast, we found another neat little farmers’ market on the outskirts of Kihei.  We just love stopping at these farmers’ markets, stocking up on fresh fruits and nuts and, in this case, macadamia flower honey!  Directly across the road from the farmers’ market was one of the myriad of shore side parks that the state has provided.  We sat down under the shade of some coconut palms and enjoyed the bounty we had just purchased.  It was absolutely idyllic, and made quite a feast of a lunch that will not be soon forgotten.  Fresh bananas, fresh pineapples, fresh roasted macadamia nuts, dried mango, and, of course, the honey.

 On the way down the coast in the morning, we had marveled at the clouds and mist hanging over the mountains to the north of us.  As we worked our way back up the coast, we could see the mountains were still shrouded in mist.  We wanted to see if we could work our way up into the mountains to get a close-up view.  We found a road leading to a State Park in a valley called Ioa.  The park commemorates the spot where King Kamehameha defeated the Maui army in 1790.  What a lush, beautiful and mystical place this was.  It was truly a verdant tropical jungle, complete with colorful birds and a multi-storied tree canopy.

After leaving the Valley of Ioa, we stopped at what had at one time been a sugar cane plantation.  It is now a beautiful tourist trap and purveyor of expensive, exotic organic fruits and vegetables.  But it was so nice, and since we were in fact tourists, we had to visit it.  We were glad we did, if only for the opportunity it gave us to buy some more fresh fruit!  This time, it was more of those to-die-for apple bananas (mentioned earlier) and uncommon black raspberries.

 We had enjoyed visiting Lahaina so much the day before that we decided to spend some more time there today.  It is a quaint old fishing town that is now almost overrun by tourists.  But, even though it was packed with tourists, they somehow just seemed to add to the charm and were not the distraction you might think.  And besides, we really enjoy people watching.  Here, there was no shortage of specimens to observe!  

And speaking of specimens, there is a huge Banyan tree right in the middle of Lahaina.  Keep in mind that Lahaina consists mostly of one main street, with a few side streets jutting off at various odd angles.  The town contains an eclectic mix of old fishing shacks, Victorian beauties and mid-century and modern mansions, one on top of another.  All are set off by the backdrop of the beautiful bay.  Ok, now back to the Banyan tree - this tree literally takes up a whole city block.  We tried taking some pictures of it, but they truly do not do it justice.  The eye just can’t take it in all at once.  You keep thinking you are looking at a small forest of trees.  You have to force your mind to accept the fact that this is just one tree.  

 There is also a really neat art gallery there that sells both real and reproduction maps from the 1800’s.  David had a great time drooling over those maps.  One that we really liked was of North America from the 1850’s.  It was interesting to see the northwest and our area on the Washington/Oregon border that still belonged to Russian and England. On this map, Mexico ran all the way up to northern California.

By now, it was getting on to dinner time.  Someone had recommended a restaurant in Lahaina called the Aloha Mixed Plate.  I’m sure it probably seems like this whole trip centers around food.  Is that a problem?  Not for us! 

 Happy Hour was still on when we got there, so we started out with a wonderful Mai Tai. 

 Dinner consisted of Kahlua Pork and steamed cabbage over rice with a side of pasta.  The only added seasoning was some sea salt.  It is hard to believe how something so simple can be so delicious.  Since happy hour was still going when our meal was over, we had to have a Pina Colada for dessert.  We both agreed that we had never had a better one.  The fresh coconut and pineapple were just amazing.

 

Then it was back to the Westin for the evening.  Yesterday, we had rushed back from our day’s outing to try to get down to the beach to watch the sunset.  We almost made it.  Although we technically got there before official sunset, the fact that the Island of Lanai is due west of us meant that the sun had just dropped below a ridge of Lanai as we reached the shore.  So, today, we made sure we got there in plenty of time.  Lots of other people had the same idea, and we all shared a spectacular sunset – a sunset punctuated by humpback whales breaching and putting on a spectacular show for us.

We decided to take a stroll along the beach while watching the whales play.  Believe it or not, this was actually the first time since we had been here that we put our feet in the ocean.  

Now off to bed to rest up for another adventure tomorrow!

David and Karen

West Coast Adventures

Good morning everyone,

What a lovely day it was today!  A perfect 80 degrees and sunny, with a pleasant breeze and occasional cloud cover. When we walked downstairs to the open-air breakfast buffet this morning, we could see clear out to the ocean. And the first thing we saw was a humpback whale breaching!  It leaped way up out of the water and came down with a huge splash. Spectacular!  Almost as if it did it just to greet us!

Breakfast was delicious, luxurious and exotic. We were treated to all of the tasty and abundant fruits which Hawaii has to offer. Guava, orange and passion fruit juices accompanied the meal. And what a setting, looking out over the serene Pacific. Here is where we sat.

After breakfast, we set off for a drive farther up along the west shoreline of Maui. We are staying at the Westin resort in Ka'anapali, which is also along Maui's west shore, but today we wanted to go as far north along that shore as our rental car company would allow us to drive!

Before heading out, we stopped at a local farmer's market to stock up on munchies for our road trip. We found a delicious banana bread, and topped it with some to-die-for fresh passion fruit cream cheese.  Yum!  Also, David was ecstatic about purchasing a few Apple bananas. Are you familiar with them?  They're about half the size of their long cousins we get on the mainland, and much more flavorful. Plus, I don't know about you, but I'm not one for eating something that's either mushy or hard as a rock like our stateside bananas usually are. These are just perfect.  So we grabbed the bananas, a papaya, and some fresh pineapple and hit the road.

We drove through two very picturesque towns along the way. Napili, with its beautiful bay, where we walked out and sat on the beach for an hour or so. Kapalua, which has lovely and scenic golf courses overlooking the ocean and spectacular beaches. North of Kapalua, the drive gets a bit more rugged and windy, but it is still a nice highway. This was one of the most beautiful drives we have ever done, right up there with coastal Rte 1 through Northern California.

Just as the sun was beginning to beat down on us a bit too strongly, we spotted a roadside vendor up
ahead selling cold coconut water and decided to stop. What a refreshing treat it was!  The man had a machete that he used to cut the coconut open just enough to allow the ice cold water to come out. We were shocked by how much liquid was in there!!  We kept drinking and drinking, and it didn't seem to empty.  Continuing on our journey, the road abruptly narrowed to the point that it actually became a one-way passage. This portion was not a drive for the faint-hearted, as we were hugging the edge of a steep cliff at every turn on a mountainous road with no guard rails. Since I (Karen) am a wimp about such things, I politely asked David to please turn around, for only the most adventurous spirit could continue on this road. Of course, David is a VERY adventurous spirit, and I think he was more than a little disappointed at having to oblige. But he very kindly did so. I was wondering what would happen if we met oncoming traffic, and unfortunately I found out!!!  It was VERY SCARY.

So, we turned around and headed back the way we came. It was a lovely drive in reverse too.

Along the way we stopped to watch a kite surfer. It was an absolutely awesome experience. Just to watch was thrilling.

 This guy was good. Pretty soon another one joined him and it was like a ballet. How in the world those guys stayed on their boards we will never know. We had just decided that they surely must be strapped into them somehow when we saw them shift their feet to another spot on the board. There went that theory. It was truly amazing to see.

 We left there and decided to continue a bit past our hotel south to the next town of Lahaina. Lahaina is an interesting town that wears many hats. It is a Maui hot spot, with art galleries, unique shopping, and trendy restaurants, but it is also a quaint and historic fishing village. We parked and walked the main drag in town.

After a bit of shopping, we headed to Cheeseburgers in Paradise for a late lunch.

Great burgers and a colorful, lively and fun place to eat. David ordered the Island Special, with a pineapple slice and kahlua pork. As you can see, he is anxious to attack it!

 I had the traditional - lettuce, tomato, onion and thousand island with a side of onion rings.

It was quite a busy day of fun in the sun and driving, so we were a bit tired when we returned to the hotel. We got back just in time to catch the sun dip below the mountains on the island of Lanai eight miles off our coastline, and to see a few more whales passing by us out at sea. All in all, a lovely day.

Good night everyone!

Karen and David

Best Lei'd Plans

Things have changed a lot since we originally planned this trip.  I (David) think it was back in October that Karen got one of those ads in the mail for a vacation package in Maui.  It seemed like (and, hopefully, will be) a good deal - five nights at the Westin Ka’anapali in Maui, including a rental car and partial credit towards food, etc.  You were even able to pick your dates, within a certain window. 

Since we wanted to go visit Basil anyway, this trip seemed ideal.  Spend a few nights at a resort in Maui and then fly over and spend a week with Basil on Molokai.  So, we asked Basil what dates would be best for him, and between us, decided we would commence with our trip to Maui on February 22, 2015.  We were also excited to meet Basil’s new significant other, Lynn, who was planning to be in Molokai for our visit. 

Well, at least that was the plan!  Unfortunately, Lynn had eye surgery earlier in the year, and it did not turn out so well.  That required her to have the surgery again to repair the mistakes.   So, in January we found out that Lynn would be having another surgery in February.  Not only that, but the surgery would be done in Illinois.  So, not only would we not be meeting Lynn, we would also be missing Basil, as he went to Illinois to take care of Lynne during her recovery.  Best lei’d plans…  pun intended!   

Hmmm, dilemma for us….  It was too late to cancel the Maui portion of the trip, as we would lose the full payment we had made.  We opted to cancel our trip to Molokai and just go to Maui.  Maybe next time, Basil!  Sorry about that!  Please give Lynn our best wishes for a quick recovery.

Of course, when we planned our trip to Maui, we picked a time that we assumed would be cold - and either rainy or snowy - in Oregon.  We assumed we would be escaping a week of miserable winter to enjoy warmth and wonderful sunshine in Hawaii!  As it turned out, the whole week before our trip was absolutely gorgeous in Oregon, with nary a cloud in the sky.  Go figure!  But that does not mean we won’t enjoy the sunshine and even warmer weather in Maui!  The forecast calls for lows of 68 and highs of 81 for the duration of our trip!  Pool, beach and ocean, here we come!

Of course, our first stop this morning was the Hood River Starbucks to say good-bye for the week to our friends there.  Then it was off to beautiful PDX (voted the best airport in the U.S., and for good reason) this morning.   There were clear, blue skies in Portland today also, by the way - quite unusual for February.  Of course, we also made a stop at the airport Starbucks for good measure.

  

I was prepared for a relaxing flight to Hawaii aboard Alaska Airlines.  I love Alaska Airlines.  Prompt departure times, the best gates at PDX, assigned seats, and real food available!  As expected, we taxied out of the gate to the minute of the scheduled departure time.  Unless my watch was off, we actually left a minute early.  Off we went, into the wild blue yonder!  We weren’t paying much attention after take-off because we were rather excited about the trip.  Karen was working on the New York Times crossword puzzle, and I was pretending that I was helping her. J   I did notice, however, that we seemed to be over land for an awfully long time.  Twenty minutes or so into our flight, we were still in familiar Oregon territory.  Our seat mate looked out the window and asked someone “What mountains are those?”  The response was “That is Mount Hood.”  “Impossible,” I thought to myself.  “We have been flying west for twenty minutes, that can’t possibly be Hood.”  And yet, incredulously, it was Mt. Hood.  This was the first indication that something was wrong.  About this time, the Captain comes on the intercom and says “Folks, you might wonder why we haven’t left the Portland area yet.”  Duh, no doubt!  “We have an auto pilot problem” he says, “and we haven’t figured out what to do about it.  So we are going to just stay right here in the clear skies over Portland till we get it figured out.  We will keep you posted.”

Of course, Karen is calm, cool and collected and says “nothing to worry about David, stay calm.”  Or was it the other way around?   Was she clutching my arm and saying “we’re going to die!”  Must have been one of those things.  Anyway, after another ten or fifteen minutes the Captain comes back on and says “Well folks, we’ve got it figured out.  We’re going to Seattle!”  We haven’t been to Seattle since last winter, so that sounds good to us.  And besides, Seattle is only about twenty minutes from Portland. 

Twenty minutes or so later, the Captain makes a beautiful, reduced flap landing in Seattle.  Fire engines escort us down the runway and, for some reason, find it necessary to foam down the brakes on our plane.  I don’t see why, as we did no excessive braking.  But whatever.

I have to tell you though, Alaska has their act together.  We taxi to the terminal, sit waiting on the plane for about fifteen minutes, deplane at gate 9 and go to gate 17, where they already have a plane waiting for us!  Not like the last time we flew American Airlines and had to spend an extra night in Miami because of a mechanical issue on takeoff.  All told, it took less than half an hour or so for them to get the baggage switched and get us onto a new plane.  We had to wait on the plane another twenty minutes or so for catering to get there and bring food and beverage. 

Once on board and seated, they announced that we would each be getting two free drinks enroute, not counting the free mai-tai service they normally provide enroute to Hawaii.

 

We would also be getting discounts on our next flight.  And a free dinner-type snack due to the plane issues - an excellent fruit and cheese tray along with a nice red blend from the Canoe Ridge Vineyards in Walla Walla, Washington.  Not bad. 

As if this wasn’t enough excitement, there was a medical emergency on our plane.  Someone two rows in front of us had some sort of a diabetic shock.  Luckily there was a doctor on board (or at least someone who plays a doctor on TV) to attend to the patient.  I told you, I love Alaska!

We arrived into the Maui airport a bit after 6 p.m.  Here's another Starbucks at the Maui airport.

 By the time we pick up our rental car and drove to the hotel, we had just a bit of a walk around the property, then fell into bed.

 

Hope everyone has a great evening, and aloha from Hawaii!

With love,

David and Karen