Road to Hana

The kids, Aunt Sharon and I took the Road to Hana while she was here visiting. Terry wasn't too interested since he drives three hours a day for his commute up to the top of Haleakala. Aunt Sharon got us a CD to listen to as our tour guide and we were off down the road with plenty of water and a picnic lunch. Our first stop was by one of the first bridges we came to. It was so quite and we took a little walk to find part of the irrigation system on the island. The road is full of turns and one lane bridges (37 to be exact) and we drove 25 miles per hour most of the way. You have to watch out for local drivers since they know the road and will be going much faster. We just got over quickly so they could pass us and we were fine. The views were spectacular. That side of the island is much greener even though Maui is in a drought right now, I hear.

We saw many waterfalls and many different types of plants/flowers: bamboo, helaconia, African tulip trees, white and yellow ginger and many more different plants. Our picnic lunch was eaten at a little state park overlooking a bay. It took us about four hours to get to Hana. The trip is definitely about the journey and not about the destination. The kids were a bit disappointed...and honestly I think so were Aunt Sharon and I. It was funny, before we left we told RJ Hana was a magical place and Abbie elaborated on that idea during the trip. I have always wanted to see Hana but knew I really wanted to see the seven pools and those were another 10 miles or so from Hana. We knew the kids wouldn't make it any further we resolved to see what there was in Hana and go home. We ended up hanging at the black sand beach of Hana Bay. That was very cool! The kids were so happy to get out and enjoy the sand and water for awhile. Then we headed up to "town" to see Hasagawa's General Store which has been there for 100 years or something. That was about it! We couldn't even find ice cream anywhere! So we headed home before it got too dark and found a cute little ice cream hut outside of Hana and got homemade smoothies and ice cream to go! The mosquitos were eating RJ and I up. On the way home, we took a little side trip and found this amazing little place called Kaenae. It was amazing! The view of Haleakala, the little stone church, the waves crashing on the rocks. It is one of the most beautiful places I've seen since I've been here. On the way home, Abbie ended up getting a little car sick and RJ fell asleep (finally) and all-in-all I think we were happy we did it! However, I still haven't seen the seven pools! We found there is another (shorter) way to get there from where we live on the island and will try that next time when Terry can go. So, at the end of the trip when RJ was able to tell Daddy about it this is what he said...."well, it wasn't magical at all, there weren't even any unicorns!" Bummer...I think we all would've liked to see that!