Category Archives: scenic drives

Wolf Island Rd

Posted on by | 2 Comments

In an effort to find local places of interest I’d spent last night on the internet. I was amazed at the number of supposedly haunted locations right around me. Apparently Taunton is right smack dab in the middle of the Bridgewater Triangle. More about that in a later post. I don’t want to get off today’s subject.

I’m not real fond of the paranormal, at least experiencing it. I’m happy to watch Ghost Hunters and re-runs of Destination Truth but I am not keen to go ghost hunting myself.

So back to Wolf Island Road. A recent article called it Massachusetts’ most haunted Street! It warned everyone to stay away, especially at night. That’s fine with me but in daylight I might be willing to explore so off I went to find Wolf Island Rd.

I expected a lonely, narrow road winding through a deserted wood. Something to support the “spooky” reputation. What I found instead was an angry 6 ft tall man out to protect his neighborhood.

Ellis Cenetery

I was stopped in front of the Ellis Cemetery (dated 1872.)  I was impressed with how well maintained it was. Nothing spooky here,  when I got a tap on my window. Tom Simpson introduced himself and got straight to the point. What was I taking pictures of and why was I there. I explained about my blog and that I was following upon on a ghost story for lack of a better word.

Tom explained that he has lived in the area all his life and no one has been killed in any car accident. Just like that he debunked the myth of the fatal 1970’s car accident with the phantom car.

The other myth I was aware of concerned the murder of Wampanoag natives and their ghosts. Tom admitted that although he knew the myth it was before his time.  What he did know is that  he has been out there many nights, even on Halloween and has never seen anything supernatural.

He told me about the increased traffic every time a paranormal myth circulates or is resurrected. The beautiful cemetery gets vandalized by “ghost hunters” especially this time of year when the ground is soft.

Wolf Island Rd

So what I found was not a dark and lonely road but a nice place with nice homes; a lady walking her dog and a guardian angel looking out for his neighborhood.

Ghost stories may draw readers but let’s remember that there are people living there now. Would you want strangers traipsing through your back yard searching for ghosts? I wouldn’t either. Between you and me I don’t think there’s anything paranormal going on there but you might not want to run into Tom Simpson on a dark night either! My advice, look for someplace else to search for the paranormal. But if you absolutely must go to Wolf Island Rd, do so with consideration and respect.

 

 

 

 

I’m Alive!

Posted on by | 2 Comments

Well as you can see from the title I not only survived the nose to nose standoff, I managed to come back down the mountain side and get back to the safe driving.

The first car would not give an inch. I climbed a boulder to get as far off the road as I could. Finally the car I was facing gunned the engine and shot past me. My car immediately slid of the rock and settled back onto the road but there was still one more car that had refused to back up.

dsc_4308a

With much arm waving and shouting the spectators finally got him off to the side of the road so I could just squeak past. I didn’t dare look at the drop off to my left or I’m sure I would have fainted dead away.

Having passed that obstacle I finished my drive to the top where I found a food truck with a small parking area. There were lots of cars parked and everyone was milling around. I pulled in too. It seemed as good a place as any to bring my heart rate back down to something close to normal.

dsc_4311a

I made up my mind that I was not leaving that parking area unless it was to go back the way I came. I’d had quite enough of the Road to Hana. I didn’t care that I hadn’t found the park I was looking for. Another time maybe.

It was almost 30 minutes before we saw cars beginning to climb the road on the opposite hill. Everyone ran for their cars including me. I tacked onto the end of the little caravan. But about 100 yards down we came to a stop. Finally a man came back to tell us all to back up. As the last in line I was the first to start to back up.

dsc_4312a

Still shaken from the first experience I wasn’t doing too good a job so our traffic director hopped in and had me back in the parking area in short order. It was obvious that he had a lot of experience backing up. Another 20-30 minute wait and we all started down again. This time he had the upcoming cars pulled over and our line of about 15 cars all managed to pass without incident. I was the last one and I watched the cars head on up the road once I had passed by.

The Road to Hana is beautiful but as I learned the hard way, also dangerous and treacherous. I don’t want to do a repeat of this anytime soon!

 

The Road to Hana Revisited

Posted on by | 8 Comments

What a gorgeous morning. It was quite windy but it was warm and the sky was a brilliant blue with white cloud accents. It seemed as if the storm that started my day had passed through.

I’d spotted at least 3 whales from shore so that bodes well for the boat trip on Wednesday. My UTI was either gone or in check for now so all was right with my world.

dsc_4318a

I continued driving on RT 30. Eventually it would turn into the notorious Road to Hana, one of the top 10 deadliest roads in the world. Sandy and I drove part of it in the rain our first day in Maui in November. We then took the tour that drove us the whole way. I was willing to do the first section because that didn’t seem too bad but not the rest. Today I was just looking for the park where we saw the beautiful surf and the rainbow.

dsc_3567

I didn’t remember it being too far out and it was a two lane road there.

dsc_4304a

I was stopping often to take pictures. I was seeing things I hadn’t been able to see from the tour bus or notice in the rain. It was just beautiful. I also think it was much more green than when we were there in November. Probably because of all the rain in Maui’s winter. I was really intent on what I was doing and lost track of mile markers. The resort said not to go past mile marker 38.

dsc_4298a

Suddenly I was looking at a long downhill stretch that was one lane. OOPS! I think I went too far. I could see a line of cars stopped that were going in the same direction I was . No place to turn around either. So taking a deep breath I eased forward.

dsc_4311a

This section wasn’t too bad and I didn’t meet any cars coming up. Probably due to the traffic jam ahead of me. I crossed the one lane bridge and started the climb up where I’d seen the cars stopped. I had a whole line of cars behind me when, close to the top, another car rounded a blind corner and we were nose to nose on one lane. A cliff face to my right and a deadly drop off to my left. Somebody was going to have to back up!

dsc_4314a

For some reason my mind chose that moment to flash to Josh Gates and his series “Expedition Unknown”. 

We pause now for this commercial break or until I can get my panic under control!

Some Final Thoughts on The Road to Hana

Posted on by

Early on in our drive we stopped at a park. I wish I had written down the name for you. Sandy and I had found it the week before in our explorations. It’s on the left as you travel toward Hana. If you like big waves, this is a spot to check out. When we first found it, it was so wild that there weren’t any surfers but the waves were mesmerizing.

060

It was a calmer day when we stopped with the tour and surfers were out in force. Some were very young.

008

012

There were also vendors with things like jewelry and souvenirs on display.

We  made a stop at a red sand beach. It gets its color from the iron in the sand. It rusts!

dsc_3809-copy

The little coral church we stopped at is Palapala Ho’omau Church, built in 1857, it’s known as the burial ground of prominent aviator, inventor, explorer, author and activist Charles Lindbergh.

045

Forty-one years after his infamous non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, Charles moved to Maui and settled in the remote area of Kipahulu, seeking privacy, beauty and simplicity. You can find the grave of both Charles and his wife under the shade of a Java plum tree at the limestone coral church.

046

A small choral group was practicing when we arrived. It was beautiful. We all stood respectfully while they sang Amazing Grace.

047Our guide skipped the Garden of Eden stop which surprised me. I’d heard a lot about this attraction. Maybe he skipped it because there is a fee.

Garden Of Eden Arboretum

“It’s worth paying to enjoy walking the grounds, which are immaculately kept up and offer all kinds of photo opportunities. Here you can see an 100 year-old mango tree, bamboo, ocean views and Puohokamoa Falls.”

You can find a list of stops online and many shops sell ‘Guided tour” CD’s but everything takes time.

Our guide did as best he could with the amount of time allowed. The 8 hour tour ended up being 12 hours so I’d have to say we got our money’s worth.

The Road to Hana

Posted on by

The Road to Hana has to be the number 1 attraction in Maui, or at least close to it. Everyone knows about the Road to Hana.

photo_road_to_hana_aerial

To drive or to tour, that was the question. If we toured I could enjoy the scenery too. If we drive that would be out of the question. Then our concierge told us it was an 8 hour trip depending on how many stops we made. I like driving challenging roads but 8 hours? I could feel my shoulders get tense just thinking about it so tour it was. Another guide reminded us to take our Dramamine. Many Hana trekkers have been done in by car sickness on the bumpy, windy road.

Bright and early Sunday we were picked up in front of our resort. At first the road looked very familiar. It wasn’t long before we were passing through Paia. There was Mama’s Fish House on the left. I spotted the little roadside stand where we had turned around on our previous adventure looking for “Jaws”.

As we continued on the road became even more narrow. At times dropping to one lane wide.

013

All of the bridges (there were 54 in all) were one lane so if you met another car someone had to wait but most bridges had a waterfall or deep gulch at the least.

065

Once in Hana we stopped for a picnic lunch and a bit farther along a roadside stand to stock up on banana bread and Maui honey. There is nothing quite like Hawaiian Honey!

080

We stopped at an ancient church made from coral that had survived devastating storms and tsunamis.

049

056

At the 7 Sacred Pools our efforts to see them were thwarted.

096

We only had 45 minutes and from the parking lot it was a good 15-20 minute hike. I talked to someone who tried to make it and he said he only had time to get to the top pool. Returning would have been all up hill. Of our tour group only 1 couple actually made it all the way down and back and they were late returning.

On the backside of Haleakala we hit the bumpiest section of the road. At one point we were right on the edge staring over a huge cliff.

104

At another spot we got out to look out over deep gully. The trade winds were blowing with enough force to knock you over. There at the bottom of the ravine was an upside down crushed car. The driver had survived thanks to a passing guest on a tour like ours who spotted the injured man. It was a sobering story.

1465307910978

Our tour lasted 12 hours. We arrived back at our resort in the dark; a long day.  My take on the Road to Hana? Everyone should do this once and a tour is definitely the best way. If I go again I’ll drive but I won’t cover the whole distance. I’ll stop often so I can get the best photos and maybe stock up on more banana bread and honey.

095