Hawaii is a state of the United States of America located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. state located outside North America and the only island state. Distant and exotic it is on everyone’s bucket list. While travel is at a standstill, I thought I’d share a slide show from my trips to Hawaii. The photos are from Oahu, Maui and The Big Island. They include landscapes, water sports, flora and fauna. There is so much in Hawaii to see.
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.
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.
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.
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!
We stopped at an ancient church made from coral that had survived devastating storms and tsunamis.
At the 7 Sacred Pools our efforts to see them were thwarted.
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.
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.
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.
I was about to tell you that except for last minute flight changes travel with American airlines was uneventful. I received timely text messages with flight changes, happy smiling faces answered questions willingly, got priority boarding because my back was hurting and they even offered me a wheelchair. I assured them that wasn’t necessary.
The flights were on time and landed early at each leg of the journey. The longest layover was at LAX. Our flight from Philly arrived almost an hour early. Our flight from LAX to Maui had been changed from 2:30 pm to 5 pm so we had a long wait.
Finally our flight was called. It was a full flight since 2 other flights had landed late causing passengers to miss connections so they were crammed onto our flight until every seat was taken.
We took off on time and everything seemed to be business as usual until about the middle of the flight.
The window passenger in my row wanted to sit with her husband who was seated several rows back. The flight attendant went to ask if the other window passenger would swap seats but both the husband and his seat mate were sound asleep. That should have been the end of it but noooo. I had just fallen asleep when the attendant returned to say the husband and his seatmate had woken up and the seatmate agreed to swap with our window passenger. It didn’t matter that I’d just fallen asleep, The flight attendant woke me up so that my whole row could get out and allow the window passenger to swap seats. Finally everyone got settled in their new seats and I resumed my attempt to get a nap in.
I had just dozed off again when the announcement came in. Is there a doctor on board? Actually they asked if there were any licensed medical professionals who could lend a had with a sick passenger. Of course that got everyone’s attention. The cabin lights, which had been dimmed, were back on full. There was a commotion in the aisle. Apparently the passenger had passed out or fallen. She was eventually moved to the exit seats as there was more room and several doctors were attending to her. The airline was lucky. There was a doctors convention in Maui so they had ample assistance.
I saw them administer oxygen and a saline drip. Once we landed in Maui we stayed seated until the EMT’s met the plane had helped the patient disembark.
Luggage claim was very quick and picking up the rental car was also a breeze.
The only remaining snag was locating the resort. A 25 minute drive turned into a 1.5 hour search. My great directions were to look for a pink hotel but it was pitch black and nothing had any color!
After several frantic phone calls we finally found the hotel and got checked in. That bed felt so good! I was definitely down for the count but the travel part was over for now. We were on Maui!
Hi Everyone.
There have been a lot of changes at work and more on the way. What makes it hard is that a lot is just speculation right now. Makes for a very uneasy feeling. The biggest change is that we all have to work in the office. No More working from home. Its back to the daily commute. Eventually they were planning to morph my job (listing coordinator) into more of a hybrid where I handled both listings and buy side. Now they are re-thinking that. At the moment there are only 2 of us in the Boston Office that do my current job.
I think a lot will depend on how they can cover vacations. Right now my co-worker is on vacation so I’m holding down the fort. It isn’t too bad. The exception is she has one very high maintenance agent. The first day I was covering I had 18 emails and 3 calls from that 1 person. Ugh! Thankfully none of the others were that bad.
On the home front Rocky seems to be adjusting to being an only cat. He is eating well and playing. He is becoming very attached to his “baby” a toy he has had forever. He carries it around crying at the same time, a very mournful meow. I wake up with it tucked next to me in the bed.
He’s also turning into a lap cat. We have quality time every evening for 30 minutes to an hour. I just love that. For 15 years he wouldn’t set foot on my lap, now as soon as I sit down he’s right there.
The last thing on my mind is Hawaii. I keep meeting people that have been or want to go. I love comparing notes. The most recent conversation centered on the Island of Kauai. That is the island of choice for the friend I just spoke with. I don’t think my time share has a resort on Kauai. I still love the Big Island but we’ll see how Maui stacks up after this coming vacation.
Well busy day today with errands and chores…laundry, grocery shopping, eye doctor (annual exam), hair cut etc. Tomorrow I’m driving to New York to take my Mom to lunch for her birthday so I don’t know if I’ll have much chance to get back for another update this weekend. We’ll just have to see how the time goes.
Hi everyone. It’s been a crazy week. I thought I’d have a quiet work week with my main agent on vacation but surprise, surprise. She created an out of office message telling everyone to contact me! My quiet week turned into work HELL!
I also found out I am getting another agent because one of the new support people isn’t keeping up. Transitioning the new agent over starts Monday.
I’ve also been trying to get the release from the bank for my car’s title. Can you believe that when I requested a duplicate so I could donate my old car that the bank never removed the lien!? The car has been paid off for at least 10 years. What a mess!
So in between all this I started researching things to do on Maui HI. I know that trip is quite a way in the future but it was relaxing to poke around for things to do. Of course the number 1 thing I want to do is Whale Watch. The season is November to May so it will be early in the season (November) but we can hope there will be some action.
The number 2 thing is “The Road to Hana”. Do I drive or tour??? If I drive we can stop where we want , when we want but I won’t be able to enjoy the scenery while I’m driving. If we tour we give up control but I can see everything. Maybe I should do it twice, once as a tour and once as a drive. Anyone who has been there and done that? Any suggestions?
The number 3 thing on my list is snorkeling at Molokini, a crescent shaped crater that is the premier spot for snorkeling, snuba and scuba. That’s as far as I’ve had time to get.
I know a big attraction is sunrise on Haleakala. I’ve read a lot about that. One article even said the best day to get up for the sunrise is your first day on Maui because you won’t be on Hawaii time yet.
Right now I’m just working up my rough to-do list. We have almost 2 weeks there, 11 days so there’s lots of time to fill. I hear the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium is another must-do.
I’m sure you will see many more posts as I get this trip sorted out. Any thoughts or suggestions?
