Maui Day 6

On our 6th day (Tuesday) in Hawaii we decided to tackle the road to Hana.  This was the one activity we were pretty on the fence about- it's several hours in the car driving, it's a twisty windy road (bleh!), and we just didn't really see the draw.  But, everyone (seriously EVERYONE) I talked to about Maui said "You HAVE to do it!" and so we did.

Here's my honest opinion- it was REALLY amazing.  You will see scenery on this road that you will never see again.  You will also get to experience some really incredible things- hiking through a rainforest, a bamboo forest, a tree garden, and swimming in a waterfall.  But, it will take ALL DAY!  We were prepared for it to take a while, but at the pace we went it took 8 hours for us to get to Hana and back.  It wouldn't have been bad, except at the end of the day we were racing the clock to be off the windy road before dark.  Locals commute on this road daily and they drive FAST and they don't get CARSICK! :)  So, we were trying to stay out of their way and be done with that road!

So, here's the pictures I got.  Really, spectacular views.  Unforgettable views, so enjoy!

 Hiking in the Kaumahina State Park- it was super windy up here, but had gorgeous views!

 The Ke'anae Arboretum.  This trail was full of trees and flowers from all over the world.  It was peaceful, and drizzly, and cool (like chilly cool, not just cool cool).

The Ke'anae overlook.  Full of lava rocks with waves crashing against them.

The Coral Miracle Church.  This was slightly off the beaten path, but I'm glad we found it. 

Waikani Falls

(I didn't get any pictures, but we swam at the Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park.  It was FREEZING!  But, I swam- in a waterfall- in Maui.  Check!)

 

Also- this probably would have been a good place to turn around.  We had really seen all the amazing cliffs and hills and experienced a wide variety of climates.  We just thought we had to go to Hana since, ya know, we were doing the road to Hana.   From this point on we left the twisty scenic roads and just headed to Hana.  Not that the scenery was lacking, but we felt like we had seen enough by this point.  Just so ya know...

The Wai'anapanapa State Park.  Beautiful and the only black sand beach in Maui.

Hana, finally Hana!  We waited half an hour for some hot dogs and chips...

The next day- Wednesday- was our last day on the island.  Our flight wasn't until 8:00 at night, so we stayed around our hotel all day (see, finally getting in that relaxing pool/ beach time!  Actually, this was the first time I got IN the ocean.)  Our hotel had a hospitality suite we could use to clean up before we got on our plane and it was so nice to freshen up before we headed home.  We flew all night and got back to Houston around noon the next day and got to Emery's school in time to pick her up.  She was so surprised and excited to see us and we were happy to be home too.  

I have to send out a HUGE shout out to Gigi for staying with our kiddos all week.  They had so much fun (like, I could never live up to all the Gigi fun!).  We really needed a few days to get away and we couldn't have done it with out her, Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom!!!!!!!

Aloha!