Maui

 

Boy, do I have the post-holiday blues bad.  I came back yesterday from a week in Maui to rain.  I wish I was staring at palm trees and the ocean instead of the gloom outside my window.  I had such a great time in Maui but it is so hard right now to write about it because I feel 180 degrees opposite of what I felt there.  Although I think Maui is a bit overrated when it comes to sights, there's definitely something awesome about sitting on the beach or by the pool and enjoying the sun.  Our first and last days were pretty much relaxing, but here's how rest of the trip went:

Day 2: Drive to Hana

The drive to Hana was touted in the guidebook as being very beautiful so I was quite eager to do this, but was slightly disappointed.  It was beautiful, to be sure, but I'd say a drive around Alaska is prettier.  Probably the drive would be nicer on a less hot/hazy day and when the waterfalls are more fuller.  What I enjoyed most about the drive though were the flowers - all sorts you don't see on mainland or in Alaska.  We did a stop at the Garden of Eden, played with Macaws, drank coconut water, and walked around a bit.  The drive to Hana has a lot of turns so it's pretty slow going.  By the time we got there it was early afternoon.  Instead of driving back the way we came, we decided to drive around the South side of the island, even though we knew there'd be some bad roads there.  Once past Hana, we did a quick stop at Hamoa Beach and Oheo Gulch.  Although we wanted to stop in other places, like Red Sand beach, we didn't know what the drive ahead was like so we kept on.  The Southern route was less windy, which I liked, but there were sections of unpaved road (~7 miles), and another 18 miles or so of poorly maintained road.  The scenery on this side of the island was quite different.  Brad said it looked a lot like English countryside.  Eventually we ended up on a nicely paved road, but if you get stuck behind a slow poke, it is very difficult to pass.

Day 3: Canoe Excursion, Tropical Fruit Plantation, and Lao Valley

The hotel we stayed at, The Fairmont Kea Lani, was pretty awesome.  They didn't nickel and dime us for anything as a lot of things were free - parking, internet, beach umbrellas, pineapple bites, and even sun block.  The food at their restaurants and services were excellent, and the only gripe I had the whole time was in-room dining.  They offer variety of activities in the morning and evening entertainment in the lobby.  One of the activities I signed up for was an hour long canoe excursion.  They gave us a bit of overview of the Hawaiian language, and took us to a place where we could see sea turtles.  Our guide also picked up a sea urchin for us to get a closer look.

In the afternoon we went to the Tropical Fruit Plantation and Lao Valley.   We saw all sorts of fruits growing in the plantation.  At Lao Valley, we saw the Lao Valley Needle, and walked all the trails, which aren't very long.  It's a beautiful area, but you won't need to spend more than an hour there.

Day 4: Sunrise from atop Haleakala Volcano



This day we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 2am for a 3am departure to the summit of Haleakala to catch the sunrise.  The parking at the summit fills up fast, but we were one of the early ones lucky enough to grab a spot.  This is probably my third sunrise I've seen above the clouds (once on top of Mt. Fuji, and once on top of Mt. Warning) so it wasn't as awesome this time around, but it was still quite nice.  My mom especially enjoyed it.  Since we had an early start, we were back by 10am at the hotel.  We relaxed rest of the day, and enjoyed a superb dinner at the hotel's Ko Restaurant.

Day 5:  Snorkeling at Molokini Crater

Mom left early on this day so Brad & I joined a half-day snorkeling tour with Kai Kanani to Molokini Crater.  It was supposed to be one of the best snorkeling spots in Maui, but I wasn't impressed.  Still, if you have the time and money to spend, it's a nice way of spending four hours.  They also did another stop for turtles, but we didn't see any except the one that looked dead at the bottom of the ocean floor.  The boat was nice, staff friendly, food & drinks good.  Probably as good as a snorkeling trip can get on this island.

Vacationing in Hawaii is quite nice.  If you want to do a sight-seeing type trip though, I would say go somewhere else.  I am also not sure I could live here.  Sitting by the beach or doing water activities is nice, but I hate doing anything else in the heat.  It also helps when you stay in a nice resort or hotel to set the ambiance.  If you can catch a deal, the extra cost is definitely worth it.  I might have to do these luxury vacations more often.  Now only if I didn't have to deal with the post-holiday blues....