The Ambitious Odometer

Thursday, December 26, 2019

{CA, HI & MEXICO} Day Eight - The Road to Hana, Maui, HI

Port of Call: Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i

Island: Maui

Nickname: The Valley Isle

Official Color: Pink

Official Flower: Lokilani

We got up bright and early this morning, caught the first tender out to the dock, and met up with Hubby and our driver to set out on a grand adventure ~ The Road to Hana!

We love drives that are beautiful, drives that are unbeaten, and in general...those drives of a lifetime. This one definitely checks all blocks.

We left from Lahaina and traveled to Paia where we found Mile 0 of the Hana Highway...

Picture maneuvering 617 hairpin curves (with little or no shoulder) while crossing around 60 concrete bridges (many that are one lane) over the course of 35 miles (ONE way) through the rainforest!

It took us just about 4 hours to get to Hana and 4 hours to get back, but wow, the unspoiled beauty!

I'll let the photos speak for themselves for the most part...

{Hubby took this one of our ship coming in}

{a double rainbow at the start of our drive}

{rainbow eucalyptus trees around Mile Marker 7}

{can't see what's coming!}

{waterfalls aplenty}

Our first "rest stop" was at the Ke'anae Peninsula at Mile Marker 16...

a beautiful place to watch the waves crash in...

and to celebrate making it (almost) halfway to Hana...

Just before the 17.5 mile marker is the true halfway point...

{more waterfalls}

B took a dip below the Rolling Pigs (the nickname for these falls) at the Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park near the 22.5 mile marker

Soon thereafter, we made it to Hana...

a sleepy little beach town...

in time for a nice picnic lunch at the Hana Bay Beach Park...

After lunch, we started the trek back to Lahaina...

Our first stop was at the picturesque Wai'anapanapa State Park where there is no shortage of unique sights...

{M with a banana tree}

{lava tube}

{black sand beach}

I focused mainly on all of the different flowers on the way back!

{ti plant}

{African tulip tree}

{belltower ginger}

Truly, a breathtaking drive!

We returned to Lahaina in time to grab a couple of photos downtown...

including a picture with the famous banyan tree downtown...

This tree was only 8 feet tall when it was planted in 1873 and now reaches over 60 feet in height with its canopy spanning a total of approximately 2/3 of an acre. It now has about 16 major trunks and is not only the largest banyan tree in Hawai'i, but also in the United States...

An amazing sight to behold for sure!

On to The Big Island tomorrow...

More {CA, HI & MEXICO} 2019 Fun

Day One - Los Angeles

Days Two-Five - AT SEA

Day Six - In and Around Honolulu, O'ahu, HI Day 1

Day Seven - In and Around Honolulu, O'ahu, HI Day 2

Day Nine - In and Around Hilo, Hawai'i, HI

Days Ten-Fourteen - AT SEA

Day Fifteen - Ensenada, Mexico

Day Sixteen - Los Angeles

Day Seventeen - Los Angeles

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

{CA, HI & MEXICO} Day Seven - In and Around Honolulu, O'ahu, HI Day 2

Port of Call: Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i

Island: O'ahu
Nickname: The Gathering Place
Official Color: Yellow
Official Flower: Yellow Ilima

Mele Kalikimaka from Hawai'i!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel today's planned stop in Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai due to the forecasted weather and concerns over safely navigating the journey. Though I was sad to miss stopping on this particular island, it really worked out for the best. If one stop had to be cancelled, this was the best one from my perspective. It is Christmas, and that was the one island that we couldn't get Hubby to, so lucky for us, he was actually already staying in Honolulu for an extra day. It worked out perfectly that we ended up getting to spend Christmas as a family in Honolulu, and all was actually very right in my world...

We spent the morning walking around the Waikiki area of town...

and making a stop at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku...

and when the weather took a turn for the worse, we quickly looked for a place to eat.

Unfortunately, we had really bad luck!

Most everywhere that was open was absolutely slammed...

B really wanted sushi, so we found a place, waited 45 minutes to be seated and after 30 minutes of waiting for our order to be taken, we left...

By this point, time was getting tight as Hubby had a plane to catch (to Maui), and we had a ship to board!

One place on my list was Liliha Bakery for a taste of their chantilly cake, so we headed out that way for a quick lunch and slice of cake before parting ways...