Maui: Part II

Soooooo sorry about the long delay, let's get right to it!

Actually before we do that, I finally have a few wedding photos to share!

Walking down the "aisle:"

FYI: I didn't take these, so don't blame me!!

Wedding time:

Getting lei-ed!

Melisa and I are always camera ready:

Vow time:

Officially married!

Post wedding picture time:

It was beautiful and it didn't rain, despite the ominous clouds in the sky.

I shared the few pics I took of the reception on my last post, so you're gonna have to go backwards to see what came after this.  I know that's totally confusing.

MOVING ON!!!

Okay, now we're ready to see more Maui!

Day 4

The morning after the wedding, Melisa and I met up early in the morning for a walk and some breakfast.

Check out my hostel:

There was a marathon going on right outside:

How do you run in this kind of heat, people?

Breakfast was so yummy.  I had a frittata with hollandaise and coffee coffee coffee:

Sweating already:

Then I grabbed my luggage and went up to Melisa and Brian's condo (just a block from my hostel):

View from the balcony:

Perfect mountain view!

They gave me a ride to Kihei (thanks guys!), where I decided to rent a car and hit the road on my own!

Again, here's how you get to Kihei:

Say hello to Lucy:

She and I will be besties for the next 24 hours.

Yes, at this point I was officially all by my lonesome.  Everyone else still in Maui either had plans or had already done what I wanted to do, so instead of twiddling my thumbs, I took matters into my own hands and just went on my own adventure.  It definitely wasn't my first choice, but in the end I was SOOOOOO glad I went on my own.  It was just easier and faster not having to wait on anybody else and I could do what I wanted at my own pace (which is fast), and it was so much less stressful.  The only person I wished could have been there was Aaron because he and I travel together so well at this point, it's actually easier with him.  I took a ton of pictures and there were a lot of phone calls between us, so it almost felt like he was there.  Almost.

Allllllrighty then!  (Yes, that's my best Jim Carrey impression.)  Here's where we're going first:

The Haleakala Crater.

Woo Hoo!  Let's hit the road!

DISCLAIMER: Keep in mind, I'm taking pictures while driving, so they're pretty random and sometimes just bad.  There's a lot I missed because I was driving and couldn't stop.  There also is a glare in most of them because I'm taking them through the windshield.  Deal with it.

Ohhh Target:

Random driving pics:

You're always close to the coast on Maui!

Getting closer to the crater!

We made it!

So, when I say we made it, I really mean we made it to the bottom of the volcano.  Now we have to drive up to the tip top (22 more miles).  So, put your seat belt back on!

About halfway up and I'm starting to worry because it's really cloudy and kinda rainy, so naturally I'm thinking there's no way I'll be able to see a crater with all this mess going on.
So, I keep driving anyway because I've already come this far, I'm not going back now!
Then:

All of a sudden I see the sun and I'm thinking the clouds are breaking.  What a miracle!  Then I realize, the clouds didn't break, I'm just above them.

It was impossible to get a good shot, but it's an endless sea of clouds.  Blew me away.

Volcanic rock:

I finally parked and immediately had to get a shot of myself soaring above the clouds:

It's still not as cool as in person.  Pictures just can't capture the vastness.  It looked like miles and miles of pure white.  And juxtaposed with the dark black rock, it was really beautiful.

Okay, time to see what all the fuss is about.  Ladies and gentlemen, Haleakala Crater:

When I was about 12 or so, my grandpa went to Haleakala and brought us back a poster, which we framed and hung in our bathroom (so random).  We still have it hung in a spare room of my parents' house to this day:

Full circle moment, people!
Okay, I'll shut up and just let the crater speak for itself:

Two things to note:
1.  Aaron took EVERY selfie on our trip and you can see why.  I suck at selfies.  For some reason my brain doesn't work that way.  I just don't get it.
2.  It was muggy and warm and I was extremely sweaty, so this is a horrible picture, but I guess this is the only real proof I was there.

Other random crater pictures:

I only took pictures of the bathrooms because my dog's name is Kane:

So that's the crater and it was spectacular!  Let's drive back down the volcano:

From Haleakala I drove to Paia, so the next morning I could get up early and start The Road To Hana.
Map time:

It's not far, but by this time I've been driving all afternoon and I'm ready to be done.

On the way to Paia I saw a FULL rainbow!

It was a fully formed rainbow and I could see the entire thing from one side to the other!  I've never seen a whole rainbow before!  But of course when I finally do, I can't get a picture because I'm driving and I'm alone, so I could only take a picture of one side and then the other.  Sigh.

Finally I'm in Paia and it's turned into a beautiful afternoon:

I get these pictures are terrible, but this is the charming, beach town of Paia.

Some sort of temple:

I looked online and found a hostel with a bed available (luckily) and checked in:

It was a really nice house, but there were quite a few people around and I felt self conscious taking a bunch of pictures.  I showered, went to the local gourmet grocery store and got some dinner, went back to the hostel, ate and went to bed pretty early.

Day 5

I woke up early the next morning and checked out of the hostel.  I got Lucy all packed up and off we went on The Road To Hana.  In case you've never heard of The Road To Hana, here's the gist: it's a long, windy, one lane road starting around Paia and going all the way to the town of Hana.  The key to Hana is that it's not about the destination (because Hana is a small, kinda basic town), it's all about the journey.  The Road To Hana is one of the most gorgeous drives in the world, with sights of volcanoes, waterfalls, tons of diverse plant and animal life, beaches and also a bunch of tourist traps splattered in between.  There are bunches of different maps of The Road, listing all the different sights, but it's impossible to see them all, so you have to do your research and pick and choose what you want to see.  I did a bit of research the night before and went to most of these:

Like I said, there's a ton to see and not enough time, so I had to pick and choose.  Luckily more than half of them are able to be viewed from the road, so I didn't have to stop at each one.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get pictures of all of them because again, I WAS DRIVING and the road was super windy.  A lot of the cars around me had their passengers stick their cameras out the window and take photos and videos.  Darn it!  Where was Aaron when I needed him??

The other thing to note about Hana is there are no signs telling you where to stop or where any of the sights are, so you have to go by the mile markers (which are tiny) and you have NO cell service all along the road, so you have to make sure you remember which mile markers to look out for.  Some of the directions read something like this: "located somewhere between mile marker 12 and 13." I mean seriously?  I get that you want to maintain the integrity of The Road, but come on!  This is so dangerous!  People are trying to drive along cliffs on a windy road while looking for tiny mile markers.  It was treacherous!  Oh yea, and you have to bring enough food, water and a full tank of gas because it can be slim pickings until you get to Hana.  All of this makes me nervous, especially since I'm alone, but I still didn't let it stop me.  My wanderlust was too strong (plus, I talked to Aaron the night before and he convinced me I just HAD to do it).

Map time:

So, I'm starting in Paia and actually going past Hana to the Ohe'o Gulch in the Haleakala National Park.  Remember how I went to the Haleakala Crater yesterday?  Well today I'm driving all the way around to the other side of the Haleakala National Park to see the gulch.  Man, that's a lot of driving.

Okay, so now that I'm officially freaked out about Hana, let's go!
My first stop was a famous first stop for most travelers through Hana: The Kuau Store:

It's the last legit store before Hana, stocked with snacks, water and plate lunches that are super huge and really reasonably priced:

Just to be safe, I got a mixed plate lunch with chicken and pulled pork and I got a caprese panini with pesto pasta:

Tons of food!  I also bought this Road To Hana CD they were selling because I knew my radio wouldn't work and this CD provided not only tunes, but commentary about where I was at each step of the way:

It was super corny, but it really beat the static.  Plus I learned a bunch of fun facts and they recommend key places to stop.
Finally, let's hit The Road To Hana!

Super hard to get good shots because it was raining!  I was starting to get bummed my road trip would be a bust!  Lucky for me, it stopped right when I got to my first stop: Mile Marker 10: Waikamoi Falls.

This stand was right in front, but since it was only about 7:30am, it was still closed.

It looked like I was the first tourist on The Road today, which was kinda intimidating because I had no one to follow and wasn't quite sure where to go, but it turned out to be a blessing later in the day when I beat ALL the crowds.

So I saw these signs as I entered, which was great for morale.

Huge bamboo:

I walked around until I heard the thunder of a waterfall.  I used my super-sleuthing skills to follow the sound:

 I could've hiked down, but it was super muddy and I had so much more to see I didn't want to waste my time.  This view was good enough for me!
Check out my shoes already:

Great!  Lucy is gonna love this.
Sock shout-out: give it up to Daiso for having the cutest, most comfy socks for only $1.50!  I'm obsessed.

Keep driving:

I realize these aren't great pictures, but I'm over it because it was the best I could do.

My CD told me to look out for these trees called Rainbow Eucalyptus.  They're unique because the bark peels off in chunks and grows back at different times and at each stage the bark is different colors (that made no sense).

I didn't get great pictures here and I was irritated, but I saw them again soon after and took way better pictures, so just wait!

On The Road again:

Bamboo forest:

Apparently bamboo grow like weeds.  You plant one and this is what you end up with.

Next stop: Garden of Eden

So this is obviously a touristy thing and I had to pay a few bucks to get in, but it was gorgeous!

Avocado tree:

Avocado:

Can you see that rock at the very bottom, where the land dips down and there's a rock formation in the water?

Apparently that rock was in one of the Jurassic Park movies.  Hmm...

Anywho:

100 year old mango tree:

Not a mango:

As promised: Rainbow eucalyptus up close:

Definitely the prettiest tree ever.

Loved Garden of Eden!
Back on the road, I saw a bunch of cool stuff, but wasn't really able to stop because there is very little space to pull over anywhere and my Garden of Eden tour set me back a bit for other stupid tourists to get ahead of me and park in my spot.  I did the best I could with pictures from the road, I even stopped in the middle of the road a few times.  Let's see how I did:

This is the Halfway To Hana store, known for banana bread.  My mom makes a pretty mean banana bread, so I wasn't too worried about it, but this means we're halfway there:

I finally stopped here:

It's not as hard to say as you think: "Why-nawpa-nawpa."  It's known for it's black sand beach and cave.
Cave first:

The 5 people walking towards the cave at the same time as me turned back when they saw this sign:

Losers.

These stairs were a lot steeper than they look:

I'm getting nervous, but I keep going down the rabbit hole:

This is the furthest I went:

and it was the furthest you could go.  It was a lot creepier and darker than it looks here.  My camera brightened it for the picture.  It was the beginning of every horror movie, except I was NOT the dumb bimbo crawling into the cave.  I was the skeptic calling that chick crazy and running for the hills.  Hey, at least I live to the end.  No shame in my game.

I crawled back up outta that creepy cave and hit the black sand beach:

Let's go down there!

I love black sand.  We went to a black sand beach in New Zealand (it was the same beach they filmed the movie The Piano) and it was just stunning.  This beach also definitely didn't disappoint.

We finally made it to Hana folks!  I know that seemed like a breeze for you, but that was a few hours.

Believe it or not, I only stayed in Hana long enough to take these pictures and then I was on the road again because not only did I want to go further than Hana, but I also have to drive ALL THE WAY BACK TO PAIA.  It was still early (I think around noon), so I was in good shape, but it was gonna take a little hustle.  Keep moving:

I stopped at the Hasegawa General Store because my CD told me it's an eclectic store and has been around a LONG time.

I just took a quick peek, but didn't buy anything.

Gotta keep moving:

Stopped at a couple pretty beaches for a quick pic:

Check out Lucy:

Dirty girl!

The roads are getting less paved at this point, so it's taking me a lot longer to get to my destination.

Drove past another waterfall:

It's almost old news by now.  Almost.

My final stop was The Ohe'o Gulch in Haleakala National Park.  The entrance to the park is $20, but luckily I went to the crater yesterday (also in the National Park) and the receipt is good for 3 days, so I didn't have to pay again!  Yay!  

National Park time:

Let's check out the visitor's center a bit:

Not much to it, but I bought a postcard for myself and kept it moving.

National Park map time:

I did the shortest trail, which was the Kuloa Point Trail, leading to the gulch and back.

Going right!

Part of the Ohe'o Gulch:

The Ohe'o Gulch is also called The Seven Sacred Pools because the waterfall at the top empties into 7 pools that cascade down into smaller waterfalls and eventually into the ocean.  When the weather is cooperating, you can even swim in the pools.  There's also a really cool Hawaiian story I heard on my CD about the 7 pools and what they represent, but I don't remember what it is.  Oops!  It was a long time ago, give me a break.

It was super hard to get a good picture of the pools and waterfalls because it was all closed off due to weather.  The funny thing is, my CD said to make sure you don't stop on the Ohe'o Bridge to try to get a picture of the gulch (even though they admitted it's the best place to get a picture of the gulch) because it is dangerous and can hold up traffic, blah, blah, blah.  It wasn't until I got home and uploaded my pictures that I realized I stopped on the Ohe'o Bridge and took that picture:

I only parked for a second (as you can tell, I didn't even take my time to get a great picture), but I did it and I feel so dangerous!  Yes, even though I didn't even mean to, it's still badass.

Now I'm done with The Road To Hana and even The Road Past Hana, unfortunately now I have to hit The Road Back To Paia, which is the same road.  Dammit!!

This time it took twice as long because it was the afternoon and there were tourists everywhere (which is why I was so lucky not to encounter many during the sightseeing portion of my journey).

I took way less pictures on the way back because I'd seen everything already and I was tired and in traffic and listening to the same CD except it made no sense going backwards and had lost all it's charm and was just annoying.

Almost back to civilization!

This guy got pulled over and was holding up traffic for miles!

And this guy sitting in the bed of the truck was carving faces into coconuts while the car was making pretty sharp turns:

Only in Hawaii, bra!

I wanted to get the Highway 360 sign because 360 is the Highway To Hana:

Better late than never!

As you can see, I'm swerving into the opposite lane because I'm trying to get a picture of this quaint church.  Oops!

I made it past Paia and kept going until I got back to Kihei to the rental car place.

Shall we peek at the map??

I was a couple hours late returning it, and they should have charged me for another day, but they only charged me a late fee.  How nice!

Bye Lucy!  We had quite an adventure together, you and I, and I'll miss you dearly.

The smart thing about me renting a car in Kihei is that's where Jessica's mom was staying and she offered to take me to the airport the next day, so I planned to stay with her tonight.  The rental car place was only a mile from her condo, so she was able to pick me up no problem and take me back to her place.

We did stop at a Safeway and I thought this was so weird:

Even the Safeways in Northern California don't have bags that say this.  Random!

I love the view from their condo:

Gorgeous!

We drank wine and hung out until dinnertime, when we ended up going out and having seafood.  I wasn't that hungry (you saw how much food I ate today!), so I just had a bowl of seafood chowder (fantastic) and we hit the sheets.  I was so wiped after my 24 hour adventure.

Day 6

The next morning, it was time to go to the airport.  Erin (Jessica's step-sister) was on my flight, so we got to go to the airport together.  She wasn't quite ready to go:

Luckily we were on the same flight, so we got to have cocktails and gab our way back to the mainland:

It's island time somewhere!

I had a blast in Maui!  If you get a chance, definitely go!  I recommend renting a car and seeing as much as you can because it's all so beautiful.  You can't take a wrong turn in Maui, and if you do the locals are so sweet they'll help you find your way.  I loved the smaller towns as opposed to the tourist traps like Lahaina.  The smaller towns like Paia had a much more character and an authentic, local feel, even though let's face it: all of Maui is pretty touristy and expensive.  You can see why though, it's just so lovely here.  Everywhere you look there is beauty.

Let's look at the map one final time:

Here are the main places I visited during my 5 day stay.  It looks like a lot, but Maui is a small island and with a car, it's much easier to get around.  Although I will say, the traffic can be a nightmare, with one lane roads almost everywhere.  Lucky for me, I didn't hit too much traffic during my travels, but the few times I did it was really a bummer.

I got a couple random gifts in the tourists traps of Lahaina.  Aaron scored a nudie calendar:

My mom said I was promoting the exploitation of women or something, but I just thought it was funny and they were 2 for $5, so you can't beat that!  Plus, I knew he would appreciate it and he totally did.  Score one for me!

I bought myself some legit Kona coffee:

Yes, I basically just bought this for me.  I didn't really buy too many gifts for people because:

1.  Most people I know have been to Hawaii

2.  I already bought people stuff when we traveled, so I'm done.

A Sharmeela Tip Alert:  My big tip for buying souvenirs/gifts is GO TO THE GROCERY STORE!  Don't go to a stupid souvenir shop, just go to the store and buy what's unique in that state/country.  Let's face it, food makes the best gift.  From Hawaii, all anyone wants are those stupid macadamia nut chocolates and Kona coffee.  If you get that crap at the ABC Store, you're paying up the butt, whereas if you go to Costco or Safeway it's a steal (okay, I won't go that far, but at least it's fairly priced).  GO TO THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE.  And that's a Sharmeela Tip from me to you.

Random side note: My family (and I) used to go to Hawaii a lot (my uncle lived there) and whoever went would ALWAYS bring back all sorts of macadamia nuts, so we had them in our house as a staple.  We ate them so much, now as an adult, I can't stand macadamia nuts.  Not even if they're covered in chocolate.  No thank you, not for me.  End of side note.

Well, that about does it for Maui!  Again I apologize for the delay, but I hope you enjoyed my adventure!