MAUI SUMMARY

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Day 1 - It was a dark, cold, 3:20 am bus ride to the Denver airport. I was flying standby and had tried to select flights where I had the best chance of getting a seat. I was lucky, both in Denver and in Salt Lake City, but both flights were extremely full. They also had to de-ice the planes, making me yet again feel I had made the right decision to escape winter. I spent the evening with my sister in sunny, warm California... where things were still blooming! We went out the the Anaheim Packing District, which was an impressive food court built in a historic 1919 citrus-packing house. At the Iron Press, we had an amazing grilled cheese waffle sandwich (dipped in maple syrup)! We headed over to the Orange Circle for some incredible, liquid-nitrogen-flash-frozen ice cream... chocolate lavender and salted caramel! We finished the evening driving around looking at the excessive holiday decorations.

Day 2 - I got bumped up to first class on the flight to Maui! Darren picked me up in a rental car (a 2013 Chevy Cruze) and we headed toward the hills along the Kula and Piilani Highways. Our stops included Sun Yat Sen Park, Maui's Winery (free tastings... including pineapple wine!) and some spectacular views. We also stopped at a couple charming churches (Makawao and Holy Rosary). We watched the surfers play under the setting sun at Ho'okipa then ended up having a bit of an uncomfortable night sleeping in the car in a condo parking lot because the campgrounds had all been closed and the hostels were all booked up.

Day 3 - We spent the morning searching for cars to buy and work exchanges. After not much luck, we drove out through the lava fields to La Perouse Bay. The sharp, black rock extended in a wide swath from the side of the volcano all the way down to the sea. It was an amazing combination of colors! We finished the day with a lovely sunset at Maalea beach. Again we were at a loss as to where to stay but thankfully we had the rental car. What we hadn't realized was how unfriendly the island has become to this mode of living (this used to the be 'the thing' with the surfers). Everything is gated off or covered with video cameras. We got chased away by security from two places in the middle of the night before we were finally able to spend our final few hours of rest in peace along a quiet residential street.

Day 4 - We took a morning swim (and a lovely hot shower) in the free community pool at Kihei. We then drove up the center of the island and cut over to Kepaniwai Park then up to Iao Valley State Monument (located on the side of Kahalawai volcano). Everything was extremely wet and lush! This was the location of an exceedingly fierce and bloody battle as King Kamehameha from the island of Hawai'i tried to dominate the other islands. Next we took the Kahekili Highway further through the hills which offered some spectacular overviews of Waihe'e beach and valley. The road got narrow and less paved, so eventually we turned back at Kahakuloa. In Wailuku (or Happy Valley), we rented a very small room in a hostel (with a communal bathroom down the hall) for the staggering price of $82! We continued the search for cars and work but with pathetic results.

Day 5 - We headed east in the direction of Ha'iku where Darren had some friends with their very own waterfall! It was a slippery but amazing hike, also with great views of the island from a nearby hill. We watched more surfers and world-class windsurfers at Ho'okipa beach then visited the abandoned Old Maui High School from 1913. We spent another cramped night in the rental car but at least we found a hassle-free place south of Kihei in Makena at a lava beach overlooking the ocean.

Day 6 - Our morning view was lovely. We did a short walk down the lava fields to Waiala Cove just as the sun was rising. The flowers were exquiste. Saturday is clearly when people finally decide to answer their Craigslist ads! We spent the day driving all over inspecting several different cars. The winner... a green 2001 Mazda MPV for $1,500. We returned our rental car, then it was another amazing sunset in Kihei. The evening was spent sleeping in the front seats at our lava beach... still not the most comfortable but definitely an improvement over the tiny car!

Day 7 - We spent the morning scubbing out the car.. inside and out. What a difference! We then hit the highway to visit another of Darren's friends when... BLAM... flat tire. Shredded! Fortunately I had just signed up for AAA before I left. The tow truck arrived and helped us replace the tire (the spare was stuck and we couldn't get it out without help). The rest of the day was spent getting two new back tires and running other errands (such as building a bed in the back - an air mattress was too big so we ended up finding sofa cushions!). We took in another lovely sunset at Vor Beach (just next to the airport) and then wandered the festive shopping malls in Kahului. A residential street served as 'home' tonight.

Day 8 - Our plan was to register the car, do a few more errands, then start enjoying our new, comfy freedom away from the cities. Unfortunately the DMV refused to transfer the title because they claimed the signatures didn't match. So the day was spent heading back to where we bought the car to try to clear things up. In the end, nothing was actually resolved but I learned we had 30 days to take care of everything and I was still able to get it insured. We at least got to enjoy a few pleasant moments at Ho'okipa beach. We headed down to Makena again to sleep, catching the sunset on our way.

Day 9 - It rained during the night and continued heavily throughout the day. Streets were completely flooded! We got the van an oil change then headed up to Lahaina as the sun set. We briefly walked along Front Street in the pouring rain, popping into the many art galleries and admiring the lights on the biggest banyan tree in the world, then strolled around Whalers Village up by Ka'anapali. We parked in the back of a resort parking lot. There were lots of cars and people but no one bothered us... although we did move once because some guy kept watching us from a balcony.

Day 10 - We drove north a bit and gazed upon a world-famous golf course in Kapalua. On our way back down, we stopped at Kahana beach (where a rainbow dipped into the sea). The water was a murky brown from all the rain. This, apparently, is when all the sharks come out in search of critters that have been washed into the sea. We stopped again at Lahaina (it was raining again) and visited the mall and wharf. We continued our drive down, making a brief stop at Launiupoko Beach Park. In Kihei, I visited the Maui Ocean Center... an amazing aquarium. I even got to see Scuba Claus swim with the sharks! In the evening after yet another lovely sunset, we walked through the impressive Grand Wailea resort.

Day 11 - We awoke to rainbows and sea turtles and celebrated Xmas with a breakfast at Denny's (complete with chocolate chip pancakes). We cut across the center of the island and drove the long, narrow, twisty, coastal road out to Hana. Waterfalls streamed from the lush mountainsides into the sea below. We made several stops, including surfers at Ho'okipa, the crashing waves at Keanae, a short walk at Wailua Valley State Wayside (with some gorgeous views), and the blowhole and caves at Wai'anapanapa State Park. Once at Hana, we enjoyed some time at Koki beach then made our way on to Haleakala National Park to spend the night in the Kipahulu campground.

Day 12 - A mouse moved into the van and raided our food supply in the middle of the night. Fortunately one can find all sorts of food on the ground, such as passion fruit (called liliquoi here). After a stunning sunrise, we walked down to the 'Ohe'o pools (or Seven Sacred Pools). The then did a 2-mile (one way) hike up the Pipiwai Trail... past Makahiku Falls, under a massive banyan tree, through a bamboo forest, and ending at Waimoku Falls. Many of these places of stunning beauty are now restricted due to too many people being hurt or killed. The signs don't seem to stop them though.

Day 13 - The car started making some unpleasant noises so we felt we should get back to a big city to have it looked it. But we ended up meeting Rico fishing off the Hana pier and spent the day talking with him. He worked on an organic fruit farm in the area and had plenty of helpful information and names for us to try. He also shared lots of delicious fruit from the farm that he gets for free, such as starfruit, guava, apple bananas and white persimmon.

Day 14 - We made the beautiful cliff drive back from Hana (including bamboo forest amd rainbow eucalyptus) and went to an evening drum circle on Little Beach in Wailea, complete with fire dancers.

Day 15 - Ash rained down in large pieces, the result of the large sugar cane factory on the island doing its processing. Yuck! We took the car in to be looked at... a loose (luckily not broken) spark plug. Bad but not irreparable... just not today. We made an appointment for another day and then I took a long beach walk, starting at Kamaole Beach Park III and heading down through some old lava flow tide pools.

Day 16 - Down the road at La Peruse, I took a 9-mile walk (out and back) along the Hoapili Trail (or old King's Highway). This apparently used to encircle the island. It was a rough trek across hard lava rock (Puu Pimoc is a 500-foot cinder cone located 3 miles inland that spewed lava in the 1750s), but the lovely white coral beaches (and sea turtles) interspersed along the way made it worth it. The workaways just aren't happening so we spent some time on the internet looking up other ideas. Perhaps renting a cheap room for a month? The evening brought with it heavy rains so we skipped our usual beach spot at Mackena due to the violent waves and found a place in a light-industrial area.

Day 17 - We were awoken super early by garbage trucks and loud warehouse machinery. The car mechanic decided to not honor our scheduled appointment so we had to try to find another one. We eventually did (in spite of it being New Year's eve and everything closing early) but had to pay a bit extra. Once all was done and we were deciding what to do for the evening, I got a hold of Bob in Kipahulu (near Hana) who had an amazing room for rent. So we headed out immediately. No sooner had we gone several miles when smoke started pouring from the engine! We determined it wasn't actually overheating, so with crossed fingers and the hope that it was just spilled oil burning off, we made the incredible drive along the bottom of the island over Kaupo (a super narrow road with sheer drop offs). The van had VERY little power but somehow we made it. We took the room for a month then had an amazing New Year's sitting around a small fire at the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea with some wonderful people! Passing whales waved their tails at us and at midnight we watched fireworks illuminate the neighboring island of Hawaii.