Hana

I haven’t driven to Hana for a number of years. Each year we are in Maui, I think maybe we should do it but it seems we never get around to doing it. Of course there is all the discussion about should you do it or just take a tour. Well we did do the tour about seven years ago and with that you get the whole loop through the dirt/lava road that the rental car says DON”T drive. We also stopped and the little church that has the cemetery where Lindbergh is buried. It is a nice little old church but I don’t have a reason to visit the grave so don’t need to do that again.

Well this year we did it. I got the CD just to act as a guide but the main thing is start early and don’t be in a hurry. I pulled over often for those people that were interested in the destination and not the journey. Of course I wanted to take a lot of pictures so that required many stops. One of our stops was the Keanae Arboretum for a walk through the trees and flowers. The eucalyptus tree may be one of the most fun for the beautiful multi-colored trunk but there are many flowers and plants that make it a nice relaxing walk. The Royal Poinciana or Flame tree also is great to see and photograph.

There are many other spots along the way to stop and take pictures and two small villages that are probably nicer to see from the lookout than in town. Also the locals are not to happy with a lot of tourists going through their property. We did stop at one old church Kaulanapueo established in 1853. It has a very nice grounds and church. Very similar to the church in Makena established in 1832 that we have visited before and did again this year..

We packed our lunch and had it a park just before Hana. It might have been nicer to wait the short time and have it at the harbor in Hana. We didn’t visit anything but the harbor in Hana but I did take a picture from the harbor of the old Hawaiian village at the cultural center. It was during this time we had just a little rain but for the most part it was a great day.

We did stop at one park close to Hana where Marilyn took a rest and I walked around taking pictures. It had a nice black sand beach and many mongooses. I thin each bush and each rock wall had its share. They were introduced to control the rat population but now are killing the shore birds by eating there eggs.

We continued on past Hana to a waterfall but did not go as far as the Seven Pools. There could be some good pictures there but was ready to head back.

Lazy days

The stormy weather has not made for good snorkeling so we have been relaxing and doing other things. We took the drive up the mountain. We didn't go all the way to the top of Haleakala but did walk through Hosmer Grove. I was looking for birds but all we saw were the two Nene geese at the sign for Haleakala. You could hear a lot of birds but they were well hid in the trees.
We also took a walk along the beach front hotels in Wailea-Makena. There are some nice beachs and hotels. Lots of birds and beautiful flowers along the walk. We go up into the Fairmont Hotel to see what it is like. It is very nice but I am not sure that is my way to see Hawaii to say nothing of the cost.
We also took the time to go to Lahaina for dinner at Kimo's. That is one thing we always like to do. They have fresh fish prepared in several ways and then of course you have to have Hula Pie.
We continue to lose at tennis

Rain in Hawaii

Well it is Sunday and we have finished our first week in Maui. We have had some great snorkeling, played tennis and lost, well we won the second time, and I have taken a lot of pictures. We are in the middle of a rain storm that may last until Tuesday so we have a forced break.
I have been processing pictures and one thing I discovered as I was working on the Halloween pictures was the one of the picture of a nicely dressed couples that I took looked liked Kelsey Grammer. Then to my surprise in the paper it said that he and his wife were at the celebration. He was one of the families that had to evacuate their home in California because of the fires. We meet another couple when we were picking up our car said they came to Maui because they had to evacuate their home. I guess that if you have to leave your home you might as well come to Maui for a week or two.
We will have to wait until the rain ends in a day or two to enjoy a drive around the island. One thing the rain did was produce a great sunset this evening. It didn't rain all day be off and on with little sun. I got my morning walk before the rain. Yesterday we took some of the pictures I took of Fergie and his birds to him as he was reading on the beach.

Halloween in Maui

Since we started come to Maui during Halloween the last three years we have made the trip to Lahaina for the big celebration. They say 30,000 people show up so I will take there word. It starts at 2:30 in the afternoon when they shut down Front Street. They have waited until later in previous years but had problems getting all the parked cars off the street before the kids parade at 4:30. It stop about midnight, I don't know the exact time we never stay that long.
Costumes are of all kinds. I would say that the smaller costumes see to show up as it gets later. We made our appearance in the Raggedy Ann and Andy we wore the last two years. Our picture was taken many times so I am sure it is out there somewhere besides the picture I post. The kids parade at 4:30 is very informal once the band, fire truck, and dignitaries make the trip it never really stops. People are parading up and down Front street all night to see and be seen.
We got dinner from one of the stands under the banyan tree and spend the evening walking a sitting on the sidelines like the thousands of others. About 7:30 a light rain started so we decided to call it an day so any mini costumes will not be in my pictures. I only showed you the front view of the Naked Chef so you will never know if he had anything on under that apron.