The Road to Hana, part 1.
jon: “good, well. that’s a good start. let’s just um… keep going.”
Let’s start with the Road to Hana, even though it wasn’t the first nor the most important part of the trip, I think we all really enjoyed it.
Along the northern coast of Maui is a twisty curvy highways to a small town called Hana. This trip really embodies the idea of “enjoy the journey, not the destination”.
A big part of the reason we rented a convertible was for this trip.
Really cool to smell the guava in the air, look up and see the rainforest canopy, and have an unencumbered view of the world around. It was one of the most unique driving experiences I’ve ever had. (Thank god, btw, that I wasn’t driving. Jon’s a way better driver than I am.)
There are these official “Road to Hana” CDs that you can buy for $20, start at the beginning of the highway, and then listen along as you pace along the coast. The concept is really cool, but we took a more DIY approach and I read out loud from the Fodor’s guide as we progressed.
The guide had us stop at different mile markers and bends in the road, hike into hidden pathways, and peek at things that wouldn’t have been obvious without inside knowledge. Some of them were fairly mainstream and well populated, and at others we were the only group around.
Even the well-worn paths had tricky moments, reminding you that pioneer square isn’t the only place you really need to keep an eye on your foothold. teamEggers, meet my mom, who was an incredibly good sport while I prodded her into doing all kinds of things that were outside of her comfort zone:
One of the cool things about rain forests is that it makes things grow a lot. Jurassic Park style. Look how big this plant is!!!
A highlight of the trip for me was swimming under waterfalls. I jumped in after 3 different hikes. Wearing your swimsuit all day might be uncomfortable, but moments like that made it totally worth it. Who cares if the other people around think you’re a wacko for stripping down and climbing into a slimy puddle? Worth it.
Our next stop has us pull along the side of the road where we’re greeted by this really welcoming gate:
We quickly found a way to climb around and were treated with this awesome pool of slimy rocks. No. The rocks were literally furry they were so full of pond scum. But I’ll have you know, that didn’t detour me! I got right in there, swam my cold tuckous over to that waterfall, and enjoyed myself.
One of the main reasons we were in hawaii was because my mom had always wanted to go to a black sand beach. It’s one of those travel-channel things that most people don’t actually get to experience, and so we were really eager to find them. They’re around here somewhere…
We thought we spotted something off in the distance, and there’s only one way to go from here, so we kept driving in search of a place for a picnic.
