Dave and Jada's Maui Honeymoon Travellogue:

Day 2 - August 5, 2000

                 Today was the road to Hana.  We didn't set the alarm, but we were still up at 6.30am.  Still on that Portland time I guess.  The road to Hana from where we are on Hana Highway is approximately 35 miles.  The road is very narrow and windy along the ocean with many points of interest along the way.  There are also several 1 lane sections of road and an average speed of 25 mph.  It took us about 4 hours to make it to Hana. 

                That wasn't straight driving, of course.  That was top-down in the Mustang on a beautiful morning driving.  We used a book and a guided tour tape to lead the way to the places we wanted to see.  After missing the first couple of stops, we got the hang of it.

                Our first stop was at the Koolau State Forest Reserve to hike the 3/4 mile Waikamoi Ridge Trail.  The trail was not difficult other than slippery roots and mud.  (We hiked it in our sandals.)  It went through bamboo stands and palm trees.  It would have been a really cool mountain bike trail.  There were some nice vistas to the ocean over lush jungle vegetation.

                The next stop we made was at the Garden of Eden Arboretum and Botanical Garden.  It cost $5 per person to get in, but it was just the sort of thing that you think of when you think of Maui.  Beautiful plants and trees, a good falls viewing area (Puohokamoa Falls), and an outlook on one of the shoreline shots used in the opening sequence of Jurassic Park.  Plus the guy who took our money as we came into the park was from Chicago originally.  What more do you need?

                Next was a quick outlook at the Wailua Valley State Wayside.  It was a little stair steps up to a grassy overlook where we could see both the ocean and the lush jungle valley of Ke'anae on the slopes of Haleakala.

(I took a picture of Dave relieving himself near a tree...Jada:)

                Then there was lunch.  We stopped at the Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside for some sandwiches that we had brought along for just such an occasion.  We sat viewing the small falls and pool that collected it.  A small tour bus dropped off a group of people fixin' for a dip...It was time to leave.

                We spent a long while in the car after that.  No rain today!  It was terrific.  Jada was sporting her swimsuit top and looking smashing doing so.  Finally after 10 miles, we made a stop just inside Hana city limits at the Wai'anapanapa State Park where we went down to the black sand beach for a swim.  Me being the moron that I am, opted to not bring the towels with us when we got there.  But we decided to sit on the beach a spell anyway, so I went up to retrieve the towels and put on my suit.  This beach was somewhat protected in that it was an inlet, but the waves were still crashing on the shore with a pretty severe shore break.  A shore break is where the wave breaks under before it crashes over the top.  The result for any person trying to get through one is that it could come crashing down on your head and shoulders before you got a chance to get through.  The trick is to jump it if it is small enough or dive underneath it.  We were able to get out behind the breaking waves where it was a little better.  However, it was a little too deep for Jada to stand, and it made her panic a bit as waves came in towards us.  It was fun to go up with them and have them drop me back down.  We only stayed in the water for a couple minutes, and then fought our way back to shore where we sat and watched the waves for a while.

                In Hana, we stopped at the Hana Ranch restaraunt.  It was $12 for 2 burgers, 1 fry and a medium beverage,  but the hamburgers were pretty good.  We sat outside and enjoyed the breeze and the watched the water in the distance.  Following dinner, we headed back to the Hana Highway for our return trip.  I first topped off the gas tank since there are no stops until Paia for gas.  There was more traffic on the way home, but it didn't take as long as the way out since we didn't stop anywhere.

                Upon our return we sat in the hot tub to relax a bit, and we also lazed in the sun.  Then it was off to the shower, and then here to write my journal.  Tomorrow will be our cruise and perhaps some snorkeling.  We'll have to go to bed early tonight since we'll be getting up at 4am tomorrow.  Now we're going  to watch sunset from the patio, and go to bed.