Happy Birthday Mom!

The next best thing to sending you flowers...

North Shore Forecast: High Surf

The 10 o'clock news last night was all abuzz about the surfing conditions for today and tomorrow on the North Shore of Oahu. The North Shore is famous, justifiably so, for its world-class surfing--considered one of the best areas for big wave surfing in the world.

Anyway, back to the news: The forecast was for 12-15 foot waves today, and even larger ones tomorrow, since a storm is moving across the Pacific towards Hawai'i and due to hit Sunday night (we leave Saturday afternoon). This morning, Suzie and I drove the Kamehameha Highway up to the North Shore and the waves had definitely brought their A-game. The waves were pretty strong, so only the hardiest surfers were out on their boards. We enjoyed sitting in the sun, watching the show on the water.

Pineapple Girl!

Fresh Fruit? Just Pull Over

Every quarter mile, it seems, there is another roadside stand selling fresh tropical fruit, banana bread and fruit smoothies. We took it upon ourselves to sample as many as possible--hard work, but someone needs to do it.

Mind the Curves

More from the road to Hana.

Not Here to Sell Car Insurance

Suzie had an unexpected (and really, really unwanted) visitor this morning while brushing her teeth in the bathroom. Geckos are considered good luck in Hawai'i, and they also eat copious amounts of bugs, so they're usually welcome guests. However, Suzie isn't too crazy about exotic fauna, and this little guy was no exception. So after getting ready for his close-up, I ushered him out the door.

Maui's Black Sand Beach

Suzie and I had a nice visit to the famous black sand beach at Wainapanapa. The sand is from volcanic rock, jet black (somewhat hard to see in the above photo, but our pictures on the beach didn't really come out well). We also explored the surrounding coastline, including walking through a lava tube. Lava tubes are formed when molten magma cools on the outside, forming a hard rock tube, but the interior lava continues to flow. When the flowing lava recedes or drains, it leaves behind a tube (or tunnel) in the surrounding rock. We also enjoyed seeing the rock arches on the craggy coastline, which are made of hard volcanic rock. The arch is formed when the softer volcanic rock underneath collapses or is eroded by the ocean.

Hana, HI 96713

Suzie and I drove to downtown Hana from our hotel (all of 5o yards!) to post some mail before we continued on our drive out to the black sand beach (more on that later). The Postmaster, Joey, was incredibly friendly, and we got to talking while I rummaged through my pockets looking for enough change to buy a single first class stamp. Unfortunately, I only had 36 cents, six cents shy of the stamp. Joey immediately suggested I check on the ledge above the counter, since customers leave spare change there. Sure enough, there was change aplenty perched there, and I helped myself to six cents and bought my stamp. If you look carefully in the photo above, you'll see the spare change on the ledge above Joey.

Inauguration Day!

The day is finally here! A real President!

All of Hawai'i has been abuzz about the inauguration this past week, and Hana certainly wasn't going to be left out. The hotel had the inaugural live on television at 5am, and provided free breakfast. The rest of town celebrated as well...

Meet Charlotte

A Sacred Pool Denizen. Suzie's eagle-eyes spotted this wee lass as we were hiking the trail along the Seven Sacred Pools. (Her body is about the size of a quarter.)

No One Wants to Visit Ohe'o Gulch...

...But everyone wants to visit The Seven Sacred Pools. Many years ago, so I'm told, a local hotelier gave the gulch the more romantic moniker, boosting interest in making the drive (there are actually more than seven pools, though). Whatever the name, we can report that it is a beautiful spot. The pools are fed by rainwater shed from the summit of Haleakala. During heavy rainfall, the gulch becomes a torrent. Today, however, it was just beautiful. You can see in the photos that many people choose to swim in the pools--it is even possible to jump from the cliff wall into one of the pools, which is 40 feet deep. We chose to just hike around the pools, since we don't have reef shoes, and the rock is slick and craggy.

The Seven Sacred Pools are found a half hour's drive past Hana. The road is narrow, twisty and fraught with hair-raising one-lane bridges over deep gorges. Along the way, we encountered an amazing waterfall, which we captured in the video below (note the tourists in the foreground to give you a sense of scale).

The Hotel Jalopy

Meet Ernie G, the Hotel Hana-Maui's 1932 Packard bus.

Downtown Hana:

Two churches and a general store.

What can you buy in the general store? Everything, including that Hawaiian favorite, Spam!

The Fruit We Ate

We've had some absolutely amazing fresh tropical fruit while we've been here. Some of it grows on the grounds of the hotel, and most all of it can be found growing wild along the roads.

Suzie even picked an avocado from the tree outside the yoga studio on the grounds.

So far, we've had:

Apple Banana (It's a banana that tastes like apples!)
Avocado
Banana
Coconut
Guava
Lemon
Lilikoi (Passionfruit):Lime
Mango:Orange
Papaya:Pineapple
Rambutan:Starfruit:Strawberries
Watermelon

The Fish We Ate

The fresh, locally caught fish is amazing. So far, we've had:

Ahi
Mahimahi
Opakapaka
Ono
Opah
Uku

We haven't yet had Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, but when we do, I'll be sure to let you know how to pronounce it!

Nap Time

Right outside our bungalow is a hammock. After a morning spent at the beach and some delicious road-side pad thai, Suzie and I decided to spend some quality time under the palm fronds dozing and enjoying the spectacular view.

Sunrise in Hana

The dawn view from our bungalow in Hana.

The Road to Hana...

...Is paved with tropical plants and million dollar views. We drove the road to Hana this afternoon, crossing 54 ancient one-lane bridges and enjoying spectacular views the whole way. The road is precariously perched on the side of steep volcanic rock cliffs (you can see it in the photos), and winds along 35 or so miles of lush coastline on the way to Hana, population 800.

Top Down, Sunglasses On, the Open Road Awaits

Mama's Fish House

Suzie and I stopped in Pa'ia at Mama's Fish House, and had the most expensive lunch we've ever eaten. Of course, you're really paying for the location (our table's view above), although the food was indeed quite tasty. (Thanks to Betty and Monika, who both recommended it!)