I did it! I went to Hawaii!
Recently, a spontaneous trip emerged that sent 2 daughters and I to Maui. In a nutshell--we had a Master’s Degree Graduation to celebrate, and after a minute of research, we discovered unexpectedly low airfares (65% off regular prices) from Atlanta to the islands. How could we not take advantage of that? Instead of researching for months, which is typical for me, we spent just a few weeks planning, found a wonderful Airbnb condo to rent, and took to the skies. On Maui, there are many sites to see and tons of activities, but we skipped a lot of them and played it low-key. We chose a few delightful excursions that fit our needs, and then mostly chilled and ate a lot of delicious food. We had the most fantastic vacation.
Loyal readers might remember that I am trying to become a member of the 50 States Club. I am edging closer and closer to my goal of visiting all 50 US states. I had always felt that, despite my best efforts, there was a chance I might not actually make it to the two non-contiguous states because of the distance and expense of travel. But, here I am, thrilled to have Hawaii under my belt! Alaska, I’m lookin’ at you now!
Today I will be short on stories, showcasing instead pictures of our trip, with a few captions and explanations. I might write more about some of our experiences at a later date.
Looking at these pictures makes me smile from ear to ear. Wow-ee. Welcome to Gwen’s Adventures in Maui…
The beaches and coastlines were just as picturesque as you would expect. I can't get enough of lava rocks with crashing waves.
Here is a map of the the island of Maui. I've circled 2 special areas which are standouts on the island--The Road to Hana (rhymes with Donna) and Haleakala National Park (huh-lay-aaa-kuh-la).
The Road to Hana is a narrow road which hugs the North Shore of the island. It is a must-do adventure, driving through thick forests, curving by the cliff's edge, pausing to yield to traffic on one-lane bridges, registering all of the gorgeous sights along the way, and stopping to explore.
We didn't drive the entire road, which can sometimes take a good 8 hours, but opted to go halfway before returning on the same route. As we meandered along taking in the scenery in our rental car, we pulled over for some incredible experiences. We watched sea turtles sunning on the beach and surfers attacking the waves, we hiked through the Rainforest, photographed gorgeous coastlines, stopped for a delicious banana bread treat, and swam at the base of a thunderous waterfall. Driving was a bit intense, but we loved our adventure on The Road to Hana.
Another fun Maui experience was the Luau/Hula show. The artists executed authentic dances derived from many Polynesian islands. It was a very upbeat evening in a beautiful garden setting. We had no problem devouring our Tomahawk Steak/ Rice Cakes/ and Vegetables dinner spread before the show started.
The most exciting vacation adventure was driving to the top of the Haleakala volcano to watch the sunrise. Seeing the brilliant sky with the sun coming up above the clouds was simply stunning. We had to get up at 2:30am to make the terrifying drive to the summit in our rental car. Seriously, the treacherously winding road hugged the edge of the mountain with deep drop-offs and a ridiculous number of spine-tingling switchbacks. It was a harrowing drive. See?
More than once I thought we might careen off the edge into the great abyss. But, we didn't. We made it to the top of the volcano, safe and sound in time for sunrise. The reward was enormous. Sunrise at Haleakala National Park. If you ever get the chance, do it. Just do it.
If you want to see the other 764 vacation pictures that I took, then we can talk. I'll leave it at this for now, just to give you a glimpse of the fantastic trip my daughters and I took to Maui. Thanks for reading.
Aloha and Mahalo.
It's Gwen. Just testing if my comment section works, lol.
One of my favorite places. So glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Pam. It really was amazing!
I love Maui. We’ve done the full Hana drive a couple of times and did the Haleakala bike thing. Glad you enjoyed it.
Jalane, I can't believe you did the bikes on Haleakala. I would completely freak out!!! Maui is such a lovely place. We saw only a little trace of the wildfire damage. We stayed away from that area for the most part. The rest of the island was beautiful.
Oh my goodness - how fantastic. I love your description, "We watched sea turtles sunning on the beach and surfers attacking the waves, we hiked through the Rainforest, photographed gorgeous coastlines, stopped for a delicious banana bread treat, and swam at the base of a thunderous waterfall. "
Wow wow wow! Thanks for sharing the pictures and adventure, Gwen!
thanks Wynne!
What a wonderful trip, Gwen. I’m so glad you and your daughters were able to make it; it’s even better when you can share the experience! Next stop, Alaska!!
You're right Jane, we came away with so many memories of a great trip. (I'm already looking for Alaskan cruises, lol)
Hawaii is too cool for school. I'm glad you had the chance to see Maui. There's nothing like it. Aloha!
Ally, I think everyone agrees on Maui being a very special place. We only saw a little bit of wildfire damage, although I know that parts of the island were devastated recently. We have so many great memories from the trip. Aloha!
Growing up on Oahu, we took many trips to Hawaii and Maui. I'm happy to say I've seen the sunrise from Haleakala Crater – an experience so amazing, it imprinted itself on my brain my whole life. I'm just glad I was a kid in the backseat instead of being the one behind the wheel.
Mark, that is amazing that you grew up in Hawaii. In our 7 day experience, we found that locals and visitors were very careful to care for the land and be respectful of it. It was impressive, since I often see so many people who are careless and thoughtless around here. As far as being behind the wheel on the mountain drive--my daughters had absolutely no confidence in my driving skills, so they were just as nervous as I was! Glad you had the sunrise experience. It's definitely a WOW moment.
This is why I was especially upset about the Lahaina wildfire last year. That was our favorite village to explore. I'm sure they will rebuild, but it'll never be quite the same.
I must have missed your 50 states goal. How many do you have left?
I've not yet been to Hawaii, but I intend to go one day. Gorgeous photos and video - especially that sunrise. I like how you ended with the juxtaposition of the two pictures - one in a swimsuit and one all bundled up.
Once I started looking back at my family travels as a child, I realized that we had covered a lot of US ground. That's when I decided I should go for all 50 states. I have 9 states left. I've already gone some plans in the works, so I hope I can knock a few more out real soon!
When we went to Maui several years ago, we did about 1/3 of the road to Hanna. Our daughter and son-in-law drove up to see the sunrise from the mountain top and loved it, but Dave and I declined because he has a problem with heights. It sounds to me as if you had a great trip!
Ann, I loved the variety of experiences that were available on the island. Glad you were able to enjoy some of them too!