July 7 - Road to Hana

This was our Road to Hana day. We were still waking up early so we got a good start on the day. I think we left around 6:30. No traffic and the weather was beautiful. Our first stop was at the Waikamoi Ridge Trail, it was a nice little hike. This hike makes a loop and the scenery is great, so green. Our next stop was the Lower Puohokamoa Falls. We walked down a short trail to a nice viewing spot. This is a very long waterfall. We made lots of little stops to look and take pictures. We found Ching’s Pond, but didn’t get in. After a little looking we found Three Bears Fall. We ran into another couple looking for the same falls. After finding our way down to the falls and pond, we were the only four people there. It was great. We went swimming and enjoyed the beauty. It was our best stop. We found quite a few other falls along the way, but our next favorite stop was down Nahiku Road. It is a 2.5 mile road that leads to the water, more lush than the Road to Hana. At the end there are great views of the coast, a black sand beach and a trail to some small falls. This stop was also off the beaten path. I bought flowers down this road that were wonderful; they lasted the whole time we were in Maui. I hated to leave them behind.

Waikamoi Ridge

A few of the pretty things we saw along the trail.

Lower Puohokamoa Falls

Ching's Pond

Three Bears Falls

Makapipi Falls

Hanawi Falls
Nahiku Road

Pua'aka'a State Wayside Park

Wai'anapanapa State Park

Our next big stop was at Wai’anapanapa State Park. We were starving so we had lunch first. By now the weather had gotten a little cloudy and it started to rain before we left. We did get to enjoy the black beach and a cave a little, but would have liked to stay longer, oh well on to Hana. We only stayed in Hana a short time, and took a few pictures. Because of the rain, we didn’t look for the red sand beach. I really wanted to see it. The Wailua Falls were nonexistent, not enough water. There were some vendors selling crafts and baked goods at this spot. It was nice to have a break. Then we headed on to Ohe’o Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools). It was pretty, but very crowded. We went swimming for a while until the rain caught up with us! We did the complete circle around Haleakala. The road was a little rough here and there, but worth the drive. It was nice to see the changes in the landscape. 

The black sand beach and cave at Wai'anapanapa State Park.

Ohe'o Gulch

Road beyond Hana

The landscape really changes drastically from the east side of the island to the west.

The traffic going into Lahaina was even worse than Wednesday…it took us over an hour to go the last 11 miles! We were tired by the time we got back to our condo. After a little rest we went to dinner at Cool Cat Café. Their hamburgers are huge and very good. It really hit the spot.

We didn’t do much after dinner, it felt nice to sit in the hot tub and relax.

July 6 - Paradise

We woke up early and took a stroll on the beach; it was nice and quiet and very cool. It was fun to see the sun coming over the mountains. We had breakfast in our condo and then went to Black Rock to snorkel. We were there pretty early and found free parking at the Sheraton. The snorkeling was great that morning. The water was clear, calm and I felt like I was in an aquarium. It was wonderful. There were hundreds of fish of all kinds, but no turtles. After a little beach time we drove up the coast to Napili to look around.

Black Rock near the Sheraton

We ate lunch at our condo and lounged around for awhile. Then we explored the little shops in Lahaina. Stopped at Lahaina Fish Company for a drink, they have a great location on the water, and it really hit the spot.

Looking towards town and the banyan tree.

The historic Banyan Tree.

Front Street - Lahaina

Jobo Mission

We went to the Old Lahaina Luau in the evening. It was fun…the grounds are beautiful and we were seated personally by one of the staff. I loved the flower lies. The tropical drinks were ok, but the call drinks were better. We really enjoyed the time before the luau to wander around and take pictures. The food was good, some of it was a little different, but we tried everything. We were happy with our choice of luaus. We watched part of The Feast of Le Le several evenings from our lanai. OLL was much better.

Old Lahania Luau

Old Lahaina Luau Grounds

July 5 - Maui Adventure

The flight to Maui wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We arrived about 30 minutes earlier than expected…that was nice. The airport was kind of neat, open air walkways. I guess in Hawaii you don’t need much air conditioning. We rented a car from Word of Mouth Car Rental. We called them when we got our luggage and they picked us up. They were very friendly and easy to deal with. No lines! We landed at 1:40 and were on our way to Lahaina by 2:20. That was the easy part – getting to Lahaina took another hour. I had read the traffic was bad, but this is crazy. Honestly the only bad part was the last 10 miles into Lahaina. After settling in at the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort we went to Long Drugs and Safeway to get supplies for the condo. I was surprised to find out the prices weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. The liquor prices at Long’s were better than in Texas

We went to Penne Pasta for dinner. It was off the beaten track, but very good and the prices were great. We had flatbread pizza, eggplant parmesan, and one glass of red wine and the bill was around $20. Not bad. We wandered around for a while and then went back to enjoy the view from our lanai.

We really enjoyed our condo; it wasn’t a four star luxury resort, but a nice quiet place with a great view. The kitchen was well equipped, plenty of lounge chairs, beach towels and did I say it had a wonderful view? The beach was not the best for swimming or snorkeling, but it was nice to walk on in the morning and evenings. The best part about the condo was being so close to everything in Lahaina.

Lahaina Shores Beach Resort

We had a studio apartment...the Murphy bed came out of the wall to the right.

Views from our lanai