Hawaii December 2013
This is an experimental thing. Comments appreciated. klassen.f@gmail.com
So our first trip after retiring was to Maui, Hawaii.
We spent a total of 17 days there which was the longest vacation we've had in over 30 years.
Flying in to Maui
We spent the first six days in a VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) place in Haiku, which is on the north end of the island. A place called Plantation House.
Had breakfast sitting next to Mick Fleetwood one morning in the local greasy spoon. Serious!
Here's a link to the VRBO listing.
It was OK but not quite what we expected.
Here are some pictures:
The kitchen - it was actually a pretty decent kitchen and we ate all our evening meals here. Highlight was canned chili over spaghetti (JK).
The yard
Pool was nice but wasn't heated so we didn't use it. We're such sissies!
Terri having coffee on the lawn. There wasn't much sun on the balcony.
Much vegetation.
On the road to Hana.
Everyone who goes to Maui sooner or later drives the road to Hana.
It's a twisty turny road that you don't want to do if you're hung over or get car sick easily.
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/road-trips/maui-hana-coast-road-trip/
There are many fantastic sights on the road to Hana
This is a very windy beach we stopped at.
Another shot of the same place.
At Hana there's a beach called Black Beach - guess why...
We stopped at a few waterfalls along the way...nothing too impressive though.
One day we drove up to Haleakala which is a dormant volcano.
http://www.nps.gov/hale/index.htm
The peak is more than 10,000 feet above sea level so it's quite a drive.
And it's cold up there too.
This is a shot of the West side of the island taken from about half way up.
A shot of the crater.
Also at the top are a bunch of observatories. The big one on the right hand side keeps track of all man made items orbiting the earth.
This shot is looking towards the Big Island. The two bumps rising out of the clouds in the middle of the pic are Mauna Kea (left) and Mauna Loa (right).
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and has lots of observatories too. Its over 13,000 feet above sea level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Keais
Mauna Loa is an active volvcano and often erupts spectacularly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Loa
So we spent six nights at Haiku and then moved to one of the Luxus units at a resort called Honua Kai.
This is a resort where you can own your own place.
The one we were in was OK but a crappy view which is unusual for Luxus places.
This was the view from our balcony. Overlooking a loading area. Quite disappointing in reality.
The interior was great though as was the beach where we spent most of our time.
A very windy place though.
We went canooing one day which was a hoot.
A shot of the beach from the south end by Sheraton's Black Rock.
I thought I was going to drown here a few years ago when I swam out beyond the rock and the current was pulling me towards Alaska. Luckilly I was able to get out.
This is a shot of the West Maui Mountians from the canoe. Apparently the second wettest place on earth.
Rupert and Dwayne admiring the scenery just north of Kapalua.
And a typical Maui breakfast...