Hawaii Trip | Part 2

Jumping back into the rest of our trip! In my last post I shared a bit about our adventures at the Royal Lahaina resort and a bit of what we did while on Oahu. It was incredible. I kind of skipped over a few major parts though so, that's where we'll begin! Lots of phone uploads here along with some good ones from my camera. So, there'll be a good mix of what we really experienced.

Guest services at the resort made it pretty convenient to book pretty much whatever you wanted to do right from the lobby. They had helicopter rides, glass bottom boats, swimming with the sea turtles, deep sea fishing and so much more. They also had decently priced rental car reservations. We're not super into all of the touristy stuff. We like it okay but, we'd really rather explore on our own and just kind of jump into the place we're visiting. So, on Monday, that's what we did! We rented a convertible Mustang and drove over half way around the island of Maui. Oh my goodness, it was breathtaking! At the beginning of our drive we went through a lot of little hippie towns and really just spots in the road but, the scenery was beautiful and the atmosphere was friendly and inviting. Everywhere you looked there were fruit/flower stands and they were all on the honor system. No one manning them, just a bucket and a sign. Pretty cool. There was lots of open country and you could see the mountains and ocean from almost anywhere.

After getting on the Hana Highway, we got some really spectacular views. There was so much local color everywhere. We passed by a windsurfers beach that apparently gets some incredible waves so it's always bustling. There were a lot of barbeque stops that boasted being "Maui's best". They were literally a lean-to with people gathered underneath and close by. Like, tons of people. And it smelled  h e a v e n l y. We went through some quaint, little towns and then hit a pretty rough stretch of road. For about thirty four miles, the road twists and turns every which way, sticking pretty closely to the coast line. The lady we got our info from told us that in that stretch, there's over 612 turns and 52 one lane bridges to cross. It was insane! I was seriously so surprised their weren't ANY accidents the entire time we spent driving. The road was just barely wide enough for two cars and, the corners were as sharp as the edges of the cliff, since that's the way the road followed so, you had to cling pretty closely to the rock. Talk about an anxiety filled drive... (see the iphone video above for a little snippet of our drive...)

It really was gorgeous though. So many stunning views and waterfalls that you could see right off the road. At each one there would be people stopped taking pictures or testing the waters so, we didn't stop at a lot of them. One we did stop at though was just beautiful. I mentioned it before but, the water is SO CLEAR there. The rocks underneath were super dark, almost black so, it made the water look black as well. 

After we got through that rough stretch of road, that really wasn't that bad with all the views and things to keep our minds off of it, we reached the Waianapanapa State Park. It was stunning. There's a black sand beach there that is just so cool. It's seriously just a beach full of black sand. There were tons of people along the beach and in the water so we didn't swim or stay on the beach long but, it really was neat to see. There was also a small cave that led down to an opening where the waves would crash in and the floor of the cave was full of these really pretty, smooth black rocks. I mean tons. We didn't swim here either but there was an interesting group of Italian men that were really enjoying themselves so, there's that. :)

The trees at the park were also so pretty. Everything was really. There was a blowhole that you could view from a lookout and a few private cemeteries dotted around as well. 

The last stop on our drive was the National Park where the Seven Sacred Pools of Oheo were. Talk about a stunning walk. They do allow you to swim in the pools but, unfortunately, the day we visited there had been some flooding and falling rocks so, the pools were closed. We did get to walk the trails leading to them though and I got some video with my Canon of all of the gorgeousness. 

Really, this trip was so much more than I ever imagined. Glen truly outdid himself planning this for us. We not only visited a place we'd never been before, we genuinely experienced it. And it will be something I remember for the rest of my life.

Monday was one of my very favorite days of our trip, mostly because of all that we got to see. Things and places that we'll probably never have the opportunity to visit again in our lifetime. And it was so, just, awe inspiring. We made the drive back toward Lahaina shortly after visiting the pools and allllmost made it back in time to go up the mountain for sunset. But, we were a few minutes too late. We were told it was incredible to view from the peak but, we just couldn't' make it in time. It was, however a pretty overcast day so, the views would probably not have been very good. So, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. 

I know this has gotten to be a supppper long post (sorry guys!)  but, I really wanted to share most of what we experienced with you. If you've stuck around this long, thanks a bunch! 

The rest of our trip was spent soaking in quality time with our amazingly gracious friends and seeing all of their favorite places on Oahu. Besides the Ma'akapu Lighthouse, we visited Pearl Harbor (INCREDIBLE), did a little souvenir shopping and ate a LOT of really delicious food. That's pretty much the basis for any good trip, right? :)

I'll only share a few of my favorites from Pearl Harbor because, let's face it, I'm a homeschool mom and I captured evvvvvverything... But, it really was so, SO incredible. Very, very, very sad. But so well memorialized. 

I don't know if I'll ever be able to convey to my hubby just how wonderful he is for thinking up this trip, all on his own. He literally thought of every thing he knew that I would want to do, or not do. He's the best. And, to our friends who so graciously opened their home, their time (and their pocketbook) to us, YOU ARE AMAZING!!! I couldn't imagine visiting Hawaii without seeing you and I am SO thankful Glen took the time to realize how important it would be to me that he make it happen. We love you guys and still laugh over the conversations and quips that were shared. We can't wait to return the favor when you guys finally make it back to little ol' Missouri!! ;)

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving guys, and thanks so much for going along on this little (okay, big) recap of our amazing trip! If you  missed the first post and want to read about our other adventures, you can do that here. God bless!!