Maui
Greetings from the Aloha State! I cannot believe it has been one year since my last "blog" entry, a year that has been filled with fun, growth, exploration, milestones, research and full-on tweendom! Such a busy year, but summer is now here and the Metz Girls have once again hit the road to discover all the beauty and diversity of the United States, with this being our most ambitious itinerary ― the great states of Hawaii and Colorado! I know that I said last year’s itinerary was the most ambitious, but when you visit a state that is the most isolated population center in the world — 2,390 miles from California and 3,850 miles from Japan — and has its own time zone — Hawaii-Aleutian time — I believe that I can once again make that claim! Notwithstanding its isolation, our flight to Hawaii was uneventful and we were able to use the six hour time difference to our advantage, booking a sunrise sail with a 4:30am wake up time! As always, the Metz Girls have been excellent road buddies and continue to amaze me with their maturity and sense of adventure. Without further ado, herewith is the first installment of my "blog", which I promise to one day upgrade to an actual blog. In the meantime, happy reading and I hope summer is off to a great start for each of you!
Hawaii
If you’re like me, you know a few key facts about the Aloha State that might come in handy while chatting at a dinner party or watching an episode of Jeopardy. Well, all of that will likely change as I share with you a few more in-depth facts and figures because, hey, what’s the point of my blog if I cannot also educate?!
The Hawaiian islands are the projecting tops of the biggest mountain range in the world.
The state of Hawaii consists of eight main islands — Nihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lania, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii.
The world’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, can be found on The Big Island. In the 1960’s, astronauts trained for the moon voyage by walking on Mauna Loa’s hardened lava fields, which resemble the surface of the moon.
The Hawaiian language only has 12 letters — A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P and W — and a symbol called "okina" ('), a consonant that indicates a slight pause.
Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee.
Remember Spam?! Well, it’s ever-popular, with the people of Hawaii consuming the most Spam per capita in the U.S.
Now that we have dispensed with a little learning, let’s move on to the islands we visited!
Maui
Maui is an incredibly diverse island, offering miles of perfect beaches, lush green valleys, breathtaking sunsets, and treks across moonlike terrain. We chose Wailea, along the South Shore, as our home base since it offered a serene setting, central location and resort amenities. Speaking of resorts, I have to give a special shout out to the Andaz Maui. It’s a new hotel with top-notch service, modern furnishings and plenty of included perks, such as a laundry center, which is invaluable when traveling with kids.
Here are a few highlights:
Haleakala National Park
In keeping with our desire to explore the country’s national parks, a visit to Haleakala National Park was a must-see. Established in 1916, Haleakala is a shield volcano with the Haleakala Crater as its centerpiece. A visit to the park is no easy feat, as you must travel along Haleakala Crater Road — rising from near sea-level to 10,023 feet in 38 miles — one of the fastest-ascending roads in the world. Along the way, you encounter at least 33 switchbacks while you journey from lush, tropical-island landscape to the stark, moonlike basin of the volcano’s enormous crater. Peytin actually vomited as we approached the Haleakala Visitor Center at 9,740 feet but, being a true road warrior, she was game to continue the adventure within a few minutes! She also vomited on the way down from the summit, but by that time it was what it was. Despite the hiccups, it was an incredible time as the view above the clouds was spectacular!
Here are pictures of the crater and the silversword, a rare plant that is only found in Hawaii. Silverswords live between 3 and 90 years or more, flowering once — sending up a spectacular flowering stalk — and then die soon afterward, scattering drying seeds to the wind.
And, in case you were wondering, Haleakala means "house of the sun" in Hawaiian, and legend has it that the demigod Maui lassoed the sun from its journey across the sky as he stood on the volcano’s summit, slowing its descent to make the day last even longer.
Lahaina
Lahaina is a historic whaling town that has been transformed into a hot spot with an abundance of souvenir shops, galleries, and restaurants. Honestly, it was too commercialized for my taste, but the Hawaiian shaved ice at Ululani’s was a real treat as was a visit to the Banyan Tree. At more than 60-feet high and the size of a city block, the tree is a sight to behold. The Banyan Tree has grown so large by dropping roots from its branches and then these roots become additional trunks over time. The tree is now supported by at least 16 trunks in addition to the original.
The drive home from Lahaina was spectacular, as there are numerous beaches along the way, all of which are easily accessible. In fact, all beaches, even those in front of exclusive resorts, are public property, with state law requiring all resorts and hotels to offer public right-of-way access to the beach. No wonder Hawaii is a beach lover’s paradise!
Iao Valley State Park
The Iao Valley State Park offers a verdant landscape and striking rock features, the most famous of which is the Iao Needle. Rising roughly 1,200 feet into the air, the Needle was formed by erosion and is now dressed in the island’s tropical foliage, leading it to appear green. The park is also the site of one of the most famous and bloody battles that changed Hawaii history forever. In 1790, King Kamehameha I destroyed the Maui army in his effort to unite the Hawaiian islands. A worthwhile trip that is fun for the kids.
Sunset
A sunset in Hawaii is not to be missed and one of our favorite viewing areas was La Perouse Bay, which is covered in rough lava from the last eruption of Haleakala over two centuries ago. Priceless!
Daddy Visits!
My wonderful husband, Lloyd (aka Daddy) visited us for Father’s Day weekend — what a treat! Wonder if he will make this an annual tradition, visiting us in such fun places as Kansas, South Dakota, Minnesota, etc.?!
Road to Hana
We timed our journey along the Road to Hana with Lloyd’s visit as the Hana Highway is a narrow, twisting, sometimes one-lane road with more than 600 turns, 59 bridges (over half of which are just one lane wide), and no shoulder. The reward is that the road leads you through flourishing rain forests, flowing waterfalls, plunging pools and dramatic seascapes, including a small grove of Painted Bark Eucalyptus trees. These trees have a unique bark that appears to have been hand-painted shades of red, purple and green. Truly breathtaking!
Waianapanapa State Park
At the end of our journey on the Road to Hana, we were rewarded with a stop at this state park featuring a scenic black-sand beach, sea caves and a rock arch. The girls ventured into the treacherous waters, but I enjoyed the view from the shore.
Lanai
Mostly privately owned, Lanai is the smallest inhabited island in the Hawaiian islands, and is a true getaway for slowing down and enjoying serenity, which isn’t difficult to do with such a small population (a little less than 3,200 residents) and not a single traffic light! We chose to explore the island through a sunrise cruise with Trilogy, as they offered the perfect combination of snorkeling, touring and lunching! It was worth the pre-dawn wake up time and I would recommend the trip if you have a little room in your schedule and a little extra cash in your pocket.
I had initially intended to include beautiful pictures of the girls on the beach, but thought better of it as Sydney would not be happy with such a public display. As Peytin would say, "yep, she is definitely a tween"!
Closing Thoughts
I started "blogging" as a way to chronicle our adventures and share wisdom gained, itineraries covered and a few laughs along the way. With any luck, these blogs will feed your sense of wanderlust, spark a few ideas and, if nothing else, make you laugh and/or smile. Also, you may have noticed that the distribution list is now hidden. Thanks to all of you and your wonderful support, the list has grown quite large and I don’t want to overwhelm folks with the potential for a large "reply all", as it may become too unwieldy. That said, I welcome any and all comments and, if you are so inclined, feel free to add a few friends when responding so that we don’t lose the group energy that I have come to know and love!
In closing, I want to give a special shout out to Rik and Holly whose invaluable input helped me refine our itinerary!
Okay, that's all for now. Love each of you and thanks for taking this journey with me!
P.S. If there was ever a question as to whether this is a true labor of love for me, consider this – I lost the final version of this blog after several hours of work and then spent a few hours trying in vain on my own to recover the email, followed by more than an hour on the phone with Apple Care. In the end, I learned a tough lesson -- Gmail will automatically delete an email draft that is over the size limit! So, I started the process anew with a little help from an earlier draft. This is the result; hope the second time's the charm!