The Road to Hana

If you ever go to Maui one of the most popular...most talked about things to do is The Road to Hana. I had read all about it before we went. I even had my handy dandy Coastal Living Magazine all dog eared and ready to take us step by step on our next big adventure.

The Chicks were excited.

We were a tad bit nervous. You hear all kinds of stories about the Road to Hana. It's a 50 some mile drive that takes hours and hours, because it has 600 plus hair pin turns. If that's not enough there are several bridges that only one car at a time can pass through and the locals are a little crazy! So after hearing all this we were really kind of dreading it, but we knew we couldn't NOT go. THAT would be crazy:)

This little fruit stand was our first stop. We got loaded up with fruit smoothies, coconut candy and coconut chips. OH my goodness. Who knew I loved coconut so much. I will forever crave that chewy candy!

You would think the sign might tip us off for something to see, but since we didn't get the much raved about driving CD to take along with our drive we missed the Twin Falls. Oh well!

Aren't these little bananas adorable?!

Up until this point the roads hadn't been that bad. I even said...see nothing is as bad or as good as people make it out to be!

Then all of sudden it all began...the endless twisting and turning. We came prepared though and drugged up on Dramamine and the girls and I wore the anti-nausea Sea band wristbands. It helped and none of us got car sick...thank God!






My magazine article pointed us to mile marker 11, where it said we could splash around in the beautiful pools of Haipuaena Falls. So here we are trying to be adventurous. It's really not in our nature to trudge through mud in the middle of a tropical jungle, but nonetheless I wanted us to experience it all:)

Just a pretty little fall. The water was icy cold.

We all dressed in bathing suits just in case we wanted to take a dip, but it was way to cold to do that.

By the time we got to the car we were all covered in mud! Welcome to the Road to Hana;)

I think I can stand a little mud for views like this though!

See the cut out...that's the road. Those little white dots are cars. What an amazing view.

Our next stop was between mile marker 16 and 17. At the end of a very hidden road we made it to Keanae Landing Fruit Stand. It was raved about in my magazine for Auntie Sandy's banana bread. Apparently it's the best on the island and we just HAD to have some.

Her banana bread is famous for a reason...it was soooo good! Oh my:) I think we bought 4 or 5 loaves. So yummy and she doesn't use milk, eggs or nuts...hmmm.

This place...this moment was one of my very favorite on the trip. We pulled into a little shaded cove and ate our picnic lunch out of the back of the jeep. We could hear the waves pounding the black volcano rocks and hear the birds chirping over head. It was pure bliss.

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? And the best part is that it felt like it was all ours. There was no one else in sight. It was so peaceful and serene. The huge spray of ocean every few beats. It was magical.

We used our time wisely and took LOTS of pics! I was PMSing unfortunately and I remember yelling at some point that...we weren't leaving until we got a good shot. Even if it took all day. Because we'd probably never be here again and and...JUST DO IT!

This is only about one tenth of the shots it took before we finally got a good one. Oh my sweet peeps. How they put up with their crazy mama!

This one works pretty good. That's the problem with a deserted, special private cove...there is no one to take your picture;)

One more fall to see at mile marker 20...Upper Waikani Falls or better known as Three Bears Falls. It was a beaut. Not only did you see the big fall, but lots of little ones along the walls. Rainbows in the water spray. It was just a beautiful site.

We didn't make it to Hana. We went about half way and then decided that was enough. How many gorgeous beaches and waterfalls do you really need to see in one day?? We got what we came for...pics to last a lifetime and enough banana bread to feed a small village, our little "village". So glad we didn't get spooked and made the trek anyway. When I think of Hawaii this is where my mind goes.

Have a blessed day.

Intermission

(Making a wish)

I thought I'd briefly interrupt the Hawaii recap to share last week's main events. Honey had a birthday. It's the only three week period during the year that I can say he's "officially" an older man:) Mine is right around the corner!


We've been trying to get back on the wagon after our food fest in Hawaii, so earlier he had told me he absolutely didn't want any sweets at all. That night after dinner it didn't take much persuasion to make him rethink the whole thing:) I ran to Target as fast as the car would take me and got two of his favs...red velvet and peanut butter chocolate cake. We split it four ways. That's not too bad right??

Little Chick officially became an athlete:) We we were soooo proud of her. After years of sitting on the sidelines watching big sis...it was her turn to shine. She went out there and boldly chased that ball and scored three times! I was really impressed. I didn't think she would be that aggressive. Go Little Chick!!!










Took the girls ice skating for the first time. It was a Girl Scout function. To be honest I hate ice skating...it's HARD! Before, during and after it's painful. I just don't find the enjoyment in it. Neither did they really. I am in complete awe of professional skaters of any kind. Actually anyone who can skate without holding on to the wall is unbelievable in my book:)







Had to share this little sweet pic. It was a pretty day yesterday and the neighbor kids all just had a spontaneous little picnic. Makes me look forward to school being out all the more.



I grew up out in the country and played by myself all the time. My brothers were A LOT older than me, so I was by myself most of the time. Seeing this kind of friendship makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. They are so blessed to have playmates.








Big Chick drew this picture of me on the plane. Isn't it good?? That really does look like my profile. The nose is a little pointy, but she pretty much nailed it! Last night was the first time I've slept good since returning from Hawaii. There is a 5 hour time difference and for some reason I'm the only one in the house that hasn't been able to switch back to Minnesota time. I've been going to bed at 3 a.m. - UGH!!!!! I guess my body still wants to be in Hawaii:)


In order to keep me from napping yesterday I talked Honey into watching New Moon with me. Let's just say he's not a fan of the vampire-werewolf love triangle. I don't know how many times he said...this is ridiculous:)



Anyway thanks for sticking with my most random post to date:) I have lots more of our vacation to share with you. Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Have a blessed day.

Oh and I almost forgot my friend Jeanne is having a big give-away on her blog to celebrate her Spring collection. It's too good to pass up!

Needle and the haystack:)

First of all thank you girlies for lavishing me with all the great compliments regarding my bikini bod. You sure know how to make someone feel good about themselves:)

Now for our next adventure...

I really wanted to see Maui not only from the ocean perspective, but to explore the countryside. So we got up early one morning and made a day doing just that. I had heard of the Iao Needle, but to see it in person was amazing. It was a tad chilly and windy...can ya tell??

It looked like something out of a King Kong movie...kind of mystical and mysterious. As you are driving to it, it kind of sneaks up on you. One minute you are in a little town, the next you are standing in a tropical rain forest...complete with mist and magic.

The needle is an erosion remnant of rock that juts up 2, 250 feet. There were a couple of paved paths to walk on and some koi ponds. Nothing to take too much time, but I can see how it would have been a fun place to hike or take a picnic.

We found some beautiful streams. I wish that I could put sound to these pictures. It was so beautiful and relaxing. I could have sat there for hours. The cover of the trees was cool. It smelled like earth. Oh to bottle it all up:)

That's the ocean in the distance. Isn't it just beautiful??

This was just the first part of our day. After we spent the morning oohing and ahhing at the Needle, we drove North a bit and discovered this little piece of paradise.

This is the lookout at the Mendes Ranch...where we went HORSEBACK RIDING. Yippee!!!

My girls have been on pony rides before at fairs and such, but never horseback riding. I was so excited about sharing this with them:) Here's Little chick "practicing" in the Barn.

The ranch itself was charming. All kinds of critters running around. I LOVE animals. And you know I love a spry rooster or two. How cool to get a rooster and a peacock in the same shot!

We were all a tad bit nervous. I've been horseback riding several times, but I'm by no means an experienced rider. The ranch hand said to me..."you can handle one that gallops right?" I was like ummm sure:) Bring it on!

Little Chick had her very own guide...Holly. She was really nice. I pestered her with all kinds of questions like... I bet you take living here for granted right? Have you ever been to the mainland? How can you afford to live here? What does your husband do??

Just in case you wanted to know...she's lived there her whole life. She is the bread winner:o Her husband stays home with their daughter. She doesn't do ocean stuff and had never been to the crater. She never gets tired of the view...she loves her job for that reason. She went to California once when she was a little girl. And as far as the cost of living...she doesn't know anything else! So there you have it...Holly's life story in a nutshell. What can I say?? I'm inquisitive/nosy by nature:)

We all seemed to get the horse that we needed. Honey's horse had an attitude. Fred didn't like the other horses (he was a little antisocial) and kept turning his head to nip at Honey's shoes. It was so funny. My horse Bailey was his girlfriend and he even got irritated with her...go figure;)

Big Chick got a hungry horse that kept stopping to eat the grass. She had to really pull on the reigns and kick to get him back on course. She loves to mother, so that was a good fit for her:)

That waterfall in the distance was the fall that the helicopter flew by in the movie Jurassic Park. Isn't that cool?

When we got to the top we figured it was almost over. Noooo...we still had a lot of riding left.

They took us down to the most breathtaking spot. I couldn't believe my eyes. I forget what this place is called. I do remember something about a cave and SHARKS. Apparently this is the spot that the tiger sharks migrate from or mate or something. So you won't see divers here:o It's also one of the best spots on the island for lobster.

Can you believe that this is real? I never wanted to leave. I almost felt panicky inside. I couldn't believe my eyes and I just wanted to take it all in. I mean how many times in your life are you going to see something this unbelievable??

What an absolutely amazing day. Needless to say we fell in bed slightly exhausted. Honey and I had really sore bottoms and rubber knees. The girls...not so much. What's up with that?

The most fun part of the whole day was the very last leg of the trip. They let our horses run with us. I laughed my head off the entire time. I seriously couldn't stop laughing. Oh to get tickled and not be able to stop...gotta love that!

Have a blessed day.