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Hawai'i Vacation - May and June 1999
Calendar
May - June | ||||||
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24 | 25 | 25 Arrive in Maui |
26 Botanical Gardens |
27 Volcanoes National Park |
28 Paragliding |
29 Hike Na Pali Coast |
| 30 Hike Na Pali Coast |
31 Day at the Beach |
June 1 Hiking Waiamea |
2 Hike Haleakala |
3 Hike Haleakala |
4 Road to Hana |
5 Snorkeling and Iao Needle |
| 6 Leave Hawaii |
||||||
Trip Locations
Hawaii |
|
Hawaii Botanical Gardens Camping Hiking Volcanoes NP Hiking Na Pali Coast Hiking Waiamea Canyon Hiking Pipiwai Trail Hiking Haleakala Petroglyphs  Road to Hana Russian Fort |
Itinerary
May 25 - Arrive in Maui
For the first part of our Hawai'ian trip, I (Cori) stayed at the Hotel Kealia Resort (800 207-3565) in Kihei on Maui. The price was excellent and the condo was wonderful. A living room with a lanai overlooking the ocean and garden, a separate kitchen, a bedroom and bath made the place a home away from home. This part of the island is very quiet compared to the larger resorts in Lahaina. I rarely saw anyone on the beach here. The beach chair in the picture on the left was where I sat and read for a few hours every day.
I was only in the condo for a short time before I discovered that I had Bill's luggage and he had mine back home in his living room. Thank goodness for K-Mart! I now have a new wardrobe!
It covered most of the garden on this side of the building.
I loved the shadow it cast on the grass.
May 26 - Botanical Gardens
During my first full day on the island, I traveled up towards the summit of Haleakala. Near rice park, there are several botanical gardens. I visited two of the gardens and enjoyed taking photographs of the beautiful flowers
.Later in the day, I drove to Haleakala to get information about the hike that we had planned for the following week.
May 27 - Volcanoes National Park
I flew from Maui to Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i for the day to visit Volcanoes National Park. I hiked out to see petroglyphs, and did two other short hikes that day before leaving the park to fly home.
May 28 - Paragliding
I had taken hang gliding lessons many years ago, but I was never very successful. While in Hawaii, I saw a company advertising paragliding. That is where you launch from a mountain side, not the sport where you are towed from behind a motor boat.
On Wednesday, I called Proflyght to sign up for a tandem flight and was delighted that they still had room for someone. When I woke up on Friday morning, I could not wait to get started. I made a hearty breakfast and began the drive out to the up country.
We met at Rice Park, and they shuttled us up a farm road and stopped at the site where we would launch. They had all of the equipment I would need, including windproof gloves for my hands. They even bring boots for people who do not have a pair of sturdy hiking shoes.
When it was time to take off, I got nervous. The instructor and I started running and in seconds my feet were no longer touching the ground. The land dropped off below us, and the flight felt so natural, as if this is how I had always been traveling.
Our flight lasted a long time, so I was lucky that the air currents were just right and my instructor was really good at his job. We landed in a horse field where the shuttle bus was ready to pick us up. My legs felt so weak after landing, that all I could do for the rest of the day is go back to my beach and doze!
Later that evening, I got to go to the airport and pick up Bill. I was so excited to see him - and so excited that he arrived with all of my clothes! We stopped off at Burger King for a not so Hawai'ian meal, but we were both exhausted and starving so we figured it would do!
May 29 - Hike Na Pali Coast In
We awoke early and got all of our luggage into the rental car and drove to the Maui airport. We flew out to Kauai and spent about an hour getting out luggage and putting it in to storage. We only wanted to take our camping gear with us for the next two days. Anything left in the trunk of our rental car could be stolen.
The drive to the trail head was spectacular, but not nearly as impressive as the trail we hiked. If we had known that we could have camped at the beach for another night and hiked in the area, we would have.
May 30 - Hike Na Pali Coast Out
After hiking in to the Kalalau Beach, we had to return via the trail we had hiked in the the previous day. Overall, the trip was 23 miles. After the hike, we drove out to Waiamea Canyon and checked in to the cabin that we had rented at the park. For $40 a night, the place was an excellent deal. we had a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and two beds.
May 31 - A Day at the Beach
We decided we did not have the energy to hike after our previous two day haul, so we decided to drive up the east coast and do some tourist things. We visited a soap and candle factory, had lunch in Hanalei, and played around on the deserted beach where Mitzi Gaynor "Washed that Man Right Out of Her Hair" in "South Pacific".
June 1 - Hike Waiamea Canyon
It was unfortunate that we only had one day to hike in Waiamea Canyon. The one hike that we did do was beautiful. There is a good reason why they call it the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.
We flew to Maui late in the afternoon and drove to Haleakala and set up camp for the night.
June 2 - Hike Haleakala
This hike was a lot easier than the Kalalau Trail that we had hiked the previous week. The Sliding Sands Trail was mostly down hill!
We set up camp in Hosmer Grove, which is a back country camping area. We only saw two other parties there.
June 3 - Hike Haleakala
We slept late in the back country of the Haleakala Crater. Even though the four mile hike out was uphill with switchbacks, we did not mind. Every time we turned a corner, we saw another rainbow in the clouds that we were hiking through. After our hike, we checked in to the Maui Lu in Kihei, then drove out to the last lava flow on Maui.
June 4 - Road to Hana
The road to Hana was pretty dull. We did find a place that sold wonderful banana bread, and our visit to the "Seven Pools" was a lot of fun. We did a four mile hike into the bamboo forest and swam in the pools afterwards.
June 5 - Snorkeling, Iao Needle
On our last day we went on a morning snorkel cruise to Molokini Crater and to Turtle Town. The best part was when a turtle swam right beneath me! Afterwards, we drove to Iao Needle. We spent the next portion of the day shopping for gifts in Lahaina. The place was very crowded and built up. We went to the small town of Paia for an early dinner and had a nice time visiting the unique shops out there. When we got to the airport, we volunteered our tickets since the flight was overbooked. We each got $500 in travel vouchers and they put us up in the Maui Outrigger Resort for the evening. Not bad!
June 6 - Leave Hawaii
We slept over a the Maui Outrigger. Our view from the balcony was of Molokini Crater which was the place we had snorkeled the day before. We had breakfast in the elegant restaurant that overlooked the ocean. The meal was fantastic, but it is hard to figure how an egg can cost $10. We were glad American Airlines picked up that tab, too!
Our trip to Hawaii was one of the most wonderful things we have done together - Mahalo Hawai'i!