It feels impossible that a month ago we were in Hawaii, footloose and fancy-free. COVID-19 was hardly on our radar. And now, as of today, we are officially, fully, per-the-Governor’s-orders homebound. How quickly the tides have turned. But more on that later…I’m still wrapping my head around our new normal.
So…Hawaii! In February! How we anticipated this trip, saving up Hilton points and shopping for swimsuits and snorkeling across the basement rug in anticipation of a much-needed mid-winter break.
We stepped over the threshold of the Grand Wailea on a Wednesday afternoon, were adorned with a matching set of leis, and skipped giddily down to the pool while we waited for our room to be ready.
Ah, the pool! That aqua, sparkling, glorious pool. Pools, actually. We found that one waterslide took us to another which took us to another.
(That dangling front tooth popped out two minutes after I snapped this picture. Thank goodness.)
From the pool it was a short hop down to the beach for wave-jumping and tide-chasing.
We checked into our room late in the afternoon, traded our wet swimsuits for dry ones, and then chowed down on poké and pizza at the pool bar while whales splashed in the distance. I kid you not.
We ended the day with sunset wave play…
And a dip in the hot tub. And it felt. so. good.
We woke up Thursday eager to take on the island. Good moooooorning, Maui!
Though our primary Hawaiian intention was to sit back and sun-soak, we figured we owed it to ourselves to spend at least one day touring the island’s sights, so Hana it was! The long, slow, winding, epic Road to Hana. Capital R. Bring it on.
We hit play on our audio tour, telling ourselves that we couldn’t stop at everything, but dang it! How do you drive past this without stopping?
While parts of our guided tour were a bit cheesy, kudos to the host for excellent direction-giving. Up ahead on the left, you’ll see three parking spaces by the side of the road. Pull into one of them, look back across the street, and climb through the dark hole you see in the rock face. Uhhhh…ok?
OK! So cool.
This kid is down for anything. I love it.
Once we emerged from the lava tube, we high-tailed it to Nahiku for roadside stand banana bread and windy wave-watching.
Viewpoint alert!
Ice cream alert!
We grabbed a quick lunch and then allowed ourselves one final stop at WaiÊ»Änapanapa State Park before buckling in and pressing on to our final destination. This place was worth the detour! Black sand and aqua ocean. Such a good color combo.
At this point we put the pedal to the metal (which on the Road to Hana means soaring at about 30 miles per hour) and pressed on toward the Pools at O’heo. We were determined. And when we got there, they were closed. The high winds made for unsafe swimming, but no matter – we figured we’d see what the nearby Pipiwai Trail had to offer. And it had LOTS. Rushing waterfalls and a gigantic banyan tree and a magical bamboo forest…is this real life?
Juliette was a trooper. As was Shane, who spent the entire hike recounting a very detailed version of The Lord of the Rings (again!) to keep her excited and engaged.
Bamboo isn’t native to Maui, but if ever there were a testament to the invasiveness of this plant, this is it! When the wind gusted, the hollow trunks would click against one another to create the most zen percussion sound I’ve ever heard.
Waimoku Falls! Made it!
We camped out on a rock for a few minutes to have a snack and rest our feet, then turned right back around…daylight would be fading soon!
The final leg of the loop back to our hotel at Wailea was through Kaupo, which was one of the bumpiest roads I’ve ever been on, but once we were over the hump, we were rewarded with silky-smooth asphalt winding through wind-blown landscapes.
Shane pulled over at the side of the road to check out the view from this bluff and was nearly blown away. Like, literally blown away. That wind was insane.
We dashed back to the car, closed out our audio tour, and then Juliette drifted off to sleep in the back seat while the sun turned the sky pale pink.
Good night, Maui. GOOD NIGHT.
