Maui - Day 7: Hoapili Trail / Seattle for Fireworks!

We finished our last morning in Maui with a hike on the Hoapili Trail. This trail is through a lava flow and goes out to a navigation light and lets people access the southernmost part of Maui. It continues as the King's Trail eastward along the shore to an ancestral village - we didn't have time to do that. But we did get to experience walking through lava fields, seeing wild goats, feeling the winds blowing across, listening to the waves crash in the coves, and imagine what the snorkeling would be like - there was lots of white coral that had washed up in the coves indicating reefs just offshore. We packed up and got to the airport without incident. What a wonderful experience we've had in Hawaii! We are appreciate the hospitality of the locals for allowing us to visit and explore, we are grateful we were able to travel and be in this remarkable place.

The universe conspired to have our flight land 30 minutes ahead of schedule, giving us just enough time to make it to Jess's friend Megan's houseboat on Lake Union for fireworks! We were treated to an incredible fireworks show on the rooftop deck. And the entire scene of boats and people paddle boarding to see them and everything was just fun to be part of. What an incredible end to our week together!

Maui - Day 6: Jess Learns to E-Foil! Makena Beach & Secret Cove, Lehua Lounge @ Andaz

Jessica absolutely crushed learning how to E-Foil at Sugar Beach this morning. In less than an hour, she was up on the board zipping around and even got it up on the hydrofoil. She said it was quiet and felt like floating. Meanwhile, I added five more miles of beachwalking on Sugar Beach to the tally.

We hung out at the pristine mile-long Makena Beach south of us for the afternoon. Walking the beach, chilling in the shade, and bobbing and floating the swells just beyond on where the waves were breaking. It is one of the most beautiful white sand beaches that either of us has ever seen. The shore break on the waves was pretty strong, though and I think I burned the bottom of my feet on .

We also popped down to Secret Cove to pay homage to Trent and Rachelle as it was the spot of their wedding. We happened to be there at high tide and the incoming waves filled up almost the whole cove. There were some daredevil teenagers jumping from the rocky shore into the cresting waves. We also saw a large turtle floating on the waves.

We had a yummy dinner at Nalu, recommended to us by a friendly local at Secret Cove. We caught our final sunset at Lehua Lounge in the Andaz resort in Wailea. They had really enjoyable live music and a stunning patio overlooking three infinity pools and the ocean beyond. It was the perfect capstone to our Maui trip! 

Maui - Day 5: Swimming at Kamaole, Hookipa Beach on North Coast, Haleakala Hike & Sunset

Maui vacations are for playing hard! Today started with a mile-long swim session in the bay at Kamaole Beach across from our condo. Because --- swimmers gotta swim! Next up - we drove to the north coast to see more sea turtles at Hookipa Beach. We were able to see a dozen on them on the shore. They'd left imprints in the sand from coming onto the beach that were interesting to study. We got to see one swimming in and one scooting out to the water. It was pretty remarkable.

Our big adventure was driving the 38-mile road up to 10,000' Haleakala and doing a big hike up there. On the drive, we passed through the cloud layer at around 6000' and then were up above the clouds the rest of the day. We chose a nearly 12-mile point-to-point hike that involved leaving the car at the end and hitchhiking up to the summit to begin. Luckily we found another group of women doing the same thing and were able to ride with them. The views from the summit looking down into the erosional crater were incredible. We also got to see the tops of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the Big Island 100 miles away. The clouds drift into the erosional valley (and sediment washes out) through two gaps.

The Sliding Sands & Halemauu Trails started at the edge of the erosional crater at the rim of Haleakala. It was about 4 miles down to the valley and another 4 miles hiking through the lava fields and cinder cones. At 8 miles, we got to the Holua cabin and there’s a tiny campground there. That area was green and had vegetation everywhere and felt quite different than the rest of the crater we’ve been in. It was right next to the gap where the clouds come in. At that point we looked up to the cliffs above and saw our trail switchbacking up out of the crater. The trail took us up more than 2000 feet in a couple miles and it was pretty intense. But the it was beautiful, there were some neat Hawaiian ferns on the cliffs, and we kept getting lovely views. As we rounded the edge of the ridgeline, we got to see the bank of clouds, ringing the volcano and it felt like we were right up above the clouds. That was really special. It was a long hike, but totally worthwhile.

After that, we drove back up to the very top of the summit. We were one of the last cars that was able to park there for the night at 6:00 for the popular sunset experience. We made a picnic dinner, set up some lawn chairs facing west, and waited for a very special sunset over the clouds. It was one of the most epic sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. It was really special to be able to be in community with a bunch of other people who come for the same reason. The views kept shifting and the colors kept getting more beautiful until it was inky twilight and time to go home. We snaked down and down and down the 38 mile road all the way back to sea level singing along to the Indigo Girls. We were pretty tired by the time we got home. It was an epic day that only Hawaii can provide.