the road to hana

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today was an extremely long day, filled with new experiences and friends. we took the road to hana which is a coastal highway from paia to hana, on the east side of maui.

our trip started early at 8:30am, as we went to the town of paia and stocked up on food and water for the day. our first stop came after a bit, at the ke-'anae peninsula where we got the opportunity to taste the world's best banana bread and look out on our destinations ahead. we then stopped at the black sand beach in the waianapanapa state park where we got to jump in freshwater caves and explore. definitely a little colder than the ocean!!!! we also got to go to the black sand beach - and we were quite thankful that it wasn't sunny since the sand would have hurt!

from the state park, we went to the salt and pepper beach - hamoa beach - where the sand is both white and black. as the weather wasn't cooperating, we didn't go into the ocean, but got the chance to catch up on some flora pictures.

following that stop, we went to the haleakala national park to see the ohe'o gulch (the seven sacred pools) and hike to the waimoku falls, which are 400' high. the hike was filled with bamboo and fruit trees, and i got to climb bamboo for the first time ever, and eat a guava right off the tree. so yummy!!

after that, we did a quick stop at the hasegawa general store, established in 1910 and hana's oldest family owned business, to pick up dinner and drinks for the evening. we headed to the red sand beach, called kaihalulu beach. we took a look at the scenery and setting sun, before heading back into town for the evening!

this is my last night in maui, as i leave for the big island tomorrow morning... i am a bit sad to leave the bungalow that i have called home for the past week and that has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people. but i am also very fortunate to be leaving to go to the big island with 3 friends!

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