Day 6 - Maui, Hawaii

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We woke up around 7 am. We were determined to have a good breakfast today. It rained again in the morning for 30 minutes. We saw a beautiful rainbow from the bathroom window. Hana is green (land) and blue (ocean). We checked out of the hotel and headed for a breakfast place. Ranch house opens only at 11 am. Locals told us to go to “Tutu’s”. It was small place with limited menu options. We had eggs, toast a French toast. We left Hana around 10 am. Now we continue on past Hana and south. Usually, most of the tourists turn back after reaching Hana. Since we stayed in Hana and had allocated 2 days, we decided to drive around Haleakala.
Our first stop was Koki beach. It was nice. The view from the beach with sea arch on one side and a lush hill on the other was spectacular. Hamoa beach was next. It was in a nice location with public facilities. P1 and P2 played there for a while. The beach was pepper & salt in color. Part of land around that area is owned by Oprah. We missed Venus pool. Rain made it hard to see the pullover point for that attraction.
After driving for another ten miles, we came to the Haleakala park area. In this stretch, we encountered at least eight construction trucks from the other side. It was nerve wracking! Driving in a one lane road with trucks coming at you! Entering the park, we had to pay $10 park fee. One good thing is that, the entry fee is valid for 3 days. We were planning a Haleakala sunrise on the 3rd day anyways. Inside the park, we visited the Ohe ‘o gulch or seven sacred pools. There are no seven pools here. It is probably called because there are few lava rock holes where water can pool. This area is between waterfalls and the ocean. Depending on the rain, the pools can get filled. P1 & P2 swam there for a while. We also met a family from Pittsburgh, who were staying in the Papakea (as we were). We exchanged notes and had a great conversation. The beach here has black sand. But the ocean was rough.
Next planned stop was Lindbergh’s grave. For some reason we missed it. We continued on very rough roads. Here the roads are just one car length. The views in this stretch are very different than the windward side of Hana. There was vast expanse of lava rocks and Blue Ocean beneath that. Few specific areas on the mountain side would be lush with green vegetation. Sea arches galore in this area.
Now, we are in the stretch of the southern route out of Hana. Some areas were not even paved. We will eventually get to Kula and drive towards airport. There were hiking trails, and panoramic views. One can spend a lot of time in this area stopping every few miles. We should have planned for a 3 day Hana trip. After another 10 miles of Haleakala on one side and Blue Ocean on the other, we reached Tedeschi Vinery. It was a welcome stop after a four hour drive. We bought fudge and pineapple wine. Kids had forgotten about lunch. It was already 2:30 PM. We left the winery and went past the town of Kula. Our plan was to go to Airport area and eat Pizza. Road was pretty good after Kula. We reached Kahuili by 3:30 PM. We stopped in Quiznos and had veggie sandwich.
We reached Papakea by 4:45. P1 and P2 changed and went to play tennis in the resort. Meanwhile, we went to the concierge desk and booked scuba lessons for P1 and P2. On the south side (near Hana and surroundings), cell phones don’t work. It is good and bad!

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