Blogs from Hawaii, United States, North America - page 13

Monday: Haleakala!! Well, after much mulling and checking of weather forecasts, we decided to go ahead and make this the day we drive up to the 10,000’ dormant volcano. We headed out around 9 am, and stopped at our usual whale spotting place where we did see some, and Megan and Andrew got to hike a bit. We stopped at Makawao’s famous bakery just into the foothills – it’s where the Haleakala bikers pass through from their starting point at 6500’ up the mountain (no longer allowed to leave from the Park). We counted over 100 bikers descending. A really cute bohemian town with lovely shops – but no time! We worried about the clouds, but they stayed mostly off, and while the crater was a bit covered in wispy clouds, we got some great views, ... read more

Dec 22 came early!! As we got up before 2:30 am naturally and turned off some of our 4 phone alarms! The kids and we were up and out by the planned 3 am, headed for Cleveland Hopkins. The Bruegger Bagels woke us up sufficiently to board the 6:10 plane bound for San Francisco. Megan and Jean sat in one row with a nicely small young woman in between. Andrew and David sat some rows behind with the cat lady (oh, dear, didn’t bring allergy pills on the plane!). No problems with that flight. Ate lunch of pizzas and omelette and then got on a 777 with an enormous first class section with the fold down bed-seats. But our seats were comfy enough – sitting all 4 in the center – and everyone amused themselves well ... read more

Amazing sunset Mauii is one of the most beautiful places I have visited so far. We stayed at the Banana Bungalow Hostel for 5 days. One of the perks staying here was that they offered free tours with different activities. One of the days we joined a tour that was supposed to take us up the Haleakala, one of the biggest crater volcanos, that is now dormant. The plan was to hike through the crater, which would have been an 8h hike. Unfortunately due to the weather conditions that day it was not possible to do the hike. When we arrived at the visitor center the winds were very strong and due to the fog you were not able to see anything. Instead we went to a lavender farm, which was probably equally as exciting. Not ... read more

Breakfast has not been properly thought through; it consists of Everything Bagels, topped with a thick coating of garlic and onion, and blueberry cream cheese. This morning daughter no 1 wants to go on a whale watching trip. On an island with a reputation for big waves. With storms forecast and a wind advisory in place. I cannot be tempted to join her, so she sets off for the marina alone. I am, of course, right and pretty soon she texts to say all boat trips have been cancelled. So we agree to meet at the mall 2 miles away. She has the money belt containing all our cash, so walking is my only option. Instead of sending me a block up and along a street lined with shops, Google maps sends me a block down ... read more

Today we’re going to Hanauma Bay – basically a drowned crater full of coral reef and exotic fish. It’s not easy (or cheap – at $25 a head) to obtain tickets; there’s a strict quota with tickets going on sale at 7 am each morning and selling out in minutes. We have managed to score some tickets for this morning. To reduce pollution, they have withdrawn the bus route which used to service the reserve, so the only access is by private vehicle. Only in America would the banning of public transport be considered a pollution preventing measure. So, after breakfast (there’s some leftover bagel which I tear up and leave on the balcony for the birds) we book an Uber and ride the 12 miles up the coast to Hanauma. We spend the morning swimming ... read more