So Long Paradise- We Will Meet Again!

My time here in Maui was amazing! Yesterday was Ben's sister's wedding right on the beach in Makena, HI! It was a beautiful ceremony that began with the big Hawaiian minister blowing the Conch shell and it included a Hawaiian poem.

There is so much more that we want to do on this island, but it was also important to balance relaxation. Next time we come, we definitely want to stay in Hana for a few nights so we can really take the time to enjoy that side of the island! I also want to get an underwater digital camera so I can share my snorkeling trips with everyone too (yesterday I saw a long green eel and a black and purple fish with a hook like fun popping out the top, that I wish I could have shown everyone). I tried a lot of new stuff and had fun adventures! We will definitely return!

P.S. Quick warning for anyone visiting the island here: it does take a little bit longer to get through security and everything because you have to go through an additional scan of your bags for any plants or animals. You don't want to bring back any harmful parasites to the U.S. So when people on the island tell you that you can bring back Pineapples to the states, they lie!

Aloha until my next adventure!

Water Adventures Today!

After yesterday's crazy early trip to Haleakala, we really wanted to take it easy today and actually enjoy the beach! We still got up pretty early, about 7:30AM, because the water here in South Maui is much, much calmer in the morning. We met Ben's family at Cove Park where there isn't much beach, but it's the best place in South Maui for beginners to try out surfing and paddle-boarding. Its super shallow, you just gotta watch out for all the rocks and dead coral directly under you, so water shoes are definitely a recommendation. I tried out paddle-boarding and it definitely take leg and core strength to stay balanced especially when a small wave comes in. Paddling is also more difficult than it looks, but I was standing up after only 5 minutes out there, so just about anyone could do it.

After we turned the boards in (you can rent them right across the street for very fair prices), we went down a mile or so to Kama'ole Beach 2 to do some snorkeling and boogie boarding. Also two things I have never done! I was super nervous about snorkeling because I just couldn't understand how people could breathe through that little tube, but after a super quick lesson from Ben's brother, I was out there enjoying it! At this beach, off to the right, there is a cluster of rocks with dead coral under the water. We didn't even have to go that far from shore. I saw some really cool fish, one was even neon rainbow colors! I also saw a huge shiny blue fish (at least 2 feet long). The rest of the group went out further than me and saw an eel and octopus! You would never guess that these creatures are so close to shore! It was also fun to learn how to boogie board, but the waves weren't quite strong enough and they broke too close to shore.

We'll be going out again tomorrow morning before his sister's wedding! :)
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So where is the Crater??

You come to the top of Haleakala not only to see the sunrise, but also to see a huge crater right?! Well, it may not be what you pictured. It's not a smooth, bowl-like crater like we picture the moon to have. At one point the whole top did blow off, but after years and years of inactivity a valley eroded, kind of splitting the crater into two halves. The last few eruptions (most recent was 1790) were much smaller and you can see some mini-craters inside.

The craziest thing about Haleakala: you go up 10,000 feet in just 38 miles- one of the quickest, steepest inclines, but they did a great job of setting up the road so it feels pretty gradual.

Silverswords on Haleakala

More from yesterday! The pictures you are looking at here are of the Silversword plants, aka 'ahinahina. They are only found here on Haleakala! The plant can live up to 50 years, but only ever reproduces (blooms) once in it's life. The top picture is an image of one in old age after it is done blooming and the bottom picture is one of their youth. They are called silverswords because that huge stalk (almost as tall as me) grows out of the top. They traditionally bloom in June, but the park ranger said that one was blooming 3 miles into the crater erosion area. I would have loved to see it, but after waking up at 3AM to see the sunrise, a hike was not on our list of things to do. You should definitely look up a picture of one that is blooming on google!

Sunrise at Haleakala

We did it! We made it up to the summit in an hour and 15 minutes from Kihei, so about 4:45AM. Good thing we left early too because we were definitely in a crowd of cars coming up here and there are only about 30-40 spots at the summit and then they close the gate (just to the summit) when the lot fills. There is a big shelter up here to protect you from the cold and wait for the sunrise, but we are just waiting in the car until then. Its about 45 degrees here, so compared to where we were it is COLD! At about 5:10AM we could start to see the colors in the west change to a pink kinda color. So we hurried up to the viewing shelter where everyone else was. Watching the sun rise was beautiful, but it does feel like watching water boil sometimes. As soon as the first glimpse of sun cam over the ring of clouds in front of us, everyone got super excited. Ben and I just stood there taking in the glorious sight. It wasn't as colorful as I'd thought it would be, but that's because there weren't any super high clouds for the sun to play on.

More about our sight-seeing up at 10,000 feet after we get some sleep back at our hotel. :)

It's soooo early!

PROOF that we are up at 3am to go watch the sunrise at Haleakala Crater. It is currently 3:27AM here and in Kihei it is a nice 68 degrees. It is a 1.5 and 2 hour drive from South Maui here and I wonder if everyone else we see on the road (2 cars so far) are headed there as well. We are dressed SUPER warm since we will be going up 10,000 feet above the clouds. We'll let you know if it is worth it! :)
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