I flew in from Honolulu to Kahului, Maui on Hawaiian Air on the evening of July 2. At the airport, I got a Plymouth Neon from Dollar Rent-A-Car, and from there drove to our hotel. I was not alone on the trip, David Henderson (a friend from WCU) also came along, and aided me (trying at least) with navigation. We drove to Wailea where we had reservations at the Maui Oceanfront Hotel; we got a small room with two beds, but it was a very good deal.

Later that evening, after catching up on some wrestling on TV, we decided to find a place to eat. We decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in Maui, which was located in Lahaina (a one time whaling port in the 1800's) about 30 minutes and miles from where the hotel was. Once in Lahaina, we realized that this was a big tourist trap. Several big name stores were there as well as the Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, and even a Bubba Gump Restaurant. Having trouble parking, I decided to park at the McDonald's parking lot and walked to the Hard Rock. While there we had a good meal and I got several t-shirts for the family (a day later, I would come back again and get t-shirts from P.H. and Bubba Gump also), and after a quick drive around Lahaina we went back to our hotel for the night.

The next day, July 3, me and David decided to see more of the island. After breakfast at a local Denny's, we hoped into the car and drove north what would become one hell of a drive. Looking at the map, we decided to go to Hana since there it had the Black Sand Beach as well the Seven Pools and Wailua Falls. However, this would prove to be a long day.

Along the first leg of the trip, we went through fields and fields of Sugar Cane and later some pineapple fields; thus, agriculture is still very much apart of this island other than tourism. Driving west on Hwy. 36, the road hugged the coastline where we saw several windsufers in the water. The first picture on the left was taken at Opana Pt. near the town of Pauwela. At this time, the road was still nice though a little curvy; but that all changed when Hwy. 36 ended and Hwy. 360 began, marking the beginning of the Road to Hana.

The first sign that came up after the highway number change was "curvy roads, next 30 miles." And sure enough, the road got bad real quick with speed limit signs posted at 15 mph., this especially sucked since Hana was about 35 miles away at this point, but I went on. This road was something else, it hugged the mountain like no other. It would curve inward and outward along side the steep cliffs and curves of Haleakala Mountain; and everytime it would go inward, there would usually be a one-lane bridge, built in the 1910's, going over a little stream that would run-off into the ocean. Half the time the road itself was mostly one lane (and later after Hana, it basically was one lane). This road was defiantly one of a kind!

Two hours later, though we still haven't arrived at Hana, the road ended its chaotic twists and turns. We decided to stop at the Waianapanapa State Park (just a little off the road from the highway) and see what's there. We were in luck, we found a black sand beach. I didn't stay long though, just enough to walk and feel it before moving on, just so I can say I've been at a black beach. Before I left the state park, I walk on the lava rocks that was going into the ocean, you could hear the water going under the rocks right below your feet. . . a really neat feeling.

After the state park, we finally made it to Hana (Heavenly Hana Town). Nothing much to say about ana, very small and very isolated. Charles A. Lindbergh (famous American pilot) was buried near Hana, at Palapala Hoomau Church; but we didn't know about that at that time so we missed it. . . Oh well. Quickly leaving Hana (Top speed 35mph.), we headed to the next point, Oheo Gulch (also known as the Seven Pools).

Surviving Hana, we make it to the Seven Pools, which is part of the Haleakala National Park. Oddly, it looked like it was going to rain all through the trip, it was sunny here. We did not stay long however, we finally got there around 4:00pm, so we staid for about 30-45 minutes because of the backtrack we would have to do. So we did not get to swim in the seven pools, nor had time to hike all the trails in the area. But what we did get to see was just as breathtaking. The area we visited were the lower falls, as we walked towards it along side the ocean, we could see people having a good 'ol time swimming in the pools. Someone there told me that the pools have healing properties; even so, I wasn't just about to jump in, too many kids there and you know what little kids do in any pool. ^^;

After our short stay at the Seven Pools, we decided to backtrack the trip rather than risk driving the unpaved road up ahead; I was also low on fuel, so we had to turn around. Back in Hana, we stopped at a Chevron station where they were selling gasoline for $2 a gallon, which is very expensive (even in Hawaii). Unfortunately knowing it was the only gas station around the area, I got gas and quickly drove out of Hana (again at a whopping 35mph.; yes, I was a speed daemon).

A little faster this time through the Road to Hana (still slow though), we made it back to Kahului around 7:00pm (thirty or so minutes before dark). In Kahului, we stopped at the Kaahumanu Center to eat and shop a little (though we didn't buy anything). Consequently, I ran into a friend from U.H. who was playing games at the arcade. Surprised seeing me, he invited me and Dave to watch some anime at a friend's house. So that was where we were for the next several hours, watching anime.

Not much happened after that, we left the friend's house back to our hotel in Wailea. Once there, we watched some television and then went to bed. I slept good that night, after a long day of driving, I was very tired. But I need the rest for I had to do the same thing again tomorrow.