Aloha from the gorgeous island of Maui! Who knew that I’d be 10,000 feet up today and braving 40 degree weather?
Last time we chatted yesterday I was just starting my travels from JFK. Yesterday included 15 hours of traveling for me, the most I’ve ever traveled in a day! My flight from JFK to Los Angeles was exactly as I planned. The flight itself was very smooth, I was able to secure a seat in the exit row which made for a pleasant flight experience, and I was able to get a blog post done and enjoy The Descendants.
- I can never stay hydrated on a long flight, even with a bottle this size and many rounds of seltzer!
Once I arrived in Los Angeles I walked three gates over to meet my parents flight which was landing fifteen minutes later. We easily met up and spent the next hour catching up and finding a dinner option before our flight to Kahului (Maui) departed. The Delta terminal which we were in yesterday was very disappointing. The food choices were minimal and lacked freshness. My best option ended up being a putrid California Pizza Kitchen to go salad along with a banana and some nuts for the flight. My parents’ sandwiches, all premade, weren’t much better. Oh well, if this is the worst thing we deal with all week then I’m doing dandy, right?
I'm so lucky that my parents are supportive blog parents! Smile for the camera 🙂
We weren’t really sure how to handle this leg of the trip which was another six hour flight. Based on my body’s east coast clock, we would land in Hawaii in around 2:45am. Instead of sleeping the entire flight a few passengers recommended
that we sleep a few hours and stay up the last hour or two so it’d be easy to crash when we got to our hotel.
Our hotel last night,
Maui Beach Hotel was economical, within five minutes of the airport, and hasn’t renewed their marketing or website since the 1980’s. If you get my drift, it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting but we survived and it has made for multiple laughs today.
By 5am, Maui time, we were all lying in bed staring at the ceiling trying to sleep. My friends who said that this was the best day to head up to
Haleakala National Park to see the sunrise and enjoy the view from above the clouds. The drive took you from the arid portion of Maui up to the volcanic crater 10,200 feet above sea level!
The drive, while only 40 miles, took a little over an hour due to the extreme switchbacks. Now let me tell you, my dad has driven many a switch back in the Appalachian Trail region, Vermont, and Grand Canyon but today was like something we’ve never experienced. Evidently after you pass into the National Park land there is no such things as gaurd rails or curbs. This meant that my mom and I were literally leaning toward the center of the car for over an hour.
In addition, about 10 minutes into the drive we passed a sign saying “Last chance for food and gas.” I haven’t seen a sign like this since I spent time in Montana a few summers back. Once we arrived at the summit the views were breathtaking. The winds were gusting at 30 miles per hour and the temperature, before wind chill, was a brisk 40 degrees. Needless to say we scampred across the Moon like (or what I imagine) terrain taking pictures and enjoying the views above the clouds.
So to recap, if you come to Maui, definitely plan to drive up to Haleakala National Park the morning you arrive as you’ll be awake bright and early thanks to the time change. Learn from our mistake and stop at the roadside coffee stand before heading up the mountain for a delicious dose of caffeine, otherwise it will be about 2 hours before you enjoy breakfast. On that note, the next post will include the amazing food we’ve eaten today. Yelp has been an absolute savior thus far, recommending two awesome breakfast and lunch restaurants!
Mauiiiiiiii! I love it so much! So glad to hear you are having fun and laughing a lot. 🙂 If you haven’t already, you MUST go to Choice! Best food in Maui. We ate there almost every day. 🙂
I’ll have to look Choice up today Emily! Last night we had dinner at Flatbread Pizza which was DELICIOUS and included all locally farmed products along with an Owen Wilson sighting!!
That sounds like a terrifying drive, but so worth it once you get there!
ahhhh that looks like so much fun!!! I NEED to go to Hawaii one day. Can’t wait to see all the food! Have fun!!!!
Oh I love Maui so much. Make sure you spend a day poking around LaHaina, great shopping and lots of yummy beachfront restaurants. Can’t wait to see the rest of your vacation posts so I can live vicariously through you for a bit!
I went to Maui for work three years ago and will be going back again this January. I DEF plan to visit Haleakala and hopefully do the bike adventure while there! Last time, we really enjoyed the Lahaina Grill and of course Merrimen’s and Roys. ENJOY! Hope this is a really peaceful trip for your family as well.