Our first days on the Big Island have been a lot of fun. We added two more people to our group….Beth and Barry. Our first accommodation was in South Kona at a Macadamia Nut/Coffee farm. It wasn’t quite what we expected….Barry likes to refer to it as a hut…I’d say it was more like a nice cabin…The beds were cozy….but had mosquito nets around them, which may give you an idea of what we were dealing with here. We were a little freaked out the first night….Barry found a giant spider among other things…so we all sort of held up in one bed, watching Friends on the computer and eating the ultimate comfort food…brownie mix…it was quite humorous.

The next day we rented kayaks and braved the open sea (can you always tell when I’m exaggerating? ) Well, we were paddling in the Pacific…and there were waves….and there were DOLPHINS…..that’s right….our 30 dollar kayak rental turned into a “swim with the dolphins” excursion. It was so great! They were all around us. We took turns abandoning ship and swimming with them. I can’t tell you how cool it was. After the dolphins, came the fantastic snorkeling. We docked our boats…hiked to the Captain Cook monument, rescued our wheat bread from a hungry mongoose, and then did some of the best snorkeling of the trip. I saw fish I’d never seen before…all kinds….some frankly were a little scary. We paddled back after a while….taking our time. We finally were forced out of the water by a rainstorm. The ride back to the rental company was a bit interesting….we weren’t the best at attaching our kayaks to the car…..let’s just say we’re pretty lucky travelers. We finished out the day with dinner at an outside restaurant/brewery. Not a bad Hawaiian day I’d say.

One of my favorite things about this trip thus far has been its spontaneity. True, I did spend quite a bit of time researching accommodations before we came, but since actually arriving in Hawaii we’ve been flying blind…. in a really good way. Everyday we get to decide what we want to do…it’s really fun….and so far everyday has been pretty perfect.
I loved our most recent hike because it wasn’t like the rest. For starters we decided to run it. It was suppose to be all paved, so we thought it would be easy. We started out, whizzing by all the tourists who I’m sure either thought we were super cool, or super crazy. Or maybe they just thought we were super dumb, because the paved path was about a quarter mile loop….the shortest run in history. That just wouldn’t do. We saw other unpaved paths, but they all had signs saying “remain on designated walkways”….so of course we took the forbidden paths….are you shocked? After all, we survived the forbidden road….this was child’s play :) We continued with our running, which became a little more difficult. We were running through rainforest. It was so tough and fun. I felt like a kid. We were crossing streams rock to rock, jumping logs, and running straight up at times. At some point the running stopped. The jungle became thick and the path was taking us deeper and deeper into the valley. Or at least we were taking ourselves deeper into the valley. There were multiple paths all going in different directions…sometimes up, and sometimes down. We were for sure lost, but we didn’t seem to care. We were having too much fun. At one point we stopped and I showed Jessica how to do a “hold up” on a skinny piece of tree…it was pretty funny. We also stopped close to the top where we saw some amazing climbing trees. Jessica and I each had our own to climb, and from our “tree houses” we could see the peaks of the IAO valley walls around us. All this time we hadn’t spotted a single other person…we had managed to leave the tourists behind us and got to explore the beautiful IAO Valley in a whole new way. I loved it. On the way back Jessica was in the lead ( I was responsible for getting us to wherever it was we were, it only seemed fair that Jess have a chance to lead- and get us back….some might say she got the shorter end of the stick for this one, after all, it was getting late, and now it sort of mattered which path we took back…no one wants to be stuck in a jungle at night). We set off, definitely not going the same way we came up (an impossible task given the random path picking we had done earlier). Jessica found an awesome route though, taking us to a clearing, and a path that ran right along the cliff edge of the valley (sorry for the visual mom). Don’t worry, we only stayed on this “slip and plummet to your death” path for a short while- Jessica does have some common sense and found us an alternate route, with some equally amazing views, just a little less risky. We hadn’t been hiking down long when we suddenly saw the parking lot….it was the oddest thing. At one point we were lost to the world, hiking through thick jungle, and a second later we were plopped right back into civilization….it was so strange how our adventure had ended so abruptly, nice path picking Jessica! It was funny coming out of the forbidden pathway covered in dirt and sweat and watching the reaction of some of the tourists….especially when we climbed over the railing right next to the sign that said basically to keep out…we’re such rule breakers :) We went back to our little B&B in Kula that night satisfied with our fun filled hiking day. We got cleaned up and treated ourselves to dinner in Lahaina at a placed called Cool Cats. We walked the streets of shops and restaurants for good measure. Whatever “kid-like” super energy we had possessed during our adventure run had surely left us, and we turned back into our normal, need to go to bed by 11:00 adult selves. It had been an all around great day.

Although this hike lacked the thrills that some of our other hikes have had, it was still one of my favorites. I guess I could relate it to waking up and deciding to go on a morning walk through town…If your town was in Kula… on the side of a mountain, in the beautiful upcountry of Maui. We hiked through a lot of woods, surprisingly reminding me of Ohio a bit. The views were pretty spectacular, and the weather was perfect…the Hawaiian breeze that I love so much, was again present. Jessica and I had some of our best conversations on this hike. I have to say here how much I really appreciate my traveling partner….there aren’t too many people who can spend five weeks straight, 24/7 with me, and not be completely annoyed by all of my Sarahisms (in-fact, I think it’s funny how she’s taken on some of my funny quarks, and at times, I’ve taken on a few of hers). We have a lot of fun together.
After our hike we found an eye doctor so Jessica could get her glasses fixed- She had a hair clip holding them together during our hike :) We also found a cute little bakery and had a piece of triple mousse cake to energize us for our next hike in IAO Valley (see next post).

As I’m typing this entry, I’m sitting on what could be known as the best bed ever. The room is nice and dark, the fan is silently blowing the perfect amount of air and the bed is so soft….but not too soft…just right. (and apparently I’ve turned into Goldilocks :) ) The pillows aren’t the suffocating kind, but just the perfect amount of smooshiness, and it’s quiet…which I’m finding is somewhat of a rarity here in Hawaii…you know with all the roosters, birds, dump trucks (thanks Hale Maui)..etc. It’s been sort of hard to get good sleep lately, but last night was pretty great…minus the minor disturbance at 4am when I wanted to itch my legs off (did I mention I’m covered in mosquito bites (who’s dumb idea was it to sleep on a bug infested beach?? :). So I’m at a bed and breakfast in Kihea. It’s fantastic. The host Eva, just served us breakfast (these amazing strawberry filled pancakes) on her open air upper level deck. The house is beautiful, and Eva upgraded us to a suite with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It’s perfect. I went on a run this morning on the beach…well three beaches actually (they all sort of connect with these cute little trails, perfect for running). It is indeed a nice surprise to have such a nice Sunday morning. Jess and I might just hang out in this nice bed and watch a movie until our plane leaves at 4 this afternoon (the beauty of a 5 week vacation were finding is that you don’t have to rush…you can relax without feeling like you’re wasting time). I’m loving it.

Last Sunday was a bit unexpected as well, and I just didn’t have the chance to write about it until now. It was the day we left the Banana Bungalow. We checked into Hale Maui and decided to spend the evening on the Southwest coast, on what the natives call Big Beach (this was recommended to us by our friends from Kauai, Adrian and Tiffany, as well as the hostel). Big beach lived up to it’s name, it was pretty huge, but not crowded at all. Everyone seemed to be leaving. We did hear drumming in the distance so we followed the sound up and over this cliff to Little Beach next door. The sight was vastly different. As we descended the cliff we came onto a small beach filled with people…all kinds of people…old, young…some were swimming, some were just sitting around talking, and lots were dancing. Some dancers had hula hoops, others had scarves that they were waving… There was a circle of drummers carrying a steady rhythmic beat that you couldn’t help but want to move too. The backdrop to this “event” (which apparently goes on every Sunday) was the most gorgeous sunset…coloring the sky in hot pinks and purples….Then I saw a bare butt in the water… “what the heck??”….then I turned and saw boobs…then,…. “oh my, I’m not use to seeing that”…..Then it came back to me…Little Beach is clothing optional….for a brief second at had forgotten that small little detail, which made my first few minutes at this “circus” a little shocking to say the least. I needed to play it cool, but I just didn’t know quite where to look…I was a little out of my comfort zone to say the least. Slowly, I started to feel more comfortable though (not that comfortable mom….no I did not take off my top!). Jessica and I sat down on our towels, I’m sure looking just about as awkward as we felt. But listening to the music and watching the dancing started to seem less and less weird…it was strange, but as I watched these carefree dancers and drummers having such a wonderful time…obviously not really caring at all what others thought of them, or their nakedness, I couldn’t help but be the slightest bit envious of their self confidence, and freeness….there’s no way I would ever feel that open to dance around naked…why is that? I couldn’t help but think back to when God first created everything in the Garden, and what it was suppose to be like….no guilt, no shame, no inhibitions…kind of like these “hippies”…..We sure have fallen away from what God really intended for us it seems…not just about being naked, but what that represents ya know?

Anyways, we met a guy named Jason who was super nice to us he had a drum and let us play along which was really cool (I feel a new hobby coming on :)). As it turned dark the fire dancing began. Naked hula hooping with fire….now that’s some risky stuff. It was pretty impressive. Everyone sort of packed it up then and went home by 8:30…it was weird. All the people were really nice, helping people down over the cliff with flashlights…..What a night! It will definitely be an experience I will remember for a long time.

I did take a few pictures (meaning to get the drummers and the sunset…although I got a little more than that if you know what I mean….totally by accident (I blame Jason for coaxing me to get closer to get a better shot) I will post the clean stuff. :). I also will post a picture of the lava beach Jessica and I went to yesterday on the very southern tip of the island, and a picture of me eating sugar cane which we picked (which was not at all easy) from a field on the side of the road...it was pretty funny.

I’m off to the Big Island next to meet up with Beth and Barry. I’m looking forward to it. We have a lot of fun excursions planned. Maui has been great though…nothing to complain about….except maybe the speed of the trip. I could stay another 5 weeks.

Well, just in case anyone was wondering, Jessica and I found a nice (ok, not sooo nice, but acceptable) beach for our evening under the stars. We got quite a late start, but I was really glad we were finally able to say we slept on a random beach all night. And boy was it ever the longest night in history. Sleeping on the cold (and super windy), hard sand wrapped in my zip-up and a pair of yoga pants wasn’t really what I pictured. I did see stars though, and the full moon was beautiful. The rain was somewhat annoying, and I was a little paranoid after waking up at 4 am to see people….(why do people tend to seem so scary late at night?) but I think it was just one of those things I had to do… We left the beach around 6 am, having slept maybe 1.5 hours…we decided to utilize our time. We changed at a Burger King, and then did some laundry at a local place. It was hard work trying to keep my eyes open. We decided we needed some rest so we drove back up past Lahaina to our old stomping grounds in Honokowai which is in the North west part of Maui, and spent most of the day laying out on the rocks and snorkeling.

Did I not tell you about our condo in that area?? Well it was called Hale Maui, and the owner Hans was a very sweet older gentleman who was very welcoming. It had a bedroom, kitchen area, 2 couches, TV, and a side balcony where you could still see the ocean (quite a step up from our hostel experience). Although it was quite touristy,(the whole area was lined with condos like ours) Jessica and I managed to find a market, an amazing rocky peninsula for our “beach days” (away from all the resorty people), and a fun/unexpected running path along the coast. It was just what we needed. We spent our 3 days in that area, basically lounging and doing a lot of snorkeling. We did take an evening to stroll around the town of Lahaina, with all it’s shops, art galleries, and restaurants. We saw the biggest banyan tree in the world (not sure about that one, but it has to be in the top three), as well as a group of hula dancers practicing on a tennis court…very random.

I’ve enjoyed this Hawaii trip so much. It has been the perfect vacation…I’ve been lucky to have traveled to so many places around the world, and they’ve all been amazing in different ways, so I can’t really compare them, but I will say Hawaii is a place I will be returning (destination wedding anyone?? :))

With that said, I’m getting a little nervous about the dreaded fly home day. The time has gone so fast. I’m afraid of real life….I like Hawaii life. Real life is scary, stressful, complicated, and hard…Nothing is hard about Hawaii. I know what you’re saying…. “that’s because you’re on vacation, vacation is not the real world!” I know that, I guess I’m just not really looking forward to Canton just quite yet. But I do miss all of you…that’s why I would never live here (relax mom- I haven’t looked for jobs here) My friends and family are too important to relocate….plus, I think your problems follow you when you move….even moving to Hawaii. Wow, I must be tired… sharing all of this deep emotional crap :).

Anyways, I’m at a bed and breakfast in Kula a small little town on the side of Haleakala. It’s very quaint, and Jessica and I are looking forward to getting some much needed sleep. Oh, side note…If you run down a volcano, it may feel amazing, like you can run forever…but the way up is terrible…I do not recommend this….the views aren’t quite as great when you’re feeling like you could die…stick to biking, walking, or riding in a car :).

Stay tuned for my next post about the nude beach…I went there last Friday and haven’t had a chance to write about it yet. Note to Grandparents who may be reading, this post may be PG-13 :).

Aloha

You’ll never guess where I am…..You know the movie Sound of Music? You know the very opening scene when Maria is charging up over the hillside, that great shot of her spinning in the open field surrounded by mountains?…Well imagine that, with mountains as a back drop and the open sea in the front. I’m sitting on the very edge of this amazing sea cliff on my pink beach towel in complete darkness listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below. Jessica and I are sleeping here tonight. Yep, we’re sleeping under the stars (well, clouds right now, but we’re hoping that will change). Ok, I’m not sure how much sleep we’re going to get, but we came equipped with snacks, drinks, and movies on the Mac book- we’re really roughing it :) The best part is that it’s totally secluded. Just us, some bugs, a scary big bird that keeps flying over -head, and the country cows. We are just above Homoa Beach, and we plan on seeing an amazing sunrise in the morning.

We left our condo this morning around 11:00 and headed to the Hana Highway, #36/360. We stopped at Hookipa beach to see some windsurfing, and then continued driving most of the day, stopping at some scenic spots, and cute roadside stands. The drive was all twists and turns (Heather, you never would have made it :)) but Jessica did a great job driving and we made it to Hana without any problems. We did a little exploring in the cute town, which seems to be virtually untouched by regular “Maui” tourist stuff….it was a nice change of pace. Then we scoped out our place, stopped at a public bathroom to change into our pj’s/jeans and headed up to our hill. It should be an interesting night, but I’m so happy to be having this spontaneous little adventure. I’ll let you know how it goes, and who knows maybe you’ll get a phone call in the morning from me if I can’t sleep.

-4 hours later-


You’ll never guess where I’m sitting….you know that cute little diner called Denny’s- Well, here we are……drinking our bottomless hot chocolates….What happened you asked?? Well, what didn’t happen. Things were going sooo well. We were sitting on our little cliff, we had unpacked our stuff and we were enjoying nature at it’s finest (later in the story we will end up hating that same nature….but I’ll get to that) Anyways, we were like two little school girls camping in the backyard…complete with our flashlights, and fun little games to play….Unfortunately, boredom set in a lot sooner than we had anticipated, in fact, at one point Jessica looked at her watch and said, “8:19! What the hell?!”….It was going to be a long night….and then it rained. Well, let me clarify, in my opinion, we bailed a little early…If it wasn’t for all of our dumb computer equipment, we might have stuck it out, but I couldn’t risk the MAC book, and to be honest, it was the cloudiest night in Hawaii history…(what rotten luck), so a downpour was just around the corner. We made it to the car with no real plans, so we drove around Hana….which apparently shuts down at sunset….Where are all the people??….It was now 9:03 and way dark…what to do, what to do?? I know, we’ll just drive to the Oheo gulch…it’s in the guide book after all, and it says there’s camping there…what a great idea……(our plans after Denny’s include burning said guide book)….

We took off in the direction of the Gulch along highway 31….Something you should know, I use the term highway very very loosely….this is the worst rode I’ve ever been on (the forbidden road as we now refer to it- mostly because the car rental place told us we weren’t allowed to go on it….I’m sorry I doubted you Alamo- but in our defense, we were looking for the dumb campsite/Gulch thing, but apparently got sucked into some kind of crazy abyss/void where everything is quiet, dark, and creepy) Ok, back to the road, how do I explain this?…one lane all the time, dirt/bumpy rocks, Mountain wall on the passenger side and sheer cliff drop off to the crashing waves 500 ft. below on the driver’s side- not a picnic by any means…kudos to Jess for not killing us.

I think the two of us remained quite calm (at least outwardly) in spite of the circumstances….Inside though, I was freaking out. We were driving FOREVER- with no end in site…the road just kept going and going…at one point I think we entered the Haleakala National park, so we now had volcano crap on the right….Has anyone ever heard of a road sign?? We never saw any towns, any houses, any other cars, it was like being the last 2 people left on the planet. I was afraid of these things, 1- running out of gas, 2, flat tire, 3, killed by stranger ( not likely), or 4, driving off rode into the sea (very likely). We were reaching a breaking point…our light conversation was slowly turning into scary silences where neither of us knew quite what to say…we were both pretty scared I think….

Just when we thought our car would fall to pieces from all the rattling, the bumps and rocks turned to pavement, sweet, glorious, pavement!……Then the cows came. They were everywhere…big ones, bigger ones, the biggest cows we’ve ever seen! Oh, and deer too…what was this the Maui zoo??! It was one obstacle after another…..Then we hit a cow…oh yes, you heard me correct…..WE HIT A COW right in the face!….I think that could be classified as a low point in our otherwise perfect trip. Alamo’s not going to be happy…for multiple reasons.

So here we are, we made it to civilization. We traveled the whole way around the island….in the dark. We never made it to the Oheo Gulch, and we don’t really care. This Denny’s booth is way more rewarding. Now, only one small thing, It’s 1:30 am, and we still have no place to stay….hmmmm I feel another adventure coming on….or maybe Denny’s will let us spend the night here :)

Oh, PS- I have no pictures of the drive….too scared and too dark….maybe I’ll put some pictures on from the first part of the trip, the carefree and fun part. I also want to tell you about how great Maui has been- I'll post that later though, this just couldn't wait :)

There were no picnics, no fireworks, and in general, no mention of July 4th (I guess that’s what happens when you spend the holiday with people from Germany, Switzerland, England, and Canada), but I will say that it was one of the most memorable Independence day’s I’ve had.

Jessica and I piled into a van with 14 other people bound for the dormant volcano Haleakala on Tuesday. We were supposedly going to be going on a twelve- mile hike into and back out of the main volcanic crater. Looking in on the van though, you might not have thought hiking trip, maybe mall trip instead. Our group seemed a little less than prepared, which sort of baffled Jess and I. Who hikes 12 miles in converse shoes with a beer in hand?? I kept wanting to tell them, “you know that’s not really the best way to hydrate”….seriously people. Apparently that didn’t stop them though from kicking our butts in the hiking department, as Jess likes to point out. Most of them beat us by a good 25 minutes to the top…although I’m sticking to my, “it wasn’t a race story.” You know if it were a competition we would have won :) even if I had to carry Jessica on my back…who was such a trooper by the way, considering the fact that on the sleeping giant hike she had actually said, “I don’t think I’d ever want to go on an all-day hike” Sorry Jessica, did I not mention the 12 mile part?? Woops :).

So the hike was long, but pretty amazing. The views were spectacular, and it was just neat to be able to say I hiked into a volcano. The tour guide was super nice, although I don’t know if I would call him a guide…..He put on his headset and charged ahead like a mountain goat…stopping for cigarettes along the way…speaking in a heavy, although very sexy, accent that I couldn’t ever understand…..so the education part was a bit limited, but he did show me a rare “volcano only” plant called the silversword which was kind of cool, and he gave me a piece of chocolate which helped him score some good bonus points.

We spent a good bit of the trip talking with a guy named Daniel from Manchester England. He currently lives in Paris, and had some interesting things to say about Americans, politics, music, and his crazy life style (I’m constantly amazed at how different peoples’ views are from mine…..it was, to say the least, eye opening conversation…. at times, completely hilarious. The guy was so witty.

The hike out of the volcano was the most strenuous. It was the last 4 miles, mostly uphill, and with the altitude (9,000 ft), it was kind of difficult, but we were literally in the clouds! The cloud mist tickled my nose, a sensation I can’t say I’ve ever had before. After the hike we drove another couple hundred feet to the summit to watch the sunset in the clouds. It was beautiful and freezing. I felt close to my dad there…almost thought he would walk across the clouds to come say hi….

I tried to carry a rock out of the park as a souvenir, but got yelled out (I had already put a small one in my backpack though which I conveniently forgot about…I do feel a bit guilty now….do you think security will hold me in Hawaii?? That may not be a bad thing, come to think about it:).) I did get some good pics, and my calves have never been so sore….a constant reminder of the “fun” I had. Can’t really complain though, it was quite an experience. As I type this I’m drinking a hot chocolate from the “Bad Ass” coffee company, and I can’t help but think it’s kind of appropriate for this post. I think hiking through a volcano 12 miles is pretty “Bad Ass”, and it made for one heck of a memorable Independence Day!