Since the Bed and Breakfast doesn’t provide breakfast on Sundays we decided to get up early, get a quick breakfast, prepare a picnic lunch and head to the “Road to Hana”. Penny (the owner of our bed and breakfast had said we should take the road all the way around because it was not as bad as the road from Lahaina to Wailukli (Lao Valley). James and I took that road the last time we were here so we decided that we could handle the entire Hana Road. As we left Lahaina we saw a beautiful rainbow. The pictures just don’t do it justice but we tried!
The road to Hana is a two lane road that has one lane bridges. As you come to a bridge you are to yield the right of way to on-coming traffic. It works really well. There are several waterfalls and beautiful bridges. The valleys are beautiful; the buildings have fantastic hedges and there are always animals along the roadside (as this peacock.) One of the overlooks has a great view of a small village in the valley.
We stopped at Waianapana State Park for a picnic lunch. Once we were through with lunch, Carolyn and I walked over to a Hawaiian cemetery in the state park. It was really unusual with lava rock forming small fences around the graves. Most of the graves were not marked but there were a few in the early 1900s. We then headed to the ocean side of the park. This is a lava deposit that protrudes into the ocean. As we looked closely we found a tunnel in the lava that allowed the ocean to flow through and under the tunnel. We also saw a waterfall coming from the lava deposit and we spotted a black sand beach on the other side of the bay. To our amazement there was a young man jumping from the lava rock into the ocean. Naturally, being grandmothers, we were concerned about his safety but we came to realize that he knew what he was doing.
Our next stop was in the town of Hana. We knew to go into the Hasegawa general store. This store has EVERYTHING! It is like the general stores of old and hasn’t changed much in years. Although we didn’t buy anything, we were glad we stopped. As we headed to the beach we saw a beautiful hedge around beach house and then we were on the black sand beach of Hana. The sand hurt your feet and was really hot. By now I am having “withdrawals” from Starbucks but there is not one anywhere around!
Our next stop was the Haleakala National Park at Kipahulu. We walked to the cliffs overlooking the ocean and then headed up the trail to the two main waterfalls. We decided that the first stop was as far as we were going to hike but we were able to so the waterfalls and the people swimming at the base of the falls. As we looked on we saw people jump from the top of the falls into the pool below. AMAZING! We were getting tired and we wanted to be sure that we were off the Hana Road before dark so we decided to head to our next stop.
We continued on the Hana Road to Palapala Moomau Congregational church. James and I had been here before and were able to go into the church; however, now there is a sign that due to vandalism they cannot leave the church open. That is so sad. The cemetery at this church has Charles Lindberg’s gravesite. We learned that Lindberg moved to Maui in the later years of his life and was buried in this small cemetery in 1974. His wife, Ann, lived until 2001 and was cremated. Lindberg is best known for flying the Spirit of St. Louis on the world’s first intercontinental flight. He is also known for the fact that his 20 month old son was abducted from the home and killed, resulting in congressional passage of the law that makes kidnapping a federal offense.
Leaving the cemetery we headed on around the Hana road toward Ulupalakua. This road was definitely challenging since much of it is unpaved. Even worse is the part that has been previously paved but has been abandoned by the state and has pot holes EVERYWHERE. I have included pictures of the animals on the road, the one lane road around a sharp curve with a cliff on the side, and the one lane road going around a curve with a sign warning of a one lane bridge around the curve! INTERESTING! The worst part was just before we got off the road. The sun began to sink and we were facing it. At some points we were unable to see the road at all due to the sun. I would NOT recommend that anyone drive that road late in the afternoon! The sun set just as we got back on a two lane road and it was BEAUTIFUL. Reminded me that God is in control of all things!
My eyes were TIRED and we were all hungry. We headed back to Lahaina to eat and shop a while. Another late night but the day was wonderful!
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