Maui, January 9-20, 2025

On January 9^th, 2025, we headed to the airport to fly to Maui. We were delayed an hour because it was snowing in Denver which is where we needed to catch our connecting flight. We eventually got to Denver, got to Maui, and rented a car. We headed toward our Airbnb which was called Hono Kai. It was late afternoon, so we grabbed a bite at a nearby fast-food place and then settled in and unpacked.

The next morning, we figured we would head out and buy some groceries and eat breakfast, so we drove around and found that the wind and storm last night had taken out the power in a large area around us. Therefore, no breakfast at the cafe, and no grocery stores. We did eventually find both a restaurant and a grocery store so we stocked up from what we thought we would need for the week. There were some restaurants close to us, so we went and had a pizza for our evening meal

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The next morning, we went for a drive and went to a whale lookout. It was so windy we had a hard time standing but it was sunny and warm.

We drove by a flea market or swap meet so we thought we would stop in and look around. Roger bought a Hawaii cap. It was interesting to see all the different crafts and foods that they had for sale. We went walking on the beach that was close to us which was white sand and was very peaceful and calm.

We ate at a restaurant called Tante that evening, and Roger had what was called a luau plate. It had different Hawaii meats, and rice, poi, and a coconut dessert. It was very good.

The next day we drove up Mount Haleakalā on a very steep and winding Rd. It goes up about 10,000 feet. At the top, it was quite windy and cold. The volcanic eruption from 800 years ago looked almost new. We walked around a bit and headed slowly back down the mountain.

We had lunch at the general store. Joan had a hamburger with pineapple and Roger had an ahi poke bowl. Expensive but good!

In the afternoon we went to Ho’ookipa Park Beach Park. It was a beautiful beach. There were a few turtles on the beach mixed in with the rocks.

On the 13th, we went to the Whale Foundation site and looked for whales from shore. We did see five turtles sunning themselves, but no whales.

One of Joan’s “new” cousins and her husband were also staying in the area, so we got together with Pam and Tim and had lunch with them in Kihei, and had a nice visit.

The next morning we headed off to drive the “Road to Hana.”

“The Hana Highway, also known as the Road to Hana, is a 64.4-mile scenic drive on Maui that connects Kahului to Hana. The journey is known for its challenging terrain, winding roads, and stunning views, making the destination secondary to the experience. The narrow road has over 600 curves and 59 bridges, passing through rainforests, waterfalls, and coastal areas. The drive can take 2.5–9 hours, depending on stops.”

On the way back, we stopped at an open-air restaurant and had a mushroom and pineapple pizza. It was very good, and it felt good just to sit and get away from those crooked roads.

Driving on the Road to Hana is very tiring because you have to concentrate so much on the road and other cars that are coming toward you on these narrow roads. But the scenery is beautiful and well worth the drive.

The next morning we drove to the Iao Valley Historic Site, the scene of many battles that involved king Kamehameha. It was quite hilly, but the trails were paved so as long as we took it slow things went fine.

Beautiful scenery.

We drove back to La Perouse Bay, and took a little road that ran through the most recent lava field, which was 800 years ago. It still is very rough and challenging with no real vegetation growing there yet.

On the morning of the 16^th, we drove to a bird sanctuary north of Kihei, and we walked on the boardwalk on the beach. There were many birds around, some with very long legs.

In the afternoon, we drove to the Maui Tropical Plantation, and took a tram on a tour of the former sugarcane plantation. They have a variety of flowers and trees, and some exhibits about growing sugarcane.

We had fresh papaya, pineapple, and banana for breakfast, and it tasted so very good. There’s nothing like fresh fruit. Later in the morning, we headed to the Kula Botanical Garden. We saw lots of lovely tropical plants planted in a very beautiful location. Many were blooming, a couple of which you can see below.

On the18th of January, we drove north to the location of a blow hole. It was another crooked and bumpy road to get there, very mindful of the road to Hana. We walked up a steep slope to view the ocean, and the blow hole, but the trail was quite rough and rocky, so we looked at it from a distance. Then we headed back down that same crooked, rough and rocky road.

We also took a long walk next to a golf course so that we could see what was called “Dragon’s Teeth”. They were jagged rocks on the ocean shore. Walking was quite difficult here also, due to the rough surface.

We spent some time at the Maui Ocean Center looking at the various displays. It really was set up more for children, but it’s still had some very nice exhibits on the ocean creatures in the area.

That evening, we started packing and getting ready for our trip home the next day. We had to be out of our Airbnb in the morning, our flight was not until 9:00 PM, so it was going to be a long day without a homebase to go to.

Later in the morning, we went back to the Maui Tropical Plantation to look around some more at the exhibits and flora and fauna that they had. We had lunch there, and I ordered a “Loco Moco”. This dish consists of a layer of rice, a hamburger on top of that, two eggs on top of that, and covered with gravy. This was garnished with some dried onion rings, but that is not always the case. There are a lot of variations to this dish. It is probably the most common meal you will find on the island. It was very good!

From there, we went to a bird sanctuary to look around. There were lots of birds there, but they were all quite distant from us, so we didn’t stay very long. Still looking for ways to kill some time, we went to a shopping mall in quest of a book for Joan. Luckily, they had a very nice used bookstore, and she found one to read on the trip back.

It was getting to be later afternoon, so we decided that we would return the car early, and just head to the airport to hang out until our flight.

The car return went fine, and we took the little trolley to the airport. We got our luggage checked, and went to find a place to eat. We had a very good meal that was atrociously overpriced, but we expected that at the airport.

Our flight was pretty much on time, but it was one of the bumpiest flights that we’ve ever been on. Lots of turbulence. It’s hard to rest or sleep when you are being bounced all over. It was a very long flight of around seven hours, and I don’t think either of us rested very much. We did get to Denver, and it was snowing, which was delaying things. The plane also had to wait for the luggage to be loaded from the other aircraft. This flight was much shorter and smoother, and we got too Minneapolis about an hour late.

Then we went to the carousel to retrieve our luggage, and we waited, and we waited, and we waited. Eventually, it was announced that our luggage did not get loaded onto the plane and would be arriving sometime later. I should also point out that it was about 20° below zero in contrast to our stay in paradise.

Rather than standing in a long slow-moving line to fill out forms, they also said you could do it by phone or online, so we decided to head home. Luckily, our car started! Joan probably spent an hour on the phone giving and getting information about our luggage, and they said that it would be delivered to our door in a day or two. They did deliver it later the next day.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and a nice break from the bleak Minnesota winter. But getting there and getting back is a bit on the tortuous side, so I’m glad we stayed long enough to make it worth it!

Aloha!