Maui 2012- Haleakala, Iao Valley State Park, Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center and other adventures my friends and I had during Winter Break 2012.

Haleakala at sunrise

]]> http://rayallen62.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/maui-is-for-loversand-kids/ Thu, 03 Jan 2013 01:00:56 +0000 rayallen62 http://rayallen62.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/maui-is-for-loversand-kids/ Maui is for honeymooners.
You can see couples holding hands in Lahaina, cuddling up in a private cabana at the Four Seasons, and getting up early to see the sunrise on Haleakala.

Haleakala Crater at sunrise. (Photograph by Jeremie Schatz, My Shot)

And let’s be honest: the last thing these newlyweds want is for everything to be ruined by someone else’s kids.
We know, because we took our kids to Maui. We took them shopping in Lahaina (our first mistake), visited the Four Seasons (our second), and then dragged them up to Haleakala (numero tres).
I’m kidding.
But there were a few moments when we felt as if our kids — who are not known for being quiet and demure — were in the wrong place.
As it turns out, that wasn’t quite true.
Upscale — and that’s the way they like it
Maui is one of the most beautiful Hawaiian islands. If you don’t believe me, take a drive along Highway 360, which runs from Kahului to Hana, on the eastern side of the island. Around each hairpin turn, you’ll see impossibly beautiful seascapes, lush rain forests and waterfalls you thought only existed in the movies.

Along the famous Hana Highway in Maui. (Photograph by Anthony Burton, My Shot)

But if you have young children, you’ll need a stiff drink once you reach Hana. Want to make a rest stop to buy banana bread from a food truck? Better keep an eye on your youngsters or they could slide down a steep embankment into the Pacific.
Our kids didn’t worry about any of this. But we did.
It’s not that Maui doesn’t try. We dropped by the Four Seasons to visit a friend, and the hotel offered not only a children’s menu in its restaurant, but also a menu for teens. Among its “kid-friendly” amenities were a game room and goodie bags for kids when they check in. They even had a kids pool. But that didn’t make it any easier to escape the stares of the other guests — the ones that said, “You brought your kids here?”
Is there anything for children?
It’s a fact that finding things to do with kids in Maui, an island with a well-deserved reputation for being exclusive and expensive, isn’t always easy. Even the attractions you’d assume would appeal to the little ones aren’t really ideal for children, especially very young ones.
(For example, don’t even think of taking your toddler to the waterfalls at the lower Kīpahulu entrance of Haleakala National Park. It requires hiking boots, a good sense of balance, and swimming skills. I almost lost my balance a few times trying to negotiate the slippery rocks.)

The main drag in Lahaina. (Photograph by Roberta Niver, My Shot)

But turns out Maui does have a few kid-friendly attractions. The educational Maui Ocean Center, for instance, is well worth a visit with the little ones (and conveniently located near restaurants that serve yummy soft cookies and shave-ice). On our last visit to Maui, we also went horseback riding in the upcountry, and felt right at home and welcome.
But this time we stayed in Lahaina, on the southern side of the island — which is a historic but hopelessly touristy town that reminded us a lot of our hometown, Orlando — surrounded by honeymooners and newly disembarked cruise ship passengers in search of souvenirs. Not a person under 21 to be seen, save our children. We probably should have known better than to take them into an art gallery (and shouldn’t have been surprised when its owner scolded our son for being too loud).
The tepid welcome continued as we walked through town. Some merchants on Maui are crystal clear about their preferences: they have signs outside their stores warning parents to attend to their children or (the more lighthearted version) promising to present unsupervised kids with “an espresso and a kitten.”

Boo!
Just as we were about to give up on Maui and spend the balance of our visit doing homeschool lessons and visiting the pool at our vacation rental, we heard about the Keiki Halloween Parade. The Hawaiian word for child is keiki, and at first we could hardly believe there were enough kids on Maui to hold an event like this.
But, boy were we wrong!
Suddenly, downtown Lahaina was overrun by kids in Halloween costumes — and some of the same eagle-eyed merchants who held a kitty and a cup of coffee at the ready were offering them candy. Our kids marched right alongside them, never hesitating to climb up on stage to receive a bag of candy from Maui’s mayor. (Hey, it’s free candy, right?)
Had we not seen the keiki parade with our own eyes, and been part of it, we would never have believed Maui could be so child friendly.
But once you get past the tourist traps and dodge a honeymooner or two, this place really loves kids. – Maui is for Lovers…and Kids?

My Six months spent between Honolulu and Maui, without a doubt, changed my life for the good. In fact it’s better due to many things. The creation of friendships is a key reason. In the process of these budding kinship, one stands clear. I watched the life of one person turn from emptiness to sheer, outward joy.

My wingman, Chris Tarpley, shared a few adventures with me. The first, the road to Hana. Although I traveled this road before, during this trip I became the passenger with the pleasure to “ooh and ah,” at the sites missed on the previous drive. We got lost together, dined in Hana, laughed and shared tales of sorrow. It was my buddy Chris who dared the 3 a.m. call to travel to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise. We bared the frigid winds as nature breathed a sigh of wakefulness into a new day. Then something happened to my wingman. He met Lindsey.

I will be the first to admit that I became miffed at the idea. Who was this chick that became the sole interest in my friend’s life? She took up his time while my passenger seat sat void of my partner in crime. Then the unimaginable happened. He fell in love! I couldn’t believe the dazed look in his eyes when he spoke her name.

“Enough is enough,” I thought. It was time to finally meet the intruder of my friend’s heart. Over breakfast, I watched the two of them as my eyes scrutinized her. My crusty heart refused to believe one could find such happiness in so short a time. Impossible!

Late one evening I received a text asking if I would consider shooting wedding photos. “What?” I whispered, “My photography,” I replied, “is not of that caliber and who’s wedding was he speaking of?” The answer, his.  My rough and tough wingman changed to a lyrical, poetic minstrel.

On a cool December morning (12/23/2012) at White Rock Beach in Maui, HI, I saw the marriage of my ex-wingman to Lindsey, the bright ray of light in his life. As the photographer, my lens captured passion, a sense of calm and excitement that emanated from them.

So here’s to Chris and Lindsey. I wish you all the joy you can handle and love that you deserve. May the passion of life and love never cease to amaze you.

Chris

Hopefully we’ll figure it out along the way and walk the line between enthusiastic curiosity and careless, uninformed assumption.

For now though, here are a few of the activities we’d love to experience on our American adventure.

• White water rafting
• Comedy club in Chicago
• Visiting a dude ranch
• Dinner and dancing on a Mississippi paddle boat
• Cruise on Lake Powell
• Spectate:
  • Rodeo
  • NFL
  • Ice Hockey
  • NBA
  • Baseball
  • NASCAR
• Watching the sun rise from the Haleakala crater
• Whale watching
• Deep sea fishing
• Line dancing
• Hike a glacier in Alaska
• Dog sledding (though the time of year is unlikely to permit this)
• Blues bar in Mississippi

a #morning on #Haleakala #volcano #Maui #Hawaii #latergram #film #analog #mountain #mountains #rocks #volcanic #landscape #vista #clouds #1990s #blue #beautiful #nature #naturelovers #natureporn #вулкан #горы #linandara_hawaii #linandara_vista

This is the crater at the top, seven miles in diameter. The small hills ( 1 to 2 hundred feet high,) are small eruptions over the years within the crater.

So off goes my hero with socks on his hands, the temp. dropped 30 degrees at the top,for 28 miles of twists and bends downhill while I follow behind to make sure he's okay and does not pass my favourite lunch stop!

Start of the road down into the valley beneath the clouds.

Watch this space…… Video to come when I can work it out!

My lunch spot. Hurray!

Yummy

Aloha

Posted with Blogsy

With my body change came a new appreciation for all things outdoors.  When I was overweight, I pretended to like certain outdoorsy activities so that Josh and I could do more things together.  But I was still very limited in what I could do, partly because I physically couldn’t do certain things, and partly because my weight held me back from even trying.  That fear of trying evolved into a great motivation to lose the weight: I wanted to be able to really enjoy myself and have fun on our honeymoon, without worrying that I couldn’t do something.  And now that Josh and I are in the best shape we’ve ever been in, we didn’t hold back!

Every morning on the Big Island, I went for a run in the resort’s fitness center, and enjoyed this incredible view:

Breathtaking.

One morning while running, I watched a feral cat scout out some birds, and then climb to the very top of this tree while hunting them.  He left hungry.

And of course, what would a trip to the Big Island be without seeing the swim start / run finish of the Ironman World Championship?

My future Kona finisher.

In addition to our morning runs, we also fell in love with hiking on the lava fields.  The rough terrain was a little different than what we’re used to, and we stumbled in places, but the scenery was incredible.

Hold on to your hats! It was super windy.

Just another husband and wife hiking at Volcano National Park.

Paparazzo in training.

Once we arrived in Maui, our morning runs were put on hold.  We had planned so many early-morning adventures that we got our work outs elsewhere.

For example, we went on a snorkeling cruise our first morning there.

Wheee!

With all the fish and coral to explore at Molokini Crater, we got in an awesome water work out.

Look at us, all hanging ten.

The next day, we woke up at 1:30am to visit Haleakala Summit.  It’s known for being an amazing spot to see the sunrise, and I have to agree.  The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen is the sun rising from the 10,000 feet summit of a dormant volcano, with the clouds just resting in the crater (which is the size of Manhattan).

Seriously. How incredible is this?

After the sun came up, we didn’t jump in our cars with the other tourists and head back down for the beach.  Instead, we hopped on bikes and rode down from 6,500 feet.

Vroom!

I’m not sure if the bike ride technically counts as a work out, considering it was 99% downhill.  However, I sure pedaled my butt off on the 1% incline.  Gears would have been nice!

Our last day in Maui, we got our exercise on the Road to Hana.  When we weren’t driving over the one-lane bridges and up and down the switchbacks, we made a few stops to hike.

Hiking through a rain forest? Don’t mind if I do.

We didn’t really plan on going the entire way, but I’m glad we did.  We got in an extra hike to see the O’heo Gulch.

Don’t call it Seven Sacred Pools. That’s the tourist nickname and locals loathe it.

So why did I just take you through the traditional and non-traditional work out routines we experienced on our honeymoon?  Because 61 pounds ago, I never would have participated in any of the above-mentioned activities.  Look at everything I would have missed out on.  I thank God every day for the motivation that helped me lose the weight, and for the drive to always stay active so I won’t ever miss out on anything else again.

Aloha!

No matter what I post on any topic, it seems the thing people really most want to know is: where the heck does Oprah live on Maui? So, I will tell you.

I directed tourists on how to get there all the time when I worked as a concierge at the Maui Kaanapali Villas. Hard to believe, but it’s a destination drive for tourists now. I wonder if someday they’ll stop there with the tourist buses like they do on the Beverly Hills “See the Stars’ Homes” tours.

Soooo (drumroll please…) Here is Oprah’s House:

And this is how we’ll get there: Let’s pretend you fly into Maui and board my Maui Magical Mystery Tours bus. We are now driving away from the airport, and the mountain range on your right is the West Maui mountains, and the mountain on your left is Haleakala. We’re going to go toward Haleakala. If you look a map of Maui, and see Highway 37, we are going to follow that out toward Ulupalakua.

When we get to the main intersection in Kahului (Dairy Road and Hana Highway, just past K-Mart) we make a left onto Hana Hwy. and stay on it about one mile till we see a big green sign on our right that says “Haleakala Crater” “Kula” and “Pukalani”. We will make a right.

This is Hwy. 37. We will stay on this ALL the way until the turn-off for Oprah’s house. Since you’re not the one driving, you will get to enjoy the breathtaking scenery as we slowly climb the mountain. We will pass the turn-off for Makawao. While it’s a perfectly nice little cowboy town with a few art galleries thrown in, we won’t turn off. We will then pass the signs that say “Crater.” But we are on a mission, so we don’t turn off, as much as we might like to see Haleakala Crater.

We will eventually pass mile marker 12, then mile marker 13. We will pass Rice Park on our left. We will keep going until we see mile marker 16.5 and Keokea Park will be on our left.

Now, we SLOW DOWN. We will see a sign for “Thompson Ranch Road” because Oprah bought Thompson Ranch. Grandma’s Coffee House will be on our right, and we make the left onto Thompson Ranch Road, which immediately veers to the right. We are careful to make this right or we will be going uphill to Kula Hospital!

Thompson Ranch road is a bit like a small roller-coaster ride, up and down and all around. It’s pretty much one lane, so we are careful of all the people going in the other direction who have already been to view Miss Oprah’s house, and are now probably on their way for coffee at Grandma’s. (Oprah would probably make money if she put a coffee stand at the bottom of her driveway, there are so many people who go there now.)

We won’t know we are at Oprah’s house unless we are watching the hillside on the left. About a quarter mile down there it is, white and gleaming, perched on the hill. Lucky for us there happens to be a little turnaround were we can pull off on the right and view it. Would you like to get off the bus and stretch your legs? We’ve been on here for about 35 to 40 minutes now. Be sure to bring your camera…though you won’t get pictures anywhere is good as the one at the top. It’s uphill and the angle is not right for photos.

Okay now, everybody happy? That’ll be $19.95 for the bus tour. Oh wait, this is Maui. Make that $49.95.

Thank you for traveling today with Mauidailyescape.com. Remember, you read it here. Please tell your friends about this blog, and be sure to direct them to this post so they’ll know how to get to Miss Oprah’s house. Share it on Facebook…tweet it….then I can cover other interesting topics on this blog in the future. Thank you for riding along.

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Aloha, Jamaica

We had some time off from work around the same time, so we decided to spend it in Maui then Sydney. We flew out of NYC the day after election day, hungover from celebrating Obama’s victory. We escaped the city a day after our electricity was restored from Hurricane Sandy and hours before New York was hit with a Nor’Easter. We decided to take advantage of our jet lag-induced early rising and tackle the hike on our first day in Maui.

However, once we discovered the villa we were renting lacked a coffee machine, I was unpleasant as Carrie at the prom covered in pig’s blood. I was quite the cranky puss on the drive to the mountain.

The drive to the mountain

Once we got there, the view was so beautiful I shut the fuck up.

The view from the top

Despite being in Hawaii, it was quite chilly on the top of the mountain. You can see the frost. I bundled up and resembled the unabomber.

Bundled up from the cold

The volcanic terrain made you feel like you were walking on the moon. In fact, NASA had astronauts practice walking at Haleakalā in preparation for moon exploration.

Looks like moon rocks!

Along with the foreign terrain, the plant life was quite alien. This is the only place on Earth the Silver Sword grows.

Silver Sword

While we encountered a few other hikers on the trek, for the most part we were the only two people in sight. This was quite a meditative and surreal experience for two kids who live in downtown Manhattan. There was complete silence.

Silence

After about five hours of hiking we reached the final stretch of our journey, a precarious climb back and forth on switch backs up a vertical mountain.

Almost there

After picking up some hitchhiking hippies on our drive back that gave us free weed, the rest of our time in Maui was spent relaxing. We were sore for days and hobbled around like a couple of 80 year olds, but it was an once in a life time experience that was totally worth the pain and initial whining.

Relaxing the day after the hike

My boyfriend Johnny (@timthegiraffe) is responsible for all photos and has hiked this mountain before, except he did the three-day long version like a bad-ass. Read about his initial experience here. 

Johnny C

Backpacking into the Haleakala wilderness requires preparation and prior backcountry skills. You will experience extremes of temperature, weather, and rugged trails. But you will also experience incredible beauty and see things that you can only see on Haleakala, like the Silversword.

The Silversword, found only on the slopes of Haleakala.

You can certainly plan your own trip into the Haleakala wilderness, but another very good option is to volunteer some of your time and go on a service trip with a great non-profit called the Friends of Haleakala National Park.  Not only will you meet some great people (my recent trip had a combination of Maui locals who’ve been on Haleakala countless times as well as first timers from the mainland), but you’ll learn about the delicate ecosystem and other features of the wilderness from local experts, and spend some time helping preserve this unique place.

Getting oriented for field work…identifying and removing invasive weeds

Most service trips start on a Saturday and end on a Monday, so you get 2 nights in one of the wilderness cabins with the normal fee waived. The type of service performed will vary, ranging from cabin maintenance to native planting to invasive species removal. Participating in a service trip will typically allow you to see parts of the Haleakala wilderness not normally open to visitors, with travel on maintained, unmaintained, and service trails, as well as occasionally off-trail hiking to get to more isolated fields. If you aren’t able to commit anytime soon to a service trip, please consider making a donation to Friends of Haleakala to support the great work of this organization.

Beautiful flora can be found in the most unlikely of places…

Looking east to the ocean down the Ko’olau Gap from the Halemau’u trail.

Hiking through the cinder fields of Haleakala

Many tourists will wake up at 3am to start driving to the top of the Haleakala crater, to take sunrise photos. However, I was on vacation, and refused to wake up that early!

The peak of the volcano is at 10,000 ft and once you get there, it is quite interesting. The hills within the crater are so smooth, with different shades of red, and grey and black sands. High up above the clouds, somehow I thought this is what Mars must be like.

Driving to the top, through the national park, is also interesting. But on a foggy day, if you cannot see the peak from the base of the volcano, it is not the easiest. The road up is very winding, and since you are basically driving through clouds, visibility is close to zero. This can be a bit scary when you only see oncoming vehicles and road turns at the last second.

I also underestimated how much fuel it would take to reach the top that day, so when my fuel indicator starting flashing on its last bar, I was getting nervous about whether there would be enough gas to get back to the hotel. Needless to say, coming back down I basically let gravity do its work and avoided pressing the gas pedal. Luckily, because the car was going on a downward slope, a 2nd fuel bar magically appeared – it was the first time I had ever seen that happen so I was pretty confused by this, haha.

I went home for the weekend to get a break from college and went through some pictures from  old trips on my dad’s computer. I sent them to my mac and have been messing around with them on photoshop. Adding some tilt shop to get the appearance everything is really small or some weird ideas. Two of the waterfalls are from a helicopter tour on Kauai which is off my bucket list. Some are from Oahu and some are from a scuba trip on the Big Island. Also included are a couple pictures from Manzanillo, Mexico and a mud pot in Yellowstone, also from my bucket list. Enjoy

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Frankly, I was skeptical about a guided tour. And granted, there are pros and cons to it, most which you can easily guess for yourself. What I didn’t expect, however, was how much more of the scenery you can take in when you are not driving the road to Hana yourself. I was able to look all around, including behind, from the large windows and really take in the views without worrying about plunging my car into the ocean. But the biggest delight was “listening to story” from our tour guide/driver Joe. He not only was extremely knowledgeable about all of the plants and trees that we saw, but he knew the stories and meanings behind the names of the various places we passed (for example, do YOU know about the demi-god who came down as a rooster, or the “pork in the car” story?) Joe also knows where all of the good views are and the best places to stop (or not stop).

Red Sand Beach near Hana

Another benefit of the Valley Isle Excursions tour was that they actually continue on around the whole island. Past Hana and the Seven Sacred Pools (Oheo Gulch) the country opens up and changes from rainforest to arid “desert”. Some would say this south side of the island isn’t as picturesque as the rest of Maui, but I disagree. The views of this side of Haleakala are amazing. I also really enjoyed seeing the island change as we continued on throughout the day, ending up at Tedeschi Winery and then back down the road to our starting point.

Beautiful expansive views of Haleakala await those who venture to the south side of Maui

Long day? Yes. But well worth it, and a great way to sample the spectrum of delights on the island of Maui.

*Full disclosure: we were offered two complimentary tickets by the company to share our thoughts. However, the views in this post are 100% mine, and I received no compensation from Valley Isle Excursions beyond the two tickets.

By Mastery of Maps

The Pīpīwai Trail is one of those hikes where you’ll find many of people on the trail – but the incredible scenery make it worth putting up with a crowd – or getting there super early to try to beat them to the waterfalls along the way. The trailhead requires a long drive along the shoreline (60 miles of twists and turns!), but the hike itself is a perfect half-day hike. There are numerous waterfalls along the trail – and at the end, you’ll find Waimoku Falls, dropping 400 feet over the cliff in front of you.

Note: Like many trails in the NP system, this is one with a real danger of flash floods. But more importantly, use caution when getting close to, or in the waterfalls themselves. People have died when a rock or boulder comes crashing over the edge. Even water itself can fall with a lot of force and impact from 400 feet. Be smart!

Distance: 4 miles
Elevation gain: 900 feet
Difficulty: Moderate

Best trail guides and maps on the web

Natural Born Hikers (Lots of photos)
Everytrail (includes a good map)