February 2019

When we told our friends we planned to visit Hawaii during the kids’ winter break, almost everyone told us, “you will love it”! Seems like everyone had already been there in spite of the long hours of travel. It only took us 35+ years of living in the US to visit one of its most scenic states, but we made it!
The plan had been made a year ago. If you want a nice place to stay with access to the things you want to do, you have to plan ahead. We basically needed something the young grandkids would love and whats better than sun, temperatures in the 80s and your own swimming pool! Have to compliment our son-in-law Kurt for finding the perfect modern private house with a huge lanaii (or as we call in India, a covered verandah) with ample space to move and lovely outdoor furniture including hammocks. What could top this? The lanaii overlooked a lush backyard with all kinds of trees and flowering bushes including orchids of various hues. In the middle, the crown jewel was a swimming pool with clean blue water and adjoining it a hot tub that could be heated upwards of 90 degrees. The pool too could be warmed up on cooler days. The house was very convenient, but more about that later.

At the outset we decided that we would visit only two islands and make relaxing a part of the itinerary. We had had plenty of “scheduled” vacations where we had to set our alarm clocks to wake up and be on the road by 8 a.m! The morning direct flight from Newark had taken 11 hours to Honolulu and we had immediately caught a connection to Maui. That hop over was only about 45 minutes over a blue ocean dotted with green islands. After renting a car we were at our vacation rental residence in Kihei by local time 5 p.m. (There is a 5 hour time difference between NY and HI). Gave us enough time to settle in, take in our surroundings and buy milk and basic groceries for our 5-day stay. Five seems to have been the magic number, because we also woke up at 5 a.m! Jet lag!!

The Kapalua Coastal Trail
In Maui, our location was a fairly populated residential area with some stores nearby by car. The beach was also within walking distance as we found out later when we explored the area by foot. Right on the first day we decided to go for a walk on a trail overlooking the ocean, a reasonable distance by car. This was the Kapalua coastal trail in the northern part of the duck shaped island, close to the quaint seaside town of Lahaina. On the way we passed by a bird conservation area where in the right seasons, plenty of birds habitat the boggy fields. The view was scenic with lovely green hills but not much else by way of vegetation or trees. As we drove fairly close to the ocean, we spotted experienced surfers and others with binoculars looking for whales. The trail itself did not disappoint. Alongside the blue ocean into which black lava rocks had flowed ages ago, we saw several luxury resorts set inside and away from the shore. They had gorgeous views and access to the ocean, but not your typical hotel on the sandy beach. As for the Haleakala volcano, now extinct, we could not make reservations to trek to its summit. It is purported to be the largest dormant volcano in the world, its crater 21 miles across and 4000 feet deep. Its at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. There has been no eruptions for centuries. Its surroundings have been described as “moonlike” and “other worldly”.

Oh yes, we also passed by an aquarium which seemed to be quite famous. We decided to save our visit for the next day which was predicted to rain. Unfortunately, the rest of the tourists had the same brilliant idea. After looking at the long long lines, we decided to quit and join the line for “shave ice” instead! This is a delicacy of the islands where the snow textured ice is put into a large paper cone and one can have the choice of flavored sugar syrups, anything from cola to condensed milk! All sorts of exotic fruit flavors too, some native to Hawaii! A fun pastime especially for kids, but it did not tickle my tastebuds!

In the locality we stayed, the beaches were fairly nearby but we did not seem to have the time or inclination to pack up and go there. Must have been the backyard pool and hot tub that kept us captive! Then again some activities had been already planned. The young family went on a snorkeling trip that lasted several hours. They were outfitted with wet suits and gear and were on a raft in different parts of the ocean where they were guided to explore beneath the surface and see the sea life. They could also see whales. Except for the rocking of the boat they enjoyed the outing and came back exhausted after the extensive trip with many stops. In fact the neighboring island of Molokini is said to be the home to 250 marine species. We older ones had booked for a whale watch sunrise boat on another day and that was quite placid. Very enjoyable. The whales were out there but our boat was permitted to go only a certain distance from them and we could not get too close to view them well. It appears that the whales come down to the warmer and quieter waters of the Pacific all the way from Alaska to give birth. This is an amazing journey of 6,000 miles. The mothers do not eat for months, they just feed their young and nurture them and when old enough to travel they go back to their homes.

Sighting Humpback Whales

They came up for air every ten to twenty minutes but the ocean was big and by the time they were spotted and we focussed our eyes (cameras to be more exact!) on them they had done an elegant curve in the water and gone in! These were the humpback whales and we got to see their humps and more rarely, a wave of the tail. We have a few pictures to prove this! Rarely a large whale created excitement when it sent an upward jet of water through its blowhole. The boat ride was invigorating with beautiful views of the oceans, nearby islands and Maui itself, looking green and inviting. It has been voted as the best island in the world several times and includes white, black and red sand beaches. Sadly we saw only the common yellow color sand, but the blues of the waters were in a hundred shades from light turquoise to midnight blue!

Street Names in the Native Language

The Winding Road to Hana

What surprised me and what I liked was that every name, street or landmark had a beautiful name in the native language. No attempt has been made to stamp over the culture. Stores too are few and far between, leaving nature to rule everywhere. Perhaps, that’s why the pristine beauty of the islands continues to be preserved. Parts of the same island get a variation of rain from 10 inches to 365 inches a year. But the rain gods were so kind to us, we had to experience only one day of rainy weather.
As in many vacations, a small glitch developed in ours too. The Road to Hana! Unforgettable! Having heard so much about this seaside jaunt we woke up and were out of the house first thing in the morning. But we had not done our homework. Ok, we said, just 45 miles, we should be able to do that in our sturdy rental SUV. It is slow and curvy we had been warned, but we thought the ocean views would compensate for that. But 600 hairpin bends? No one mentioned that! One by one car sickness took hold of us. Two had to drop out and hitch a ride back to the nearest town. The four remaining struggled on for some more slow miles. Daunted by the thought of driving back on the same road, we then made the epic decision to turn back. Yes, some of the views were spectacular, the foliage very lush, but try enjoying this on a quesy stomach! Driving was pretty hard too! Most disappointed was Shalini whose dream it had been to trek to the best waterfall of the island. She vowed to leave the wimps behind and perhaps fly into Hana directly and do this next time. No one was going to entice me on the Road to Hana again!

A word about the house where we stayed. The vacation rental place was beautifully maintained and the owner so thoughtful and gracious. She had a welcome basket for us filled with goodies like pineapple, papaya, nuts and chocolates. She gave us free access to her well stocked pantry so we did not have to buy a million little things like oil, salt rice or spices. It was like living in your own home. The entire house was so modern, bright and airy. It was so easy to cook simple meals with the few Indian groceries I had taken and the kids were totally happy with the pasta, grilled cheese and some veggies. Yes, local groceries were a bit expensive, but most things have to be brought into the island and this saved us the hassel of eating out every single meal! Plus being vegetarians, our choices were very limited in a place where most look for local seafood delicacies.
The five days flew by and soon it was time to bid goodbye to Maui and head to Kauai. Turned out we liked it more than Maui, but how that was possible, we do not know!!

******