Maui Arrival and Haleakala

Bryan and Vivian decided to get married in Maui, so provided a great excuse for some of us to pay a visit! I arrived in Maui yesterday, flying over the Pacific for the first time in probably over 2 decades. The first thing I had to do when I got to the airport was take off the layers I'd worn on the plane to ward off the air conditioning. It reminded me of my first visit to Hawaii, on Oahu, way back in the 90s. I met up with Mei and family at the car rental (wow, talk about crowded!) and after a brief visit to Costco to stock up on a few things as well as for a quick lunch (consisting of the exact same menu as you'll find in your local Costco) we headed for Kaanapali where we'd rented a condo. The unit turned out to be really nice. The pool is right outside our back porch, I have a separate room which includes a sitting area, TV, sink and mini fridge and coffee maker. The main room has a huge bathroom, living and dining areas and a fully stocked kitchen (everything but the food). They even have some pool float toys and a laundry (which will come in very handy). On our first afternoon, after settling in, we headed for Lahaina, the main little town in the area. We strolled around lots of shops selling the usual Hawaiian fare: patterned shirts, sun dresses, jewelry and beach paraphernalia. We stopped at a shop and Mei and family picked up a set of matching shirts/dresses for Bryan's wedding while I got myself a sun dress. We stopped at Longhi restaurant for dinner, a place with an unexpectedly pricey menu. We weren't all that hungry because our stomachs were still on PDT but we got a little bit of food in us as we watched the sun set over the island of Lanai. After dinner, we headed back to the car but stopped for shave ice at a stand that our cousin Hao recommended. Good call! They have a ton of great flavour combinations plus you can get ice cream with it and they have a mini size which is just perfect. You just don't get this kind of fine shave ice anywhere but Hawaii, and they have the best flavours including all kinds of tropical fruit.

Today, our first full day, we planned to get out early to head to Haleakala, the dormant volcanic crater on the eastern side of Maui. It's a long-ish drive but we're all still on PDT so we expected to be up early. The drive was challenging, very winding for the 26 miles up the side of the mountain. As you climb, you see yourself getting higher than the clouds. There are pastures with goats, cows and horses scattered along the mountain side. The higher you go the more desolate the landscape until it's mainly just dark brown rock with a few hardy plants. We made it to the top of the summit and immediately had to pile on the layers-it's really chilly and windy up at the top! Apparently we lucked out with a sunny day, because I was told it does get a lot colder. There's a series of observatories on the top of the mountain (two run by the University of Hawaii and one by the US Air Force). You can see the big island of Hawaii from the top with its two active volcanoes! The clouds below are big fluffy piles pushing up against the sides of the crater. The Visitor Center, a little farther down from the summit, has better views of the crater.

After the long, slow, winding drive back, we rested for a bit before hitting the pool. After snacks and showers, we drove again into Lahaina for dinner. We chose a spot called Cheeseburgers in Paradise, that has casual food and views of the ocean so we could watch the sunset. It was really very spectacular. Another round of shave ice and a stop at the grocery store for fresh fruits and veggies ended the evening.