Heaven: Days 1-3

Hawaii should be renamed Heaven. Seriously. This place is so amazing. Words cannot even describe, and sadly pictures can't even fully capture the stunning beauty of this place.

I wasn't planning to blog during this fabulous trip, but I don't want to forget any of the details of what we have been doing, and since this is my journal, I figure I must keep a record of all the amazing details.

Day 1: Monday

We spent most of the day on the airplane. We left our house at about 5:30 a.m. and got into Hawaii at 4:30 p.m. PST. A very long day of travel. We flew into Honolulu and had a couple of hours to kill until our flight to Hana, Maui. We had lunch/dinner/snack at the airport and just hung around. The Honolulu airport is not a great introduction to Hawaii. We caught our flight a couple hours later. The 1 hour flight to Hana was a great treat. Our plane was a 10 seat puddle jumper and we were the only passengers. Our pilot was great and gave us aerial tour of the islands between Oahu and Maui. We are staying in Hana, on the east side of Maui, a tiny little town that has virtually no tourist business and is completely untainted. The pilot flew us low along the eastern coast as we came in and we were able to see the spectacular beaches and cliffs along the way. It was truly the best way to see Hawaii for the first time. Charles and Mindy picked us up at the Hana airport and had lei's for us to welcome us to Hawaii (I had really been wanting a lei, so it was perfect!).

(Please ignore how lovely we are looking. By this point we had been traveling for 16 hours.)

Day 2: Tuesday

We woke bright and early on Tuesday morning and for the first time were able to really take in our surroundings. The house that Mindy's grandma owns overlooks the ocean and is surrounded by rolling hills covered with cows and wild horses. This is what we wake up to every morning: with a soft sea breeze blowing over us and the scent of wild tropical flowers occassionally filling the air (see, I told you this is heaven).

We had breakfast at the posh Hotel Hana The food was out of the world (imagine macadamian nut encrusted french toast with pineapple-papaya marmalade) and the view was amazing. We then spent the morning at Hamoa beach just enjoying the sun and playing in the ocean. The waves here are BIG and rough and take some getting used.

After lunch we went to Oheo Gulch (Seven Sacred pools). The pools were closed to swimming because of high water but we are planning to try later this week. We then hiked 2 miles through amazing tropical rain forest and fascinating bamboo forest to reach Makahiku Falls . The hike itself was amazing but seeing the waterfall at the end was definitely the highlight. Al and I decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim in the waterfall. The water was SO cold but it was an amazing experience.

It was the perfect first day in Hawaii.

Day 3: Wednesday

Today we drove the Road to Hana. Most people who drive the Road to Hana are coming from the west side of Maui and doing it as a day trip. The road is 52 miles long and takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive because it winds so much and is single lane on all the bridges. But my goodness, what an absolutely GORGEOUS drive. Totally worth it. We spent the day shopping and eating in La'haina. We hiked through Iao Valley State Park. We finished the day eating at Mama's Fish House on the North Shore. Truly, probably the best culinary experience I have ever had. It was amazing. The food was art and was heavenly. Having been on the west side of the island, I definitely think we are staying in the most beautiful spot in Hawaii. The east side of the island (where we are staying) gets 300 inches of rain a year as opposed to the west side that only gets 30 inches. This side is definitely the tropical paradise you think of when you think of Hawaii.