Honeymoon: August 3rd

Maui to the Big Island, Hawaii


MAP	MAP 2

Unfortunately, it was time to leave Maui. We checked out of the Sheraton during the morning and drove down to Wailea to check out that area. After walking through the Shops at Wailea, we had a pretty good breakfast at Cheeseburger Island Style. I wanted to drive the northern Maui loop to see the sights of the area, but we didn't think we had enough time before we had to be at the airport. So, we opted to drive to the top of Haleakala, the main volcano on Maui. The drive was slightly adventurous in itself, with a dizzying number of 180 degree turns necessary to climb the 10,000 feet to the top. The middle part of the volcano looked similar to what I've come to expect on the plains. As we neared the top however (and always driving carefully since an unfortunate swerve could easily result in a fiery death as one plummets down the steep side of the mountain), vegetation became progressively more sparse.

We finally made it to the top of Haleakala, above 10,000 feet! It was very windy up here (and quite chilly too!), but the view was amazing! We spent a couple hours walking to several overlooks in the area. I've read about the amazing sunrises at the summit, and I can certainly believe it (assuming you can get a good stratus layer). I think I took about 50 pictures from the top, a few of which I included below. After descending Haleakala, we grabbed a bite to at a pizza-by-slice joint in Kahului (which was quite good and inexpensive!). With a little more time to kill, we walked around Borders Books before heading to the airport.

The flight from OGG to KOA was short but bumpy. We landed in Kona, spent an hour or so to pick up the rental car (what a pain the butt!), then made our way to the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort. Unfortunately, there weren't any rooms with king-size beds available, so we received a two-queen-bed room. I thought the Hapuna looked nicer than the Sheraton, but Kim liked the grounds and ambiance of the Sheraton better. After being served a cool towel and some papaya juice, it was time for bed.

Pictures

Click on any photo to see a larger version

Previous Day: Aug. 2nd

Next Day: Aug. 4th