Hawaii - Week 2

A couple of old goats?

volcano crater

Here it is Sunday evening and I am finally sitting down to write about our weekly activities.  This past week has been one full of new adventures.

Our week started in Maui as we finished our little stay on that particular island.  We started off by visiting Haleakawa National Park which is actually a dormant volcano.  The peak is 10,023 feet and we drove to the top.  While the road is paved, it is rather narrow and very twisted and it winds it way to the top. The view is incredible and the temps are cold, especially with the wind.

Our next stop was to travel the Road to Hana which is a great drive through a beautiful part of Maui.  This road is a curvy coastal road with views of cliffs, beaches, waterfalls and miles

 
of rain forest.  While the entire road is 64 miles long which takes all day to do the round trip.  That is, however, with a stop at Aunty Sandy's Banana Bread.   Her banana bread is very popular, and freshly baked as it is still warm when you get it.  We were able to get the last loaf and it was before lunch.

Whale watching was the plan.  The wind was blowing the their were significant swells on the ocean but off we went.  Since I can be prone to sea sickness I purchases a pressure band and I think it worked wonders.  The humpback whales were fairly active as we saw a fair number of them.  You could often see their backs, occasionally you could see their tail above the water but there were a couple of times we saw them come right out of the water - almost as they do in the sea world shows.

Well, our time in Maui has come to an end so off we go to Oahu.  It is here that Kyla and her family meet up with us.  We have decided to stay on the North Shore which noted as the surfing  capital of the world.  Just to get to know the area a little better we decided to scout out the area to see what is around.  The nearby town of Haleiwa is a quaint little town full of shops and galleries and places to eat.

Nearby is Waimea Bay and Waimea Falls.  The falls are a one mile hike through botanical gardens on a paved path.  At the end of the path are the falls with a swimming hole - a very beautiful spot.  As some of the kids went swimming in the pond and played in the falls, they said they were never going to wash their hair again because they were in the falls.  At the  
 
 
end of the hike was a wonderful farmers market with many of the local fresh fruit - even ice cream bananas - who knew?

climbing a coconut tree

Now it is off to the Polynesian Cultural Centre.  What an experience!!  The centre is made up of six villages - Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Hawaii, Tonga, and Tahiti.  Each of these countries have a little village with a display of song and dance and customs unique to their particular locale.  They also have wonderful interactive displays where the attendants can take part in activities that are specifically unique to each of these countries.  The costumes were colourful, the entertainment terrific, and it was a marvellous experience.  Later in the day we attended a Luau followed by a spectacular show.  What a day - so much to see and so much to do!

paddle boarding lessons

Off to see the sands of Waikiki - we had to go visit Waikiki.  Yes the beaches were nice and people watching was at an all time high.  To sum it up it would be as Maddie (7 year old grand daughter) said "Mom, I think that lady has her bathing suit on backwards" (to describe 

someone wearing a thong).   But coming home we decided to take a scenic route and that it definitely was.  We drove along the coastline, and then travelled inland across the mountain region - what a view.

And that brings that week to an end.  And that is my excuse for being late this week - it's been tough to break away from that excitement.  Thanks for joining and I will try to be a little more prompt next week.