The Road To Hana: February, 2001

On Friday, we ate an early morning breakfast of orange juice, coffee, Sugar Frosted Flakes and toast in our condo, preparing to hit the Road to Hana by 7:00 AM. Unfortunately, my nephew Jered was running a fever and feeling very bad, so we postponed our plans so Cheryl and Rollie could take him to the doctor’s office and not miss the trip.

Instead of an early start, we ended up hanging out around the room until 10:00 AM, when, without Cheryl, Rollie and Jered, we headed toward Hana with the intention of stopping on our way for a hike. We drove southeast down Highway 30 to Papawai Point, where the highway turns north before switching to Highway 380 going north and finally changing to Highway 36, the Hana Highway.

We stopped for pictures near Malliko Bay, a beautiful spot where we could see surfers enjoying waves to one side and turquoise waves crashing on black rocks to the other side.

Soon we were winding our way through the lush hills of green foliage. We stopped at Waikomoi Ridge Trail and hiked up to the picnic area at the top, where we enjoyed the lunch we packed in our rooms. Many of the trees are marked to tell tourists about their places or origin and names. The bamboo forest was a highlight. Walking through the jungle with occasional glimpses of the beach was invigorating.


After lunch at the scenic picnic area, we hiked back down and drove along a bit further to explore a waterfall a few radical turns up the Road to Hana.

We found another waterfall just a short walk off the road, and my sister-in-law Jacque was the first to step into the green pool into which the waterfall cascaded.

Amy and Jay, along with their cousins Kendra and Kelsey, soon joined her in the water. Jacque, Amy and Jay swam close to the waterfall despite the freezing water.

While it’s tempting to brave the washed-out, one lane road out the other side of Hana so see more, the last time we tried that was near disaster, so we turned around and headed back the way we came. After getting off the windy road, we stopped to watch some amazing windsurfers cutting through choppy waves.

Back at our hotel, we went to the beach, diving a few feet below the surface to listen to whales singing in the distance, a truly amazing aural experience during the high season for whales, which happens to be around February.

For dinner, we made a stop at Taco Bell for Jay, Jered and Kelsey, and then we went to the food court at the small mall adjacent to the Safeway on the road to downtown Lahaina. Amy and Kendra got unremarkable pizza at the Italian restaurant, while Julie went to Chopsticks for a Chinese dinner similar to what you’d expect at Panda Express. Rollie, Cheryl and Jacque enjoyed large portions of fried chicken tenders, fried fish and teriyaki beef, respectively, served with rice and macaroni salad, from L & L Drive-In. I had teppan style teriyaki beef with vegetables and noodles cooked to order at Edo. It was delicious.

After dinner, we walked and shopped in the mall, followed by ice cream back at the condo.