Since mom said she didn't want to travel anymore, Art thought a short trip to Maui would be something she could handle and enjoy.
We invited my brother, Dennis and sister-in-law, Nancy to join us.
In order to maximize our trip, we left the house at 5:30 for our 7:00 Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kahului Airport.
I'm not an early riser like Art and mom so this took some doing for me.
However, the short 35 minute fight and drive to Haleakala in our Hertz minivan was painless.
We made a stop at Makawao for a decadent pastry breakfast at Komoda Bakery.
And then we were on our way to Haleakala crater.
Mom thought it was fascinating to go from lush vegetation to forest to grassland as we climbed higher and higher up the volcano. From the high vantage point, we could see the West Maui Mountains (Mauna Kahalewai). We could also see the island of Lanai on the left of the West Maui Mountains.
We stopped at the Visitor Center where we could see a few silverswords glistening in the sunlight. I was surprised to see so few of them. When the kids were younger, we took them to Haleakala and I remember seeing quite a few plants. No more. According to the park service website, climate change and visitors taking them home as souvenirs have decimated the silversword numbers.
We were very fortunate to have such a beautiful, warm day.
Climbing higher, there was very few vegetation of any kind.
And then we got to the top and could look down into Haleakala's enormous crater.
There was a very friendly tour guide resting along the barrier who chatted with us and noted some highlights we should enjoy.
He pointed out the Big Island volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. I was amazed that we could see both Lanai and the Big Island from Haleakala.
The Alii Kula Lavender farm had been recommended to us so we decided to check it out.
It was OK.
There were beautiful angel's trumpets, bromeliads, proteus, etc. but the farm was located on a hill which made it very difficult for mom to climb.
When we came to Maui in 2012 we went to a place called Da Kitchen in Kihei. We thought the food was fabulous. It wasn't fancy and very local.
Since Kahului had a Da Kitchen, we decided to try it out.
We were surprised to see that it was crowded, fancier and more expensive.
Art and I weren't impressed, but Dennis and Nancy enjoyed it.
When I checked into hotels on Maui, we were rather worried about how expensive the stay would be for five people.
I looked into Airbnb and found Anh's place in Wailuku. There were three bedrooms and a shared bath on the bottom floor. Perfect. It was $165.00 a night + service and cleaning fee which totaled $400.00 for our two night stay.
It was also conveniently located and we were able to walk down to a shopping area that had everything we needed.
Day 1 of our Maui trip was very happy indeed.
We invited my brother, Dennis and sister-in-law, Nancy to join us.
I'm not an early riser like Art and mom so this took some doing for me.
However, the short 35 minute fight and drive to Haleakala in our Hertz minivan was painless.
We made a stop at Makawao for a decadent pastry breakfast at Komoda Bakery.
And then we were on our way to Haleakala crater.
Mom thought it was fascinating to go from lush vegetation to forest to grassland as we climbed higher and higher up the volcano. From the high vantage point, we could see the West Maui Mountains (Mauna Kahalewai). We could also see the island of Lanai on the left of the West Maui Mountains.
We stopped at the Visitor Center where we could see a few silverswords glistening in the sunlight. I was surprised to see so few of them. When the kids were younger, we took them to Haleakala and I remember seeing quite a few plants. No more. According to the park service website, climate change and visitors taking them home as souvenirs have decimated the silversword numbers.
We were very fortunate to have such a beautiful, warm day.
Climbing higher, there was very few vegetation of any kind.
And then we got to the top and could look down into Haleakala's enormous crater.
There was a very friendly tour guide resting along the barrier who chatted with us and noted some highlights we should enjoy.
He pointed out the Big Island volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. I was amazed that we could see both Lanai and the Big Island from Haleakala.
The Alii Kula Lavender farm had been recommended to us so we decided to check it out.
It was OK.
There were beautiful angel's trumpets, bromeliads, proteus, etc. but the farm was located on a hill which made it very difficult for mom to climb.
When we came to Maui in 2012 we went to a place called Da Kitchen in Kihei. We thought the food was fabulous. It wasn't fancy and very local.
Since Kahului had a Da Kitchen, we decided to try it out.
We were surprised to see that it was crowded, fancier and more expensive.
Art and I weren't impressed, but Dennis and Nancy enjoyed it.
When I checked into hotels on Maui, we were rather worried about how expensive the stay would be for five people.
I looked into Airbnb and found Anh's place in Wailuku. There were three bedrooms and a shared bath on the bottom floor. Perfect. It was $165.00 a night + service and cleaning fee which totaled $400.00 for our two night stay.
It was also conveniently located and we were able to walk down to a shopping area that had everything we needed.
Day 1 of our Maui trip was very happy indeed.
It is so good to have you back with us blogging again. I have missed your interesting travel blogs.
ReplyDeleteWonderful trip so far!
ReplyDeleteYou are such a traveler! My daughter and hubby are going to New York City Wed., her MIL is babysitting. I have no inclination, but enjoy it vicariously!!!
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you to plan a Mom friendly trip. She is such a treasure and nice to see her enjoying traveling again.
ReplyDeleteI am so hoping she enjoyed this island trip. It's a treat to go along with you and see your mom and children together.
ReplyDeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos. We were only a few days in Maui and spent most of the time on or near the beach.
ReplyDeleteHave not been there in years. I do miss that
ReplyDeleteSo much blue and green and happy faces, and mom!
ReplyDeleteI remember driving up to the crater. that's one morning we got up very early. It was cloudy so we didn't see sunrise.
ReplyDeleteLovely to read your post and see your photographs …
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Welcome back to bits of blogging. Glad your Mom wanted to venture out again. Getting up at 3 a.m. to do the tour bus to Haleakala sunrise was a bit rough, but it was beautiful. Rode on bicycles all the way down, which was really neat for experiencing the different vegetation levels and temperatures. Linda in cold, snowy Kansas
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned climbing higher and higher. Were you driving or walking. I'm guessing driving, since you mentioned later that Mom was having trouble climbing the garden hill.
ReplyDeleteI love the flowers, of course, and the silverswords!
I don't know about now but Komoda's white bread was the bomb! It's bland fresh but once toasted it was a bit sweet and buttery...nice to see they're still open as when I lived there, there were 2-3 elderly sisters running the place - hopefully the next gen is running it now.
ReplyDeletewow, there's lots to see in Hawaii besides the tourist spots or maybe there are tourist spots. Gorgeous...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your mom got to enjoy another trip. And I see you also got that awful mumbai spam. You would think the spam filter would recognize it immediately! :-)
ReplyDelete