5th Day - Wednesday, October 8th 2008

Today Dave went for a morning dive and mom and I drove the road to Hana. The road to Hana is a loooong scenic drive which is more about the drive and the scenery than actually getting to Hana. So, after we dropped Dave off at the boar harbor we went back home to get ready. After that we headed on our way.. I wasn't quite sure if I was going the right way but luckily it turns out I was. We stopped about 30 minutes into the trip in Pa'ia for breakfast at Anthony's. It was a great breakfast and they had a lot of options. Its in a strip mall and doesn't look like much but their food was good and the service was friendly. Mom had a belgian waffle and I went with traditional eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast...then we got pastries for the road. Then it was off on the drive. The road to Hana doesn't start out as much but once you get into it its beautiful. We stopped along the way at different places that our Maui Revealed book said were good finds to take pictures of waterfalls or scenery in general. Some really really beautiful coastal views and waterfalls along the way. The road is long and winding and you make lots of stops to check things out so its a full days adventure. I was driving which is good because if I wasn't then I'd probably be sleeping to avoid getting sick (which is how I missed a good portion the first time I did the drive 7 years ago). Mom and I hiked back to little falls and pools and enjoyed great views and stopped to buy some fresh banana bread and fresh lilikoi (passion fruits) for Dave. The road is really winding so you are constantly breaking and turning and breaking. We took one off-shoot from the main road that took us down into a small village where its really lush and the road is really narrow and stopped at the bottom and sat on the hill watching the water for a while..then it was back up the tiny road. After we actually reached Hana we decided to continue on around the island on the back side of the road which becomes really narrow in some spots! We were going around some of the curves and I was silently praying I didn't have to figure out how to get around any other cars coming the other direction. In the really narrow part I lucked out but some of the other areas it got tricky. After driving the really lush road on the way to Hana its such a contrast on the return trip because it gets really dry on the opposite side and almost looks like arizona in some spots...then after that it opened up and looked like midwest farmland. There were a LOT of cows on this back part that were roaming and grazing. They were loose to walk on the road only kept in by fences now and again and cattle guards. I really think this part of the drive is beautiful because the land just opens up and looks like a praire except that there is an ocean in the background. The road is funny here too because its paved then dirt then paved for like 100ft.. then dirt. Finally once its totally paved we end up really high and were literally driving in these clouds we'd seen earlier in the week forming over the mountains - we were up in them and it was cool and misty. I thought it was beautiful! Then its back down and into town and back to the condo. So this drive took us from about 8am - 6pm. This includes our breakfast and snack stops as well as sight seeing stops. We met Dave back at the condo and got showered and ready for dinner. Then all of a sudden I started feeling nauseous kind of and just not great. So mom and Dave went to dinner at Aroma Di'Italia without me. They said it was good italian food and did bring me some bread home :) I was fine the next morning so I think it was just maybe I was tired and all the winding driving got to me. But it was nice to go to bed early!