Hawaii Day Seven:
Today we planned to go to Haleakala. Lots of people go for sunrise and it’s incredible views, but part of travelling with a kid is compromising and missing out on certain things. We left the hotel around 8:30 after booking a flight to LAX for tomorrow and had about an hour and a half until we were to reach the summit.
The first half of the drive is the same as going to the RTH and anything on that side of the island. To get to Haleakala, you start on the RTH and veer right and inland. Our timing seemed good as we did not have any early morning sunrise rush, and we did not have the midday traffic. The road up to the Haleakala and the crater is very spacious by Hawaii standards and I think had only one location where it was one lane only. One thing to be on the lookout for, are all the bikers. There are serious bikers making the climb (~10,000 feet in elevation) and there are tourists who are part of a tour that bike down the mountain. These are the ones to really look out for. Aside from the bikers and some perilous turns as you climb through the clouds with no railings, it is an amazing drive. The roads are windy and not meant to be sped through (not that one can really do that if they tried), and the drive up is one you don’t want to miss. You will likely have your camera out of the window most of the way up trying to get pictures.
Not too far from the summit, there is a lookout with a small trail that leads to an incredible alternate view of the crater. The name of the lookout is Leleiwi, and be sure not to miss it and the short hike. After you pick your mouth of f the floor and walk back to your car, it is a short drive to the summit. The summit has a visitor center and hut type structure where one can see the crater and read some facts on the area. It is nice to get some pictures, but not much else to do up there. The way down you can coast the whole way and not even hit the gas. We did get stuck in some really thick cloud cover, making it feel like a bad horror movie at times.
Before we hit the main road back into town, we made a detour to Makawao. Makawao is a very small town and has one real “main” road with some nice walking. There is a glass blowing shop where you can see live demos, some small stores and art shops as well as the Makawao museum. The Makawao museum is a very small store front with some placards and information up about the town. There are a couple of saddles as well, which you can sit in and take your picture with a cowboy hat on.
After this stop, we headed back into town and made a stop at the recently opened Target to take care of some business and then drove back to the hotel. We made a brief stop at the hotel for a light lunch and snacks, and then headed out to Honolua Bay for some snorkeling. The bay is about fifteen minutes from the hotel and offers a nice ten-minute walk through the forests to the edge of the water. There is no real place to sit, rather just dump your stuff on the rocks and head into the water. While not packed when we got there, it was not empty either. The water was a bit murky, but once you made it a bit offshore, you could see some coral and fish.
After the snorkeling, we went back to the hotel for some more kid friendly swimming and a quick soak in the hot tub. Had the hotel warm up some leftovers, stopped off for a drink at the Regency Club and came back to the room, showered and cleaned up in time to answer the door and our dinner. I will now leave you, have some dinner and hope to have another installment from LA tomorrow.
