A Maui Review

            The journey to (and from) Hawaii is a long one, at least from Syracuse. We left early in the morning and flew to Atlanta, which then took us to Los Angles. To prevent a 20 hour travel day, we stayed the night in LA, and then the next morning headed to Maui. The flight to Maui is a little over 5 hours, which is the same amount of time it took to go from LA to Atlanta, so it literally takes a whole United State to get to Hawaii to put into perspective how far away it is from the continental U.S.

            The lady I sat next to on the airplane had the window closed the whole time, but as we came in to land, I asked her if I could open the windows, and thankfully she obliged. It was a stunning view coming in because the plane must go around the island to bank into the airport between the two volcanoes. It was around noon, and the waves were crashing. Tons of white caps were visible from the sky as we sailed down to the ground.

            Hawaii is six hours behind the East coast, and according to a book I read on circadian rhythm and sleep, it takes one day per hour to adjust to the time change, so six hours is six days on a seven-day trip, and it definitely felt that way. It was not until the last day that I felt like I could stay up past 8 and sleep past 5, but that made it easy to get up and get my workout done. Each morning, I got up and did 45 minutes of a body workout. It was a rented condo, so there was no gym, but there was a carpeted floor, and there was an ocean. The first day I was up so early, I went out and did my workout in the dark in some grass by the beach, and the world slowly started to light up around me, which was cool, but that was the only day I did that. It was much easier to do it in the comfort of my own room on the floor.

            After doing my morning workout, I would go for a swim in the ocean. This was the ideal time, because depending on how early I went out for the swim, there was little to no one in the water, which meant that there were less obstacles to swim around. Also the water was at its calmest and clearest in the morning, so that was helpful too. I even found 20 dollars rolling on the bottom of the ocean one day, and I used it to buy a loaf and a half of banana bread. Leaving me with enough money to buy a package to make banana bread when I get home!

One day I waited and did my swim in the afternoon, and the waves were so powerful going out that it took me 20 minutes to go out and only 11 minutes to come back. The view from the beach was beautiful. There were a couple of islands off in the distance that were visible, and one of the mountains on the island was visible. The beach was the perfect distance to swim, it took me 30 minutes to do the out and back in the morning, which was enough swimming for me.

            The one morning where I did not have time to go for my morning swim, we left the condo super early, so we could go see the sunrise at Haleakalā National Park. It was an hour and a half drive to the top, and you must have a reservation to go. The road to the top is incredibly winding, and since we started at the beach, we gained about 10,000 feet on our drive to the top. So the normal warm Hawaii weather did not exist up there. I wore a sweater and pants, and that still was not enough, the wind was whipping. It was not terrible, unless you stood up on the railing, which was the best spot to get an unimpeded view, because there were hundreds of other people up there also trying to get a good picture.

            I do not know if it was the wind whipping making my head cold, or if it was the altitude, but my head hurt. It was worth it to watch the sun crest above the pillowy clouds. The mountain is so high that the clouds literally sit below it. To add to the magic there was some Hawaiian singing that started right as the sun appeared. Also right as the sun appeared a family with a kid in front of my said, “The sun rose, so we can go!” and they actually left. They saw the smallest sliver of the sun appear and decided that was good enough? I got some pictures from a few different angels, and I enjoyed the stunning view before creeping into the visitors center to warm up. This and a short car ride to the actual summit made my head feel better, so I think it was the cold not the altitude that was affecting me. Although I did become out of breath because I was eating a bagel and climbing a small set of stairs, so the altitude was not a nonfactor.

            The other major excursion that we did was a snorkeling trip. The trip included a boat ride that took us to two snorkeling spots. One was Molokini Crater, which is an old volcano where part of top is still sticking out of the top in the shape of a crescent. It also is a hot spot for coral reefs. It was filled with coral and with a variety of fish. A couple of which looked familiar from Finding Nemo, but my favorite one was probably about a foot long, and it was so colorful, like a rainbow. It was a terminal redlip parrotfish. I enjoyed just picking a fish and following it around for a couple of minutes, which worked out well, except for the time when the fish decided to poop when I was right behind it. Nature at its most raw.

            The second spot was supposed to be a place that had sea turtles, but sadly I only saw one. It was lying on the bottom in a bed of coral at least 20 feet down, and it blended in well with its surroundings. It took me a few seconds to spot it even with a group staring down at it.

            There was also a small reef in the ocean by our condo, and when I went and explored it, I saw two sea turtles, and this was a much closer encounter. There was a big one and a small one. As someone who had never seen a sea turtle in the wild before, I was so surprised by their size, they were bigger around than a large pizza! I just sat there and watched them do their thing as they got pushed around by the waves. Also the reefs had sea urchins, which I do not think I had seen in person before. Those things look scary. I definitely tried to keep my distance from them. It is wild to think that the small reef is where some of those fish will live their whole lives. Like that is their whole universe, despite the ocean being so vast.

            Another day, my dad and I went on a drive to a part of the island that we had not seen yet, and it was the lava side of the island. There was a denser rainforest and waterfall side, and there was a lava rock side with a lack of rain. The lava rock was incredible. There were whole fields filled with it, and on a small hike we also came across some wild goats, just like AllTrails had promised. The lava rock varied in color, but one thing was consistent. It was jagged and rough. You do not want to fall on that, and on one beach when I was climbing on it to get a different vantage point, I was very careful, because even using it as a handhold was slightly painful. That side of the island felt very secluded.

            The other drive we did was the Road to Hana. One of the famous drives of Maui. This drive goes through the forested part of the island, and it is known for its twisty road filled with over 600 curves. The road makes you constantly switch directions, and it is filled with beautiful ocean vistas and various stopping points. Some are for short waterfall hikes, and others are for small snack shacks/food trucks on the side of the road.

            We stopped in at one place called the Garden of Eden, and we did a short hike through it. We got to see a rock that was in the opening scene of Jurassic Park, as well as an excellent view of the ocean, and a waterfall. The town of Hana itself was small, and the journey back did not feel like it took nearly as long as it felt to get there.

            At the end of the drive, we stopped to get dinner at a place one of my friends from work recommended, Zippy’s, which was like a Hawaiian fusion diner. They gave big portions, and my plate had four different meats on top of rice with mac salad and chili on the side, and it was amazing. I also ate a ton of fish during the course of the trip, but I think the last night was the best fish. It was a giant piece of salmon served on a bed of Cajun rice, and they had a secret sauce that added some spice that was an incredible addition. I think half of the nights I ate fish tacos, but my favorite fish tacos came in California at the Fire Stone Walker Brewery, and it is safe to say that they had the best beer too, but I did enjoy the two breweries we went to on Maui.

            Overall, trip to Maui was fun. I feel like we basically saw the whole perimeter of the island except for a few miles here and there. It is a very diverse and beautiful place, which I appreciate. It is also like an island petting zoo. There are chickens roaming around everywhere, even in the restaurants. They are even, surprisingly, high up in some trees. There were wild goats, and many signs for cow crossings. The temperature was also never too hot. It maybe made it to 90 once, and for the most part it was in the mid-80s without high humidity like Florida, and the water was not too hot or too cold making for many refreshing dips. I would recommend giving it a visit, but if I were to go back to Hawaii, I would try a different island out.

            I leave you with this airport thought. The weight allowed in a suitcase should vary by the size of a person. If you wear an XL, your clothes will weigh significantly more than a person who wears a small. A hoodie can vary by five ounces or more, so if you go somewhere cold, and you need multiple hoodies it can be a big difference, and if you apply this logic to other pieces of clothing, it is probably an ounce or two for each, that adds up to pounds over the course of  a whole suitcase, that is pounds, so a taller person should be able to get more pounds for their suitcase. Mahalo!