Hawaii days 10 through 14

       Our last few days in Hawaii were spent relaxing and enjoying the environment.  It was an incredible trip, and we will try to summarize the past few days in words and photos.

 Wailua Falls pool

      Charlie spent some time in the pool at Wailua Falls just outside Hana, and they both hiked down . . .

 Venus Pool, near Hana 

       . . . to a huge pool at the ocean fed by a mountain stream ending in waterfalls.  We spent some time at a black sand beach in a park near Hana, and hiked out to a red sand beach in the afternoon, where we snorkeled in a protected area.  Remind me to tell you more about that particular beach later.

Red sand beach and snorkeling pool

       The "non-essential" federal employees all having been furloughed thanks to the fiasco in Washington, we could not get into the national park near Hana to visit what the local merchants have dubbed the "Seven Sacred Pools" and their waterfalls.  But we did find out that there are not seven of them, and they are not considered sacred, except by those who make a few bucks from the tourists.  And when we tried to sneak into the park, we discovered plenty of Park Service employees must be considered essential, since they were all standing around blocking the parking areas and trails to be sure no one could get into the park.

      Not far from the solar-powered place where we were staying, we visited the grave of one of the most famous Americans of the 20th Century.  In 1927 he spent 33 hours alone in a single-engine plane, fighting hallucinations and exhaustion (he didn't sleep the night before takeoff, so hadn't slept for more than 50 hours) to become the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic.  Instantly becoming one of the greatest heroes in American history, he was greeted by four million people upon his return to New York.  Everyone on the planet who had any means of contact with the outside world knew the name and feat of Charles Lindberg--perhaps even more than many years later would know the name Neil Armstrong.

       After the kidnapping for ransom of his baby several years later (the baby died in an accident before the kidnapper even left the property), Lindbergh moved to the eastern part of Maui, where many people come to simply be left alone.  Whatever his motive, he contracted lymphosarcoma and went for treatments in New York.  When the cancer had progressed so far that the doctors gave him only a few days to live, he insisted on being taken on a stretcher to board a commercial Boeing 747 and was flown to Maui, where he soon passed away.  Lindberg's final resting place is a simple grave overlooking the Pacific on the eastern coast of Maui, where few tourists visit.  Even fewer stop to pay their respects to this genuine American hero.

 Hero's grave

       Leaving Hana, we traveled along the dry south coast, stopping from time to time for photos:

Black sand beach and arch, south shore of Maui

Wind turbines on the dry south coast

     After arriving at our accommodations in Kehei, on what they call the south coast, we had lunch with Charlie's old high school classmate, Cheryle Peeples Coopat and her husband, Tom.  There was a lot of catching up to do, as the two hadn't seen each other but once or twice since 1964.  It was Charlie's favorite meal of the trip (Cheryle insisted on paying).

Mini-class reunion at Tommy Bahamas Restaurant on Maui

       We did have an interesting dinner at a place near the harbor, where the license plates on the wall gained some company, with their first license plate from the great state of Georgia, continuing a long tradition for one in our party.

 A Georgia license plate for Beach Bum's Bar and Grill

       We swam, sunned, snorkeled, and relaxed, until doing one last special trip to see the sun rise at nearly 10,000 feet.  We had learned of the budget "deal" and called to inform one of the companies offering this trip that the national park would be opening shortly, so we were one of the first people in the past 14 days to be able to make it to the top.  Arising in the middle of the night, we were picked up at 3:20 a.m. and transported to the top of the highest mountain on Maui--Haleakala.  There we waited in the near freezing freezing temperatures for a spectacular sunrise

Just before the sunrise from atop Haleakala

       Following the light show, we were transported down to the park entrance, where we mounted bicycles and coasted down 25 miles or so of mountain roads to a full breakfast at ten.  It was an unforgettable experience, for which we made one stop for photos.

Bikers en route to the coast

       On day 14, we will depart for the long trek back to Georgia, which will include an all-night flight from Honolulu to Atlanta.  We have enjoyed having you travel with us, and hope to report on another trip one of these days.

Charlie and Tricia

©2013

P.S.  Almost forgot one important comment.  A new record may have been set for sampling ice creams over a three-day period.  Lilikoi quark, Big Island macadamia nut coffee crunch, mauna kea, Kona coffee, coconut, lime & ginger, S.P.A.M, Hawaiian tropix, Thai iced tea, coffee crunch, mint stracciatella, and Maui coffee and cream were among the many flavors that delighted one of our group members.  There were others, of course.  The diet back home is going to be brutal.