2018 Hawaii (Day 5--Road to Hana)

We were back on Maui for Day 5, and it was my favorite day of the trip! We slept in and spent a leisurely day on the road to Hana. We used an iPhone app called Gypsy Guide to guide us on the Road to Hana and help us decide what to do and what to skip. It was also kind of fun to learn some of the island's history from the narrator.

Our first stop was at Halfway to Hana for their famous banana bread and a shave ice.

We stopped at Wailua Valley State Wayside next to take in the gorgeous view.

When we made it to this little pool, I talked Mike into pulling over so we could take a swim. The water was FREEZING, but it was fun.

After our swim, we hit the road again to search for the black sand beaches. But we made a few more stops on the way.

We stopped at the Kahanu Garden where we learned about this king who built a huge castle by the sea.

After our stop at Kahanu, we continued on. The Road to Hana is full of switchbacks and is overgrown with trees in lots of places. It's pretty but very easy to get car sick. I loaded up on Dramamine and did fine on the way to Hana, but not so much on the way back.

By early afternoon, we finally made it to Wainapanapa State Park to see the black sand beach.

I really wanted to stop here because I wanted to try to recreate my favorite picture of my late Grandma Music standing on that beach.

I didn't wear a cute Hawaiian outfit, the beach was super crowded and Mike wasn't catching the vision, so this all we got. But it was fun for me to imagine Grandma enjoying the view and the waves with her friends.

Mike's not a fan of the ocean and the sand, but he was a good sport. I, on the other hand, could stay at the beach forever.

This stop was one of my favorites! I loved the contrast of the bright blue water and the black volcanic rock again the bright green foliage. I took a lot of pictures here because it was gorgeous!

We heard that there was a blow hole so we went looking for it. We weren't quite sure where it was, but thought this might be it. Either way, watching the surf crash against the cliffs was a lot of fun, especially when Mike got soaked.

On our way back to the car, we found this little cave. It was a hot day, but the cave was nice and cool.

By the time we made it to Hana, we were starving. We found some food trucks and settled on some delicious Thai food. Mike ordered coconut chicken and I had a coconut pumpkin curry. Yum!

After lunch/dinner, we decided to visit Wailua Falls before heading to the beach, Mike was super tempted to jump off the platform half way up the falls, but he wasn't quite sure of where to land, so I talked him out of it. Maybe next time!

 Our last stop on the Road to Hana was Hamoa Beach. We did some swimming, reading, relaxing and watched the sun set before the horrible drive back to the hotel. The beach was great, but a word of advice to anyone wanting to do this drive... take lots of dramamine and DON'T drive it in the dark. If you have to, book a hotel in Hana for the night! I was so car sick on the way back(even with the dramamine) that I cried half of the way back and we had to stop so I could puke on the side of the road. I was delirious by the time we reached the hotel and I couldn't function for the rest of the night. The trip to Hana was totally worth it, but never, ever do it in the dark!