Our daughter graduates from high school this year, and is planning to start college in the fall. When we started thinking of something we could do for her spring break, it suddenly hit us this could be our last family vacation together. We are usually lucky if we can take a major vacation every five years or so, but we wanted a special family outing we could all remember for years to come.

With just under two months to plan, I frantically searched for activities and destinations we might be interested in. Unfortunately, most were already booked, we couldn't afford them, or it was simply the wrong time of year. It looked like Disneyland was working it's way to the top of our list when I suddenly found really cheap airfare to Maui. The nearly half price tickets were too good to pass up, so our plans were set. It was a nerve wracking couple of weeks trying to find lodging that wasn't already booked, but in the end a week in Maui cost less than three days would have at Disneyland.

Day 1: April 4, 2007

The flight to Maui was scheduled to leave Portland, Oregon at a very reasonable 10:00am. Plenty of time to get up, get to the airport, park the car, and get checked in. A relaxing way to start a vacation. We started boarding the plane around 9:30am, and the plane pushed back from the terminal just before 10am. Unfortunately, the starter on the plane failed, so we had to go back to the terminal and wait eight hours in the airport while a replacement part was shipped down from Seattle and installed. We made the best of it, but eight hours in an airport can be very boring, especially when the majority of the shops are on the other side of security.

Finally, around 6:00pm we reboarded the plane and were on our way to Maui. After experiencing problems with the plane, we were all slightly nervous about flying, but our flight proceeded smoothly without any further interuptions. Our plane landed in Kahului around 9:00pm and we picked up our luggage and PT Cruiser rental car. Our shuttle bus was driven by a gal who must sideline as an Indy car racer. The bus was leaning side to side, we're sliding around on the seats, and yet we were laughing like crazy wondering whether we would make it there alive. :) Then we made a quick stop for groceries, and arrived at our rental on Maui's north shore around 10:00pm. It had been a long day so we settled in quickly and went right to bed.

Day 2: April 5, 2007

My original plan was to take advantage of the three hour time difference at home, and drive up to watch the sunrise on Haleakala. But none of us wanted to get up early after the previous long day. So, we slept in till 9:00am or so, and had breakfast out on the upper deck of our rental. It was great to sit there in shorts, soaking up the sunshine, and listening to the birds singing.

Our Kalipo Place rental in the Haiku area was a fairly central location to get to the other areas of the island, but it also meant most activities required a drive to get to them. So we decided to start with west Maui where Kapalua Bay is located. Our daughter had never been snorkeling before, and I heard this was supposed to be a nice place for beginners to learn. Unfortunately, this area is also quite developed with resorts and limited parking, so by the time we arrived there wasn't any place to park within a mile or more. So, we abandoned Kapalua Bay and drove on up to Slaughterhouse Beach. The water was far too rough for snorkeling, but we all had a blast playing in the waves. Considering it had been snowing a few weeks earlier back home, we were just enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.

From there we continued on up around west Maui. We never found many of the sights we were looking for, like the Olivine Pools or the Nakalele blowhole. But we still enjoyed the scenery along the way. One of my biggest surprises was how dry and desolate west Maui was. Not at all the "tropical" environment I imagined.

At the top end of west Maui, the road shinks down to a VERY narrow road carved into the side of the cliffs. In places, it's barely wide enough for one car, with a hundred foot drop to the ocean below. Most people would turn around and head back the way they came, but we really enjoyed the experience (and I'm not sure HOW you would turn around anyway. :) ). Thankfully, we only met one or two other cars in places where there was an area at least wide enough to squeeze by each other. As we followed the twisting little cliffside road, we eventually came down into the little village of Kahakaloa. There's not much there, just a few small houses and farm animals, but off on the side was a little pink trailer where we stopped for ice cream and water. I had a coconut shave ice, my wife and daughter had coconut ice cream. We had run out of beverages many miles back on the little mountain road, so these desserts tasted heavenly. Ironically, the lady who runs the stand sings on the album "Ululani" with her husband Richard Ho'opi'i. And yet, here she was in this little village, serving us snacks out of a trailer, and crocheting little pineapple shaped hot pads.

Soon we were on our way again, heading back up the cliffside away from the village. Just as we crossed a little bridge thinking we were as far from civilization as a person can get, we had to pull off and let a school bus go by. Imagining a school bus on these narrow little roads, I doubt my daughter will ever complain about her bus ride again! :)

It was only a few miles, but it took well over an hour to make the drive along the narrow roads. Once we got back to a two lane road, we made another stop for groceries and headed back to our rental on Kalipo place.

Day 3: April 6, 2007

Having seen west Maui, we decided to check out south Maui. We tried to leave early to beat the crowds, but the area was already quite full when we arrived around 9:30am. After we made our way through the resort areas, we stopped and went swimming on the south end of Big Beach. We had hoped to go snorkeling, but the waves were far too rough for that. Still we had a blast getting pounded into the beach with each wave.

We still really wanted to go snorkeling, so we continued south and stopped at Ahihi Cove. It was a very rocky little bay with no sand whatsoever. And the water was fairly murky from the incoming waves. But it was our first chance to snorkel and we were instantly rewarded with fish sightings, even in the murky waters. My wife and daughter mostly stayed near the shore dipping their heads into the water, but they had a blast. I ventured out further in the cove where the water was a little clearer and there was more to see, but we all really enjoyed snorkeling.

From there we continued heading south to the end of the road. Like west Maui, the south part of the island is very dry, only with lots of volcanic rock. One of the bigger surprises was seeing cactus plants all along the road. At times it felt more like Arizona than Hawaii. But it certainly made for an interesting drive.

When we reached the end of the road we headed back to our rental, arriving just in time to watch the sunset at Ho'okipa Beach on the north shore.

Day 4: April 7, 2007

We felt very much at home at our Kalipo Place rental, but it was already booked for the next three days. So we had to change rentals this day and move to the Blue Horizon Hideaway.

We had enjoyed snorkeling at Ahihi Cove so much the day before we decided to go to south Maui again and do more snorkeling. I had heard Ulua beach was supposed to be nice for snorkeling, but as with Kapalua Bay on west Maui, the parking was completely filled up by the time we arrived. So we just continued south and snorkeled in Ahihi cove again.

From there we headed back north, stopping at Da Kitchen in Kihei for some local Hawaiian food. Then we headed to the Iao Needle west of Wailuku. We hiked around the beautiful little valley a while and watched locals jump from one of the bridges before we headed off to find our new rental. We all enjoyed the Iao valley, as it was the first tropical looking scenery we had seen since we arrived on Maui.

We stopped for groceries again, then headed a little east of our first rental to the Blue Horizon Hideaway in the Huelo area on the north shore of Maui.

Day 5: April 8, 2007

Easter Sunday on Maui, and our day to drive the road to Hana. After driving the narrow one lane cliffside road on west Maui, the legendary Hana highway seemed like a breeze. But it still took us two hours to travel 30 miles or so, with all the twists and turns. A slow, but pleasant drive, with all the tropical greenery we had hoped to see.

We stopped at Waianapanapa state park, then continued on past Hana to the Ohe'o gulch (7 sacred pools). This was a beautiful jungle area, with numerous cascading pools coming down the valley. We walked down for a quick dip in the pools before starting our hike up the Pipiwai trail. One of the biggest challenges was just finding where the trail started, just after the "blow horn" road sign, back near the parking lot. I'm not sure why the trail map sent us down to the pools first, but we eventually found it.

The Pipiwai trail was almost four miles round trip, but it was definitely worth the gentle climb. We passed an impressive looking banyon tree, hiked through a dense bamboo forest, passed several small waterfalls, and ended at the base of a sheer faced cliff with a very tall waterfall. Along the hike back down, we stopped and went swimming in one of the pools in the stream. Very refreshing and almost too perfect to be real.

Along the way back to the Blue Horizon rental, we stopped at Hamoa Bay and watched some people surfing, then stopped again at Hana Bay. I had hoped to do some snorkeling in Hana Bay, and it looked like it would have been nice. But we were tired from hiking, and still had a two hour drive ahead of us on the Hana highway, so we just continued driving.

The Blue Horizon had a hot tub on the deck, so my wife and I went out for a soak that night. A nice way to end the day, and relax our tired bodies.

Day 6: April 9, 2007

I hadn't planned anything for this day, leaving it open to do things we ran out of time for, or to explore new things we discovered on the island. Since we never made it to Haleakala the first morning after we arrived, we decided to drive up and see it today. It was a fairly wet and gloomy day anyway, so it worked out well.

Most of our drive up the slopes of Haleakala was in a dense fog. More accurately, we were gaining enough elevation to be driving in the clouds. Cattle are allowed to roam free on the mountain, and we passed several cows standing in the road along the way. Eventually we rose up above the clouds to a beautiful blue sky. The view from the top at 10,000 feet was amazing, blue sky above and white clouds below. It was like looking out of an airplane, except there's no plane. And this may be Hawaii, but at 10,000 feet the air is cold, dry, and windy. We all bundled up with full pants and coats and still couldn't stand out in it very long, despite the bright sunshine.

The top of Haleakala is almost like another world. Rough volcanic rock with little to no vegetation. It almost felt like you could reach out and touch the hand of God, and we joked along the way about finding a burning bush up there. Unless you're into rocks, there's not much to look at, but the views and scale of the mountain are unbelievable. And the view down into the crater is very colorful considering it's all just rock. Though oddly enough, we did see several birds up at those elevations.

We drove back down the mountain, keeping the car in a low gear to avoid brake failure. We descended into the clouds and rain, and stopped at the Kula Lodge restaurant just after dark when we came out the bottom side of the clouds. The view of the island from the restaurant was amazing, and the food was very good. Unfortunately, at $120 with an extremely small tip, I think it's the most expensive meal we've ever had. But it's a great place to eat if you can afford it.

Day 7: April 10, 2007

All good things must end, and it was our day to go home. Thankfully, the Blue Horizon hideaway had a late checkout, so we were able to relax around the rental before heading off to the airport.

When we got to the Kahului airport, we had a bit of a struggle finding our rental car return. Unlike the other rental companies, our Thrifty rental was on it's own little road further back away from the airport. Eventually, we returned the car, took the shuttle back to the airport (with a better driver this time), and waited for our plane. Our flight back home was uneventful, except for a broken projector which prevented us from watching the in-flight movie. Still, we left on time, and our vacation ended with a very smooth landing back in Portland.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of things to see and do on Maui, and we really enjoyed our trip. I didn't realize so much of the island would be as dry and desolate as it is, but the Iao valley and the eastern part of the island are very green and beautiful. Even though it's farther from the beaches, we really enjoyed staying on the north shore. I loved waking up to the sounds of the birds, and stepping out on the decks each morning surrounded by greenery, sunshine, and fresh air.

We enjoyed both of our rentals, though I think we felt more at home at the Kalipo place rental. It just has more of the rustic style we typically look for. I loved having breakfast out on the deck each morning. However, the bathrooms should really have new shower valves installed, as the water is extremely hot and it's easy to get burned there. But as long as you're careful, it's usable.

The Blue Horizon was larger and quite comfortable, but it was plagued with strong musty smells that hinted of moisture problems. Still, it was quiet, had a great view of the ocean, and was surrounded by lush vegetation. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes loved the vegetation too, which prevented us from eating out on the deck as we did at Kalipo Place. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at either rental again if we had the chance.

I personally found Maui to be a little too developed, at least in the areas near the beaches. Many of the best beaches we wanted to visit were surrounded by resorts making them effectively inaccessable unless you're staying in those areas. Yes, the manicured lawns and gardens are attractive, but I came to see Hawaii, not a man made resort. If that's you're thing, you'll find it ideal.

I also didn't see much of what I consider Hawaiian culture on Maui. Compared to our visit to Kauai and the Big Island, Maui seemed very "mainland". Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, without the friendly courtesy and relaxing laid back feeling we had on the other islands. The closest we came was the little village of Kahakuloa on west Maui, and the eastern side of Maui near Hana. Of course, our last visit to Hawaii was almost seven years ago, so things may have changed there as well.

The eight hour delay caused by the broken starter on our Hawaiian Airlines flight was unfortunate, but to their credit they did give us $200 vouchers for future travel in the next year. It wasn't in our plans, but if rates come down enough to make the vouchers usable, my wife and I might make a return trip to Kaui. Still, a broken starter, inoperative movie projector, and a half-working headphone jack in one of our seats, makes one question what else is falling apart on the plane...

In any case, we had a great time and it was a trip we'll always remember. We wouldn't hesitate to go back if we had the opportunity.