We started our day out with a trip to the Swap Meet (basically a HUGE farmers market). We took our time and walked through the entire place hitting some places more than once. It was hot...and humid. So after we basically melted we headed to Starbucks, our daily ritual. The idea was to get a drink and grab some lunch. We grabbed a drink and hit the road. Somehow we skipped the lunch part. We were wingin' the day so I guess it didn't phase us.
We head toward Twin Falls up the Hana Highway. We had not clue where it was other than around a certain mile post. Finally get to a place where we think could be the Twin Falls....or at least a place where a lot of people were pulling off, so we stop and follow the groups of people. Another side note: the signage in Maui is less than superb. There were NO SIGNS saying...why hello you have made it to Twin Falls and the falls are thatta way. Nope. So we head through these tropical, lush forests with a handful of other wide-eyed folks and finally reached the falls. They were amazing and it was a lot of fun--glad we made the trek which is I think was about 1 mile in and 1 mile out. On our way out we bought a bag of fresh sliced pineapple from the beverage truck sitting at the entrance(mind you for the price of two whole pineapples at the store, but it's all about the experience, right??!).
We loaded back in the car and headed towards the Black Sand beach. We had read a lot of reviews and info about it and a few people said it was about 15-20 min past the Twin Falls. We keep heading up the Hana Highway....and we keep going, and going, and going, and going. We get within like 5 MILES of HANA and FINALLY see a small sign that pointed us towards the caves and Black Sand beach. By this time, the bag of pineapple is long gone and we are two hours into the drive and well, you guesses it, we didn't bring any food...or water. We had had nothing to to eat all day long. But, we see the signs so we have to go check it out for gods sake; we driven all this way, none of us were throwing in the towel yet.
 |
| View from a park along the Hana Highway. |
All of us were happy we found the beach and got to experience it for ourselves. There were caves, trails, and a blow hole. It is totally worth the trip. One bit of advice when heading to Hana, the falls or the beaches along Hana Highway: bring food and water. There are lots of parks and places to stop along highway to have a picnic lunch and take in the sights. Restrooms are plentiful as well.
After a little time is spent exploring Black Sand Beach (Pailoa Bay) we decide we better just hit Hana since we are within sniffing distance. We get to Hana, which is always interesting to see what people think when they get there. It is generally this sigh of disappointment. I am never sure what people are expecting but there isn't much...it is where a lot of locals live and is literally a one horse town. There is a restaurant and a mini-mart with a gas station. Needless to say, everyone was in agreement that we needed to stop and eat. The restaurant, Hana Ranch Restaurant, is actually very nice and serves good food.
 |
| This is the sand! It was so neat! |
 |
| One of a few caves. We could go in because the tide was out. |
 |
| This is where the blow hole is but because the tide was out nothing was spaying out the top. |
We scarfed our food and hit the road. We all wanted out of the car and to get home as fast as we could, of course keeping in mind all of the one lane sections of road and the gazillion foot cliffs that boardered the passenger side of the car.
So, that is our story of the one time we went to Hana without food. It was an adventure to say the least.
No comments:
Post a Comment