Haleakala

Click here for more photos of Haleakala

In the Hawaiian language there are oft repeated small words that make up parts of  many larger words. Wai is often used in place names because it means water and water is a vital part of Hawaiian culture. Hence Waikiki, Wailula, Waipio etc. Hale is another one of those words. It means home, and in the case of Maui's enormous volcano, Haleakala means "home of the sun".

Took this photo from the gate of our flight from Maui.
The vastness of Haleakala makes it difficult to photograph.

Like all the Hawaiian islands, Maui is built from volcanoes. In this case, two connected volcanoes rose from the sea floor and are connected by a low lying valley. If one looks at a map of Maui one can easily see that it appears to be two connected islands. The east "island" is, by far, the larger of the two thanks to the vastness of Haleakala.

We decided to take the long (3 hour) drive from Hana to the summit of Haleakala one beautiful day and it was worth the drive. It isn't really a steep mountain but the road switches back over and over as the car ascends. It's quite the experience to begin in a tropical rainforest, drive through dry alpine meadows, rise over the tree line and reach the alpine summit at over 10,000 ft in elevation.

Gaining elevation and looking west toward the smaller Maui volcano

Beneath the clouds

Above the clouds looking west again

The crater at last!

From the summit one gazes into a vast, dry crater. We were told that the crater can hold Manhattan Island inside.  I'm not sure about that, but it is amazing and it reminded me of the vastness of the Grand Canyon. Distances are not easy to understand. The scene looks exactly like the photos being sent from the Rover on Mars.

There are many more photos, including photos from the other end of the national park (by the Seven Sacred Pools) available from the link above.

Mountaintop Observatory

This is a view of Mauna Kea, the 13,000 ft volcano on the island of Hawaii
100 miles distant!  Yeah, that's snow at the summit

Our visit to the great volcano was a great treat. It is a place of unique beauty and I would place it high on a list of sights to see in Hawaii.

Happy on Haleakala!

So, Family Is Good

Cindy, Brooke, Caren, Diane, John

Not long after Diane lost her father in the mid 60's her older and chronologically closest brother, Howard, left Long Island for the University of Hawaii where he did his undergraduate work.  He literally never returned home.  He met and married a lovely and charming young lady, Caren, and together they  raised a beautiful family.  Howard and Caren had two children, Cindy and Troy and they both live nearby their mom on beautiful Oahu.  Sadly, we lost Howard a few years back but we are so aware of his presence and legacy when we get to see his family. They are remarkable people.

And now with Eric added

We had the great pleasure of spending a Sunday with the family.  There was a special celebration at their church as the bishop of Hawaii was visiting their parish for the day.  Cindy is now married to a wonderful guy, Eric, and together they have two children of their own.  Brooke is in seventh grade and Joe is in fourth.  They both play in the school band and we were honored to hear them both play that day.  In the best possible world Brooke and Joe together make up a swinging rhythm section with Brooke on bass (she doubles on guitar) and Joe playing - wait for it - drums!  Oh, yeah baby!

Joe working on his
paradiddles

Brooke dropping it in the groove

All great percussionists know how to count rests

Needless to say, the day was very special and we had a great time.  We finished things off with a hike with Caren on the Makapuu point trail (we spotted whales!) and a dinner in Waikiki's finest restaurant, Hy's where Troy is a waiter.  And good news, he's engaged!  All the best Troy and thanks DeMeo family for making us feel so welcome.

But that's not all!  Diane has another brother, Bill who also lives here.  Bill's wife, Bonita, was off to Indonesia on business so we missed her but met up with Bill for lunch one day before he left to meet Benita in Bali, which is still a 2 day flight from here!  In a moment of incredible dopiness, I neglect to take a photo with Bill on this trip.

We're In Hana Now

Click here for more Hana photos.

Hana Bay

Well, there's a reason this is a rainforest environment with spectacular waterfalls everywhere.  It rains here!  A lot!  So our first day was spent getting out when things cleared up - a trip in the morning and an afternoon adventure.  Our morning trip coincided with a nice clearing out of clouds.  We watched distant whales in the ocean from our deck then headed of to get our bearings, focusing on the rural and sleepy village of Hana and the beautiful bays and beaches that are nearby.

Our neighbor horse

We explored Hana Bay and nearby Red Sand Beach, which was a bit difficult to get to.

Hana Church

In the afternoon we went to explore more beaches, this time finding a nice, sandy bottom bay with great breaking waves.  Ted and I took the plunge and did some body surfing connecting with a 10 year old boy who was out there by himself riding the waves on a boogie board quite expertly.  He showed us the ropes and allowed us to make the Pacific transition with ease.  It is a bit intimidating in the surf here as there are many signs posted warning of the dangers in the ocean and reminding us of the loss of life that regularly occurs. 

Lava chute

Red Sand Beach

Red Sand Beach

Greetings!  Have fun swimming!

Good swimming here...

And here!