The suitcases and I were already in the car as Sue locked up the Cozy Cottage.
The indomitable paddle-boarder.
My idea of leaving the cottage early did not pan out. Sue was catching up on at least a week's worth of sleep deficit. When she finally crawled out of bed, she was in no mood to repack the Rogue and hit the road. While Sue fussed with her stuff, I spent the time studying the guidebook, doing online Sudokus, and munching on potato chips and an apple that Sue had picked up for me. I did not need to pack because I never really unpacked. We finally left at 10:55, five minutes before the checkout deadline.
For the first time in many months or even years I decided to skip showering that morning. Sue made the same decision. The sun was out, and the rain had stopped. I was pretty excited about the prospect of seeing the sights in fair weather. It seemed as if the plan had been a good one. When we finally clambered into the Rogue, the dashboard claimed that it was already 85°!We headed toward Hana and discussed where we might get lunch. Suddenly a text came in on Sue's phone. It was from Theresa. Sue had left behind her sunglasses in the cottage. We immediately executed a U-turn, and drove back to Theresa's house. The sunglasses were waiting for her on a table in Theresa' garage.
The picnic table, Hana Bay, the closed restaurant, and the sparsely populated beach. The dog came later.
All right, it was time to start again. Sue wanted to stop at the main beach on Hana Bay. She had fond memories of this place from 1997. We had seen signs for the Barefoot Café, which was located right on the beach. We decided to try it for lunch. We drove down to the beach, but BC was closed, maybe because it was Sunday, maybe because the owners did not feel like opening it that day. We might have been too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. We parked the car. Sue found an empty picnic table and ate her leftover pizza. Meanwhile I took some photos of the area and a muscular woman who paddle-boarded from the beach near us all the way across the bay and back. I then sat with Sue at the table until I could no longer stand to listen to the music that was blasting from someone's car.
Just as we were about to leave the beach area, a new group of people with a dog arrived. A young man ran down the beach at full speed with the dog loping along right beside him, looking up as if to say “Is that all you've got?” When the man changed course and ran into the surf, the dog came to a sudden halt. Eventually Fido gingerly put his front feet in, but that was enough for him. Sue and I had the distinct impression that we were the only tourists at the beach. Back on Highway 360 we turned left and headed south into the land beyond Hana. Our plan was to drive as far as the section of Mt. Haleakala National Park that included on 'Ohe'o Gulch and the so-called Seven Sacred Pools. My original inclination had been to try to drive completely around the island, but since we had not stopped at all on the road to Hana, we decided to retrace our original route in order to visit one or two attractions. Also, the rental car shuttle driver had warned us not to try it.
The black sand beach at Koki was deserted.
This is the photo of Hamoa Beach that I took from atop the rock wall.
We listened to the phone app while Sue drove. The narrator talked about how the same man founded both the cattle ranch and the hotel that is now known as the Travaasa, the one that charged over $500 per night. Since then there have been some attempts to expand the resort to include a golf course and other tourist attractions. Many of the locals were now adamantly against any plans for more development. In fact, I saw a sign for a website, freehawaii.info. I checked it out. The Free Hawaii movement wanted the U.S. to close all of its military bases in Hawai'i, pay reparations, and allow the lawful government (as opposed to the “fake” state government) to assume
kuleana to manage the islands as an independent country. Their idea was to make so much noise that the entire world would come together to force the United States to do all of this.
 I don't remember where I took this ... |  or this ... |  ... or this. |
The narrator on the app, who had said that the development issue was a difficult one for everyone, now advised us to take a short side trip to see Koki Beach and Hamoa Beach. I took photos at both of them. The Hamoa Beach was well off of the highway and far below it off to my right. I had to stand on a rock wall just to get a photo of it. A more interesting photo was available to everyone else in the vicinity. A seventy-year old man had climbed a rock wall to take a photo of some sand and water by holding his camera over his head.
 Wailua Falls was worth a photo, ... |  but it wasn't worth ... |  ... risking life and limb. |
I think that this is 'Ala'u Island.
A short distance down the highway we pulled over at Wailua Falls. By that point Sue had seen enough waterfalls. I was interested in taking the short hike down to the pool until I realized how steep and slippery the descent was. In 1997 I would have been down there in a trice. However, I had just defied death on the stone wall, and I decided not to press my luck. I took some photos of the falls from the road, and I exhorted Sue to walk back to the bridge to see them as well.
That knob on top was apparently just a palm tree bent in the wind.
It was hot and sunny when we entered the National Park. We bought an annual senior pass because that was cheaper than buying the entry fee. I guess that it allowed us entry into any national park for free during the subsequent twelve months. We parked on the third level of the parking lot. I noticed that a red Mustang convertible was parked across from the stairway that led down to the headquarters buildings.
The Pipiwai trail was probably too steep for an old man.
We decided to split up. I proposed to hike up to the Pipiwai Trail and return in time to meet with her at 1:30. Sue would either follow one of the other trails that led down to the pools or do whatever else she wanted to do.
Makahiku Falls was not worth it.
I knew that I was in no shape to climb all the way up to the Waimoku Falls unless I really paced myself, but I was pretty sure that I could make it as far as the overlook for the Makahiku falls. It was quite warm, and I was not used to walking uphill on stone slabs and roots. I did manage to make it to the overlook for the falls, but it was a huge disappointment. The water fell a long way — over two hundred feet — but there was very little of it. The word “trickle” came to mind. The other hikers did not even bother to take photos of it before heading up the trail.
The view of the gulch was interesting.
There were some pretty good views of the gulch at certain points. Evidently if it had been raining hard at the summit of Haleakala, the water would just pour down the gulch that was just a few feet from us. That would probably be spectacular. However, on this day it was quite dry. I turned around and headed back to the headquarters buildings. For me the descent was more difficult than the climb. I was hesitant to put too much weight on my right foot. If my knee gave out, I would not mind falling down
per se, but I had my camera around my neck, and I did not want to break it. I also did not crave the embarrassment and attention. Not to fear: I arrived intact only a minute or two before the meeting time. Sue was not there, but that did not surprise me much.
Some people did not believe in the magic of the market.
I went inside the headquarters building, where I was shocked to discover that there was nothing for sale, not even bottled water or souvenirs. I supposed that it was possible that there was no electricity, but they could easily have sold water for $5 per bottle to people returning from that climb on a day like this. And it was December! What must it be like in July?
This shrine was maintained by one lady.
Fortunately, I found just what I was looking for — a bench in the shade. A ranger came out and talked with some ladies about birds in the area. He gave out cards with photos for identifying some of the species. I got one for Sue. At ten minutes to two I began to become a little worried about Sue. First I walked up to the car to see if she was there. I stopped on the level with the red Mustang convertible, but I could not find the Rogue. A different SUV was parked where I expected the Rogue to be. Had Sue left? I climbed up one more level. A different red Mustang convertible was parked across from the stairs. I found the Rogue where we left it locked and uninhabited. I walked back down the stairs over to the spot where the three trails diverged. I waited there for another five minutes or so. Sue finally appeared, but she was obviously totally spent. The trail that she took went downhill, and she had not adequately accounted for how much energy the return trip would require. She needed to rest for a few minutes before facing the uphill return trip to the car. By then it was well after 2 o'clock, and we were still four hours away from our hotel in Lahaina even if we made no stops.
At one point the ocean was just barely visible.
When we could see the coastline, it was usually beautiful.
We climbed the stairs back up to the car and began the trip back to civilization. At this point both of us were ready to kill for something wet and cold. We stopped in Hana at Hasegawa's General Store, where I purchased cold beverages for both of us. Our plan was to stop for a late lunch/early supper at one of the food places in Nahiku, which turned out to be farther away than I remembered from Saturday. We were happy to see that the roadside stands were open. We both got Huli Chicken at Eric's. Sue also purchased some fresh fruit at the adjacent stand. We had a good time eating while seated at the picnic tables. The vegetables were frozen, and the rice was bland, but the chicken tasted very good. In fact, I told Sue that this was the best meal that I had eaten on either trip to Hawai'i. It did not hold that distinction long, but it was still a remarkable evaluation.
Don't go to Hana without trying the Huli.
Shortly thereafter it began to rain, and the temperature began to fall — from a high of 85 down to 69, the only temperature below 70 that we experienced in our entire time in the islands. I took the wheel and drove the rest of the way. Sue was not bothered by motion sickness, but she did think that I was driving a little fast. At one point the road was very narrow, and the car brushed up against some roadside shrubbery.
Captain cook.
The narration on the GyPSy app turned historical on the return trip. I was pretty deeply engrossed in the story of Captain Cook's relationship with the islands. The segment ended after a few minutes, as usual, and their was a pause, as usual. But the next segment never started again. Evidently the app could no longer read our location. Sue fiddled with it. We even steered the car into a pullover, turned the phone all the way off, turned the phone back on, and restarted the app. We could not force it to resume.
King David Kālakaua.
We decided not to stop at the botanical gardens or anywhere else. It would not have been fun in the rain, and at this point we were ready to return to the sun and flatness of the west side of Maui. The app finally came alive again at least an hour later. By then all of the Kamehameha Kings had come and gone, and Hawai'i was being ruled by David Kālakaua. We heard the saddest parts of the story in which double-dealing Americans seized control of the island and imprisoned Queen Lili'uokalani as a traitor. Then after World War II southern congressmen and senators dragged their heels about admitting Hawai'i as a state. They worried that if people came there and witnessed so many different races living in harmony it might undermine the Jim Crow mentality prevalent throughout the mainland.
Room #15 at the Plantation Inn.
It rained all the way to just outside of Pa'ia, where we stopped for a gelato. I was amazed to find a parking spot nearby. We ate our ice cream while seated at a couple of chairs in the store. Afterwards Sue tarried to look for gifts for her sisters. I strolled around outside to absorb the atmosphere of the place.
We arrived in Lahaina at about 6:30. It was dark, but the Plantation Inn was quite easy to find. I stayed in the double-parked car while Sue went in to find the registration desk. It was supervised by a woman named Donna, whose main job at the hotel was to organize the free poolside breakfasts. Donna gave Sue the electronic keys and showed her around. She also told me where to park the Rogue.
The lanai.
Donna then persuaded a young man (a guest!) to help us tote the luggage upstairs to our room, #15, a corner room that had a lanai that overlooked the pool. I think that I could have managed to drag the two blue bags up the stairs, but I would have taken them one at a time, and I would have needed a short break in between. He grabbed each by a handle and hauled them up together.
The pool area by night.
We needed a few things. I volunteered to play Tonto and walk the three short blocks into town to get some supplies. We were out of toothpaste and Listerine. I also wanted to pick up a bottle of scotch because I was tired of paying bar prices. I found all three items at an ABC Store that was pretty much right where my twenty-one-year-old recollections expected it to be. The bottle of Dewars was a little larger than I wanted, but the Listerine bottle was precisely what Sue asked me to get, a rare triumph for me. I got some ice from the hotel's ice machine, and fixed us both a drink in flimsy plastic cups. Sue did not like the cups, but in every other respect this room seemed very nice. We were both very happy with it. Sue fell asleep at 8 o'clock. I was out an hour later, but first I took advantage of the indoor plumbing to take a nice shower.
If you can read this card, you probably are not eligible to use it.
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