07/07/2025 – Going to Hawaii to escape the Buffalo heat!
Yep, while Buffalo sizzles in the 90’s, Hawaii is pleasantly in the 70’s (or below!)
Our flights to Maui were thankfully unremarkable. We got in on time and had no issues along the way. Although, when we landed in Maui, there was a fire truck on the runway waiting to greet us. When we passed it, it started hosing us down with all of the water it could muster! Oh, my gosh! Is the plane on fire??? No, explained the flight attendant, this plane is carrying a women’s volleyball team which just won their championship and this is the Maui way of welcoming them home!
Since arriving, we have been playing “None shall pass!” We picked up our rental car and tried to leave the parking garage, but the line of cars ahead of us reminded us of the Monty Python line in the Holy Grail. “None shall pass!” The woman working the gate had to leave her box, get the license and rental papers from each driver, go and scan several spots on the car, go back to her box, enter a bunch of information, leave her box and give each driver the paperwork back as well as a full explanation on how car rentals work. We thought about giving her “just a flesh wound.”
After crossing that bridge, the VRBO we rented wasn’t too far from the airport. Our GPS worked nicely and we were soon in the gravel parking lot of the VRBO compound. The dozen cats in the parking lot all said, “None shall pass!” as they stood in front of our car. Once we were finally allowed to park, we had to figure out which of the several structures in the compound was ours. We went to the one that looked like the picture sent to us, but three tiny dogs inside said, “None shall pass!” Finally, the owner came out and greeted us. She is very nice and showed us to our lodging. We went inside, set our stuff down, and then realized that we “had passed” something. The VRBO is not large and we tried to find the bathroom. Turns out, we had passed it on the way to the room. It is located on the front porch. We have to go outside and then open the door labelled “WC” to get to the bathroom, or Water Closet. After settling in, we went looking for our next quest……dinner.
A short walk away was a restaurant recommended by our VRBO host called “Tiffany’s”. We ordered the family-style BBQ chicken thighs and garlic Brussel sprouts. We were not very hungry, but the food was very good, so we finished the meal. We then headed back, sat on the porch, and made friends with some of the 12 community cats that the owner helps to maintain (including spaying and neutering as many as she can.) Some were bolder than the others and took full advantage of our petting services. One even came inside and lay on the bed with us for a while. He was a rescue from the horrendous fires that hit Maui last year. His ear still has some scarring from the horrible fires that burned hot from the invasive eucalyptus trees.
07/08/2025 – We are the Knights who say Nene!
The next morning, we showered, packed for a day trip, hit McDonald’s for some breakfast and headed to Haleakala National Park. Kathy found on the NPS app (highly recommended, by the way!) that they were having a bird walk at 9 am, so we decided to learn about the local avian life. We were glad we had brought at least a thin sweatshirt, as the temperature was only 59 degrees! Ahhh. We saw many red, yellow, and grey birds, including some which are threatened. Habitat destruction, the introduction of harmful invasive insects, mammals, and birds, and climate change have all combined to wreak havoc on the native species. The walk was as informative as it was fun seeing birds like the red, curve-billed native bird called the I’iwi. We were disappointed, however, that we did not see Hawaii’s official bird, the endangered Nene. No nenes!
After the bird walk, we drove to the summit of the dormant volcano and gazed into the crater. We also gazed at a plant we have never seen the likes of before called the Silversword. It looks like it is made from glass crystals. When it flowers, it puts up the huge showy thing that looks like a Christmas tree complete with ornaments. After it flowers, the plant dies! With that thought on our minds, we decided to take a hike into the crater of the volcano. The trail starts at 10,000 feet in elevation, and it is like walking on the craters of the moon. There is no vegetation, at least where we were. Off in the distance, we marveled at the various, although subdued, colors of the park: grays, browns, reds, greens – all in various hues. This side of the park is very dry. As we shall see tomorrow, the other side of the park is not. As we descended deeper into the crater, we were pelted by the lava sand pellets blown around by the high winds. Between the wind and the sun at such a high altitude, we did no favors to the skin on our faces. Good thing we don’t have dermatology appointments until this fall! The wind alternated between the cool 59 degrees and the very warm air being blown at us from below. It was really strange.
07/09/2025 – Bring me a shrubbery! The Knights who say no Nenes! And None shall pass!
This morning, we hit the road early, since it was a 2 ½ hour drive to the trailhead. We decided to hike to Waimuko Falls, which is on the ocean side of Haleakala. This is the rain forest side of the island, with lots of shrubbery! We still didn’t see any nenes. And we ran into lots and lots of “None shall pass!” zones. Although the drive takes 2 ½ hours, it is only 33 miles from our VRBO. Surely, you can get there faster than that, can’t you? Nope. Along those 33 miles are approximately 82 one-lane-only bridges, each with a sign stating, “None shall pass!” – or, in the native Hawaiian tongue, “No passing zone!” In between those 82 single lane bridges were another (approx.) 106 signs that also extraneously advised us that, even when you are not approaching those bridges, you still cannot pass, because the road never has 100 straight feet of asphalt.
Finally getting there, we set off on the 2 miles hike to the falls. It was a beautiful hike, passing much shrubbery including a large (nonnative) bamboo forest. The falls itself was your typical gorgeous Hawaiian waterfall – a strip of white going down a wall of green. And the falls were gushing today, probably due to the torrents of rain coming down for half of the hike. Yesterday, we were pelted by wind and sand pellets being driven by the high winds. Today, we were pelted by the rain. This is island life in Hawaii – half of it is bone dry desert, the other half is shrubbery-filled rainforest. We gotta say, we like the rainy half better, especially hearing the rain beating down on the bamboo like a tympanic orchestra.
Back in town, dinner at one of the ubiquitous food trucks hit the spot. Too bad the shave ice truck was closed, though.
