The Rowe Family Blog

Overall we spent only 1 day on the beach. We were so busy doing other things that we just didn’t end up on the beach much.

One night/morning we awoke at 2am to drive to the top of Haleakula Crater, a dormant volcano, to view the sunrise. We arrived at the summitt at 4am so we slept in the car for an extra hour. It was cold up there at about 50 degrees but we dressed for it so it wasn’t too bad. We saw the sun rise over the clouds because we were at an elevation of just over 10,000 feet.

Near the end of our stay we drove “the road to Hana.” The road to Hana is a road that goes around the east side of Maui. It is a twisty and narrow road with one lane bridges and a 15 mile per hour speed limit (which you couldn’t exceed if you tried). Along the way there is a ton of scenery including multiple waterfalls and strange vegetation from the rain forest. We bought a CD so that we could have a self guided tour. That worked out very well because we got a lot of interesting info from the CD but we also could spend as long as we wanted when we stopped at places.

We wore our swim suits and swam in some of the pools under the waterfalls. The best place for this was right at the end of the drive at Oheo, also known as the Seven Sacred Pools. At Oheo there is a series of waterfalls that drain into pools. Each pool then drains into another waterfall and into another pool until the water reaches the ocean. There were two location there where we were able to jump from rocks into the water. Mary and I both had a lot of fun jumping from the rocks. When it was getting near time to leave rain came in off the ocean. That was the only rain we encountered on the entire trip and we took it as our cue to start the long drive back.

It might seem strange but one of the major highlights of our trip was the night we went to Warren and Annabelle’s. Warren and Annabell’s is a close-up slight of hand magic show that I was turned onto by my friend John. It’s more than just a magic show as you can purchase dinner and drinks to enjoy in their lounge area before the show starts. Also, the show is more than just magic. Warren is hilarious and we laughed non-stop once we got into the theater. In the lounge Annabelle, a ghost entertains the guests by playing the piano. When you get up to take picture of her she stops playing and turns to the camera. She also takes requests and plays songs that are requested. When we return to Maui we will be attending this show again. If you got to Maui you MUST see this show. You should book your tickets before you leave because it sells out quickly.

Warren and Annabelles is located on Front Street which is a neat little tourist area. It’s right on the beach and lined with shops, art galleries (cool ones), and restaurants. We ate on Front Street a couple of times and spent some time exploring.

One day during our stay we did some exploring. We drove to the Maui Ocean Center and spent a lot of time there. We saw scallopped hammer head sharks, sea turtles, and even a large tiger shark. We arrived just in time to see the sharks being fed. Mary really likes sea turtles and took a number of good photos of them. On the same day we drove to Iao Valley Park which is a park in the main valley of Maui. We breezed through there quickly. It was scenic but not time consuming. We also stopped at the Maui Tropical Plantation. We declined a guided tour and instead wandered a bit on our own. We saw banana trees and other fruits and flowers grown in Hawaii.
Since it is nearly mandatory we attended a luau. We went to the Old Lahaina Luau that boasts of being the most authentic luau in Hawaii. While that may be true we didn’t really enjoy it very much. For some people I am sure it is entertaining but it just wasn’t our thing. The food was good but not fantastic. Mary tried poi, the common starch food Hawaiians eat. It’s a greyish purple lquidy paste made from a crushed up root. She said it was bland and not very good. I didn’t try it. I was disappointed in the bar. While it was an open bar it didn’t really matter. I’ve never had drinks more watered down than what they served there. I had 4 cocktails in a short period of time and didn’t even feel a buzz!

Near the end of our stay we went on a snorkeling trip to Molokini crater aboard the Prince Kuhio boat. For this outing we were picked up near our hotel and driven to Malea Bay where the boat leaves. There was a continental breakfast on the boat that was enojyable. On the way out I popped some dramamine because I tend to get motion sick but it was a calm morning. The snorkeling at Molokini was good but not breathtaking. We were able to see a number of tropical fish in the wild in the crystal clear waters. After about an hour at Molokini we went to “Turtle Bay” to see sea turtles. We saw a few but they tend to just sit on the ocean floor. Even with the clear water you don’t see a ton of detail at a depth of 25 feet. Some turtles did surface but we weren’t near them at the time. It was here that Mary threw up in the water. The water was choppier here and a number of people got sick. We spent a little bit less than an hour in the water there before heading back onto the boat. They had lunch for us, and drinks too but neither of us wanted drinks. I ate some lunch but Mary wasn’t feeling up to it much.

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