Maui, Day One

We got up at the crack of dawn this morning because Jason had booked an early morning helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian. We got an hour-long, aerial view of much of Maui, including birds-eye views of the dormant volcano Haleakala, and the rainforest and coastlines. There was one other couple on the ride with us - who just happened to be from San Diego also - and Jason and I lucked out and were assigned the two front seats next to the pilot (they weigh you at check-in and determine seating order based on weight distribution).

Following our helicopter ride we found a local diner with a strange name (The Tasty Crust) but really good reviews on Yelp... so we stopped in for breakfast. The banana pancakes came highly recommended were delish!

Jason skipped the banana pancakes because he had another banana treat in mind: bread. Specifically, banana bread that he heard was for sale at a roadside stand in the rural mountainous village of Kahakuloa. The magazine and map we were using as our trip advisor cautioned us that the twisting, one-lane road into Kahakuloa was breath-takingly beautiful, but "not for the faint of heart." We quickly learned why - the narrow road was literally set against the edge of sheer cliffs with no guardrail, and if you met a car coming the opposite direction as you one car was forced to scoot over to the side or back up in order to let one squeeze by. As Jason was driving, and the ocean was on the passenger side, I had some stomach-wrenching views straight down from my window.

The good news is, we found the stand with the banana bread - fresh out of the oven - as well as some homemade coconut candy and some fresh pineapple. The bad news is, I left my stomach in Kahakuloa. It was a gorgeous drive but one I never want to do again!

We ended up getting back to the hotel around 2:00 and took a refreshing nap, then walked around the hotel grounds and laid by the pool for a couple of hours. We're ending our day with room service dinner outdoors on our patio!

The view from our room at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort at 6:15 a.m. today

We thought we might get caught in a morning rainstorm during our helicopter ride, but just prior to take-off the dark clouds broke open and a rainbow appeared right over the helicopter. We took it as a sign that we'd be safe!


Craters from old lava eruptions on Mount Haleakala

Another view of the volcano - we were at eye-level with the cloud cover

A view of the rainforest

A waterfall in the rainforest

Scenery during our drive to Kahakuloa

Jason buying banana bread from the sought-after roadside stand

Jason enjoying his banana bread

Me enjoying some fresh pineapple