Maui, Day Three

Long before I set foot on Maui, I'd heard about the famous Road to Hana, which is a 50-mile stretch of road that takes you from Kahului to a little town called Hana. I'd heard people refer to it as paradise, or as a glimpse of what heaven must look like.

So even though I knew it would require a day in the car, I had to see for myself whether the Road to Hana was worth the hype. It was.

It's hard to describe and pictures don't really do it justice, but it was a jaw-droppingly gorgeous drive through what I believe must be one of the prettiest places on the planet. We left the hotel just before 7:00, stopped for breakfast, and then spent the entire day on the road (the reason it takes so long is the road is extremely narrow and winding, with lots of one lane bridges, and the speed limit is often only 35 mph).

We stopped and hiked a few times, and had a nice picnic lunch next to the ocean at Hana Bay.

A waterfall in an area called Twin Falls

Another gorgeous waterfall

The ruins at Pi'ilanihale, a 16th century religious temple made out of lava rock
that is now a national historical landmark

Sand at a black sand beach that we found along the drive

The black sand beach made the water look really dark as it rolled in

Pretty view of the coastline

These orange flowering trees were everywhere

A lush green valley