Hawaii Days 5-6

On Day 5 we did something crazy. We got up at 2:30 AM. Now, we have gone to bed at 2:30 AM before, but getting up at that hour was a new experience. The real miracle here is that we found an activity so enticing that Marc Ricks was willing to get up before dawn to do it. Despite the insanely early start, this was our favorite thing we did on Maui. We drove to a little bike shop which rented us bikes and protective gear then drove us and the bikes to the top of Haleakala, an inactive volcano whose peak rests more than 10,000 ft above sea level. We got to watch the sunrise while a park ranger chanted a traditional greeting to the morning. We were so high, we were watching the sun come up above the clouds. The volcano was so big that when we turned west, the shadow of the volcano looked like a separate mountain range. The photos don't do it justice. The colors were so much more vibrant in person, but here is a little taste of what we saw:

This is the shadow of the volcano when you are looking west.

Once the sun was up, we got on our bikes and coasted the 27 miles down the volcano and back to the bike shop. When I say "coasted" there were two hills that we had to peddle up. Since the bikes had no gears, those two hills were pretty painful but the ride and the view were worth it. At one point, we flew past a radar which clocked us at 23 MPH. We stopped half-way and had breakfast at a charming little restaurant where some anonymous angel picked up our tab for us. We hope to pay it forward. Everything about the ride was heavenly.

Everyone uses the "shaka" or "hang loose" sign in Hawaii. Urban legend has it that it was started by a traffic cop who had lost his 3 middle fingers in an accident.

After a long nap and after Marc attended his afternoon classes we had dinner under the most incredible Banyan tree in Lahaina. When we first saw it, we thought we were entering a grove. I've never seen anything like it. It was planted in 1873, stands more than 60 feet tall and now takes up an entire city block. Just incredible.

Yeah, those are not trunks. Those are supports growing off of branches of this massive tree.

Our last day in Maui was bitter-sweet. We were excited to see our kids again but reluctant to leave paradise. We spent the morning at a rocky beach marvelling at the life in the tidal pools. Then we ate lunch at Mama's Fish House. This is a must. It was expensive, but it was worth it. Everything we had looked beautiful and tasted exquisite. Apparently, it is the #2 restaurant in the entire country. Truly divine.

This is not a brochure photo. This was our view out of our open-air window at Mama's Fish House.

We ate the other courses before thinking about getting a picture, but at least we captured the chocolate caramel pie we had for dessert.

We spent our last hours on the island driving through some little towns and then hiking to some gorgeous waterfalls. We noticed as we were departing that the tourism was really starting to pick up. We were so grateful to have been there when the beaches were quiet and we could often feel as though we were alone in this most beautiful place. We will always have fond memories of Hawaii.