Issue link: https://jmane.uberflip.com/i/504312
43 HANA Alesia at Hana Coast Gallery at the Hotel Hana-Maui. new way when I arrived. Instead of starting out early in the morning, I got a late start and had a wonderful breakfast at CJ's Deli in Kaaanapali. Then I grabbed a Chai Latte at Starbucks, downloaded a GPS tour from GyPSy Guide, (so I wouldn't get lost), and drove over to Greg's house in Makawao, the unique cowboy town above Paia on the slopes of Haleakala. After walking through Makawao and looking at the shops, we drove down to Paia and stopped at the Hana Picnic Lunch Co. Neither of us were hungry, but we had heard that their smoothies and picnic lunches were the best in Maui, and knew they had one of those Hana CDs that comes with a map. We took a quick stroll through Paia while they made our smoothies, then hopped in the car, popped in the CD, took a sip of our drinks (unbelievably delicious), and we were officially off. Our policy was to drive slowly, really take our time, and pull over to let anyone pass that came up behind us. We stopped at every place on the CD and the GPS, plus every stand and town on the way, and at all the secret spots Greg knew about. At each stop we took pictures, always with one of us in the shot. We took time to really soak in the natural beauty of the waterfalls, plants, flowers, beaches, and mountains, but it was always the views that took our breath away. We were awestruck by the sheer idea that natural creation could be so phenomenal to witness. We played a lot along the way too, swinging from vines on the banyan trees and skipping stones on the ocean. We were in no rush to get there, just the opposite, almost challenging ourselves to see how long we could take enjoying our ride to Hana. By the time we arrived at The Garden of Eden, we were hungry. We paid the entrance fee & broke out our picnic lunches, while the peacocks begged for a treat. Then it was back on the road to stop at more waterfalls. When we finally arrived, we went into an art gallery and strolled around looking at the creations of Hawaiian artists, many from Hana. We told Alesia, the gallery director, about our drive, and she said it sounded so wonderful, we were so lucky, and asked "how long did it take you?" To which we answered at the same time, "five hours." She said she had never heard of anyone taking five hours (continued on page 44) "We told the woman about our drive, and she said it sounded so wonderful, we were so lucky, and asked "How long did it take you?" We answered at the same time "five hours." She said she had never heard of anyone taking five hours and that perhaps we had set some kind of record." Hana Bay near Travaasa Hana Hotel. and that perhaps we had set some kind of record. We all had a laugh about it. Next we wandered through the grounds of the Travaasa Hana Hotel. It was still sunny and bright out. We passed a waterfall sliding down a rock wall across from their spa and stopped in. The smell of eucalyptus enveloped us, and thoughts of a massage were on our mind. I looked at Greg and said "are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He nodded his head. It turned out there were a couple of rooms available at the hotel. We took a mini-suite with two rooms. I know it's extravagant, especially when both of us are paying for accommodations, but you only live once- sometimes you just have to splurge. We went back to the spa and booked massages, checked into the room, took a jacuzzi, met with our clients who had invited us to Hana, took tons of pictures, had an amazing dinner at their restaurant, and then crashed. The next morning we really took in the town. We ate breakfast at the hotel, drove to Oheo Gulch (the Hawaiian name for the "Seven Sacred Pools"), hiked through the bamboo forest, went way up the trail to a giant waterfall, explored the Cultural Center, and went to lunch at the Hana Ranch Restaurant (great prices). We bought t-shirts that said "We survived the Road to Hana," and bid farewell to one of the quietest, sleepiest, and most charming towns in the world. We drove home slowly along the same road we came, but it took only two and a half hours this time. Greg was very thirsty at the hotel.