Our Hawaiian experience

Now that our Hawaii vacation is over, and before we forget everything, I wanted to take a few moments to reflect upon our best memories and experience during a fun week of great weather outside our mountain environment. Perhaps the most visual souvenir will be some of the best world's surfers of all persuasions dancing on the waves at Ho'okipa beach, neck to neck with the postcard-quality sunsets we were treated to each evening. These two images of course are “quintessential Polynesia.”

Next in the pecking order probably is the drive to Hana, amidst a full-fledged jungle, including the tortuous and adventurous return trip on the barren and rugged southeastern corner of the island. Another drive comes very close to it through the opposite corner of Maui and Nakadeli point, its famous “blowhole” and its countless rock-piles, not to mention the tricky one-way road portion and the surprise Turnbull sculpture exhibit in Wailuku. Our visit to Iao Park completed our most remarkable sights, but we must admit that ascending the 10,000 foot Haleakala volcano didn't impress us too much.

A notable, touristy experience was the old style Luau in Lahaina that was okay but overly “staged” and felt like a typical tourist gimmick. In terms of the towns we visited, two of them win hands down. First Pa'ia, the funky little former plantation town and Laheina, the old whaler's port in spite of its numerous tourist trappings. The rest of the entire leeward cost didn't impress us too much, but I guess this is what has to happens when there is so much good stuff to see and experience. Granted, we had a tough time seeing and feeling the “aloha” spirit and concluded that it must have been overrated, and finally, in spite of a weather too hot and sticky for our taste, the sum of our experiences was largely positive...