Safari So Good

Today we drove to the top of the Haleakalā Crater.  This volcanic crater is over 10,000 feet up into the Haleakalā National Park.  It is a long windy road with many switch backs.  As one gets closer to the top, the curves get closer to the edge and the drop becomes steeper and more harrowing.  But, it was well worth the white knuckles, gasps, and clutching that took place in the back seat where Mary and I were.  There is an observatory at the top that is run by both the Department of Defense and University of Hawaii for space monitoring and scientific research purposes.

Dawn

A view of the other side of Maui from the grounds of the condo.

A lily pad in the pond.

A vibrant hibiscus.

Michael and I at the Visitor’s Center at the Haleakalā Crater.

The view from the Visitor’s Center.

We are at the top of the world!

Michael at the Haleakala Crater Summit.

Mary and Peter walking up to the observation room.

At the Kula Lounge, where we ate lunch.

After we left the crater summit, we were all hungry and we happened on a restaurant off the side of the road.  Once we were taken inside to a table, we realized the restaurant sat on the edge of the mountainside and the view from our table was spectacular!  As a bonus the food was quite good as well.  After lunch we wondered the grounds – it was so pretty.  We then headed back down the mountain to visit the Surfing Goat Dairy, where we tasted (and bought) goat cheese!  Yumm

This is a chameleon that some folks found near the restaurant.

Michael and Peter on the grounds of the restaurant.

Feeding goats at the Surfing Goat Dairy

Look at this cute guy!

We couldn’t feed these little ladies fast enough!

This is Aurelia – she works at Surfing Goat Dairy.

We stopped at a stand and bought star fruit, papaya, pineapple, and mangoes, then ate them for dinner.

We arrived in Maui without a hitch.  With little fanfair, we got our car and found the nearest restaurant to have a late lunch.  It was a place called Da Kitchen.  Every item was huge and most included both rice and a delicious macaroni/potato salad.  There was light rain and, is often the case, a rainbow to go with it.  As we drove toward our condo on the Kaanapali coast, the rainbow got more vibrant and spanned across into a full semi circle.

The condo complex – Papakea – is quite old, but the grounds are gorgeous and we have a bit of ocean view from our lanai.  The building our condo is in is the third building – the Koa Building- and we are in Unit K105.

We settled in and then all 4 of us walked to the very close Times Market to buy some staples.  We got back, all headed to the front door, but Peter was having difficulty getting his key to work.  Mary tried it a couple times and Michael was offering suggestions (as he originally unlocked it when we arrived), but to no avail.  Then suddenly Michael says, “Let’s try the next building over!”  That is when we all realized we had stopped one building short and we were trying to get into J105!!!  Thank goodness no one was in the condo – we had made such a fuss at the door!  As we wondered across the lawn to the next building, we were all laughing and feeling quite silly.

All of us were tired from the journey—the day of travel can be draining and none of us are spring chickens, so after relaxing for a bit on the lanai, we went to bed early.  Maui is 2 hours earlier than California, so Michael and I are awake and up at 4 am on Day 2 as I write this blog.

The rainbow from our lanai

Michael coming out of our condo.

Bird of Paradise

Another Bird of Paradise

Love the flora of Hawaii

Mary and Peter near our condo.

The best of Hawaii – palm trees and rainbows

Another view from our lanai.