Walk on the Wet Side Hike

This past Sunday Roman and I got to do another hike in Haleakala National Park, but this one was much different than the one we did in the crater. That one was dry and barren, and this one was wet and green. It was called Walk on the Wet Side and we had to call in advance to reserve spaces on this hike. It was over 4 hours long and we got to hike through private property that is owned by the Nature Conservancy.

The beginning of the hike started in Hosmer Grove, which includes many alien tree species that do not belong in Hawaii. Ralph Hosmer planted them in the early 1900's, I believe, because he wanted to have wood for timber, but the trees have not been doing well in Hawaii. It is so strange to walk through because you feel like you are not in Hawaii at all and my allergies even started acting up!

After an hour of so, we came to a clearing where we sat down and took a break. After that was the amazing part!

We walked through a trail that was surrounded by ferns and all sorts of native Hawaii brush. The guide gave us some pieces of a fern called Pohole that we got to eat (and it was pretty good! Strange after taste though!). Not only were we surrounded by over 16 species of ferns, but we were also walking through clouds! You can see in many of the pictures from that part of the trail that there is just white in the background. Well, that's the clouds! It was pretty wet in there and we had to walk down this little boardwalk, since the area is known to experience flash flooding, to get the the viewing platform. We were lucky because we got to see one of the rare bird species only found in Hawaii (sorry, I forgot the name) and it even hung around for a long while. It was pretty cool. Even the mold everywhere was cool. It felt like 1970's furniture. :)

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136295&l=a6eff&id=723885367

'Iao Valley

This past weekend we visited 'Iao (pronounced 'EE-ow') Valley, known for its beautiful scenery and as being the site of one of the most famous battles in Hawaii history. It was here in 1790 that King Kamehameha I destroyed the Maui army in an effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands in the Battle of Kepaniwai, which means damming of the waters. It was said to be such a bloody battle that dead bodies blocked up the stream and that the stream ran red.

One of the most famous points there is the 'Iao Needle, which served as a lookout for the warriors. It is 2,250 feet high. Unfortunately, you could only go to a lookout point to see the needle from afar, but you cannot really get near it. We walked around the paved path, which is very short, and then decided to go off on one of the trails which followed the stream. It reminded me a lot of the green belt in Austin, except surrounded by mountains. It was really nice and shady and the water was freezing cold! We hoped in for a little while to cool off and then hiked right back out.

After that, we left west Maui, dropped my friend off at her house in Paia, and went surfing in south Maui, near Lahaina. After we surfed for a while, we went to eat at a Mexican fusion place called Cilantro. It was just okay. I really do miss good mexican food here!

Well, if you want to see more pics of 'Iao Valley, please click on the "'Iao Valley" title above. If that link does not work, please copy and paste this to your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133817&l=50b8e&id=723885367

HaleAHHHHkala National Park

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July! I was stuck working. :( The good part was that I earned time and a half--yay!

Sunday, though, was a very eventful day. We woke up really early--at 3:30 AM--so that we could view the sunrise from the top of Haleakala (pronounced Hah-lee-ah-ka-la). It took us about an hour and a half to drive from our house in Haiku to the summit area. Here is a description of the road from the town of Kula, about 20 minutes' drive from Haiku, to the summit:

"The Crater Road (Route 378) begins in the upcountry farming and flower-growing district of Kula at an elevation of 3,200 feet. It reaches the summit in 22 miles after 32 switchbacks, climbing an average grade of 6%. As you climb, notice that the temperature is dropping -- about 3 degrees F for each 1,000 feet in altitude."

It was very dark on the drive up and there was a guy tailing us most of the way. No fun!

We didn't view the sunrise from all the way up at the summit (10,023 ft) because we weren't sure we would make it in time, but we did view it from 9,740 feet up and it was amazing! Oh, and It was freezing as well! Temperatures at the peak get as low as 30 degrees fahrenheit. I was super bundled up and still shivering!

Afterwards, we hung out at the Visitor Center and talked to a couple of park rangers about hiking around. Since we only wanted to hike around for about 3 hours or so, they recommended taking the Keonehe'ehe'e, or Sliding Sands, Trail. The whole way was downhill, so my calves were really hurting and I had to turn around every so often to stretch them. What made it a difficult hike was that is was like walking on sand (hence the trail name), which requires a lot more effort. On the trail we saw several Chukar birds and lots of silverswords, a threatened plant species that can only be found in Haleakala National Park. Unfortunately, we did not see any nene, also known as the Hawaiian goose, a threatened bird species that can only be found on the Hawaiian Islands.

We stopped and took so many pictures, so it took us about an hour and half or so to get to the Ka Lu'u o ka 'O'o Cinder Cone. According to Wikipedia, a cinder cone is "a steep conical hill of volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a volcanic vent." The cinder cone was really cool. It was a big, huge colorful hole and it was very windy.

** For pictures, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131729&l=93f49&id=723885367 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132226&l=ce51e&id=723885367. I will post up more soon.

The way back took so long because it was all uphill on sand-like terrain. I was so tired when we finally got up to the top! On the way driving back down the mountain, we stopped at a couple of lookout points and another visitor center, then we headed back home. We were filthy from all the dirt and so tired since we woke up so early. I got motion sickness on the drive back and I was so tired that I kept falling asleep. I passed out once we got home for over an hour!

After my nap, we decided not to go surfing after all since we were so physically exhausted, so we went into town (Kahului) to watch Wall-E instead. It was such a cute movie! Such a bleak future though. I recommend that everyone see it because it was awesome!

The Stars at Night...

I hate to say this, but I think that the stars at night are bigger and brighter in Maui than deep in the heart of Texas.

Beware of Low Tide!

I can't believe it is July already! Time is just flying by here. I wish it would slow down because I have so much more surfing and laying out on the beach to do before I have to become a full-time student again.

Well, this past week Roman and I had a friend in town for a job "interview". It was great to hang out with her. We took her surfing at the Cove in Kihei and she really liked it. She was able to stand up on the first wave that she caught, something I still have not been able to do :( Beginner's luck, I guess.

One of the guys that Roman works with and that we live with left this week to go back to Alaska. I actually went out to Ladies' night at a club called Casanova's in Makawao since it was his last night in town. It was fun, but the DJ wasn't that great. :P

This weekend Roman and I went to watch the movie Wanted because we heard it was good and it is by the Russian director that we both like who is making a trilogy of films based on vampires and werewolves that is actually really good. Wanted was okay. Not as good as his other stuff, but full of action if that is what you are looking for. We also tried out this really good mexican restaurant called Pinatas, which had pinatas all over the ceiling. There was one of a hula girl that looked so cute!

We were actually brave enough to wake up early (5:30am) on Monday morning to go surfing at Ho'oikipa. During the winter, this is THE place to surf and the waves can get pretty big, but there is not much going on here during the summer, which is good for beginners like me! The waves were actually pretty good that morning and there were several other people out there, but it was low-tide, so Roman and our friend ended up dinging their boards on the rocks. We had to take them in for repairs, so that is going to cost us about $130! So, if we learned anything, it is to be really careful with your surfboard during low tide, or don't even go out at all at low tide.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

Arrrrrgh maties! We had a pirate this party this weekend at our house in honor of one of Roman's co-workers who is moving away. It was so much fun and I was surprised to see how many people dressed up. I ended up getting most of my costume from Ross. It was fun dressing up. Maybe I'll start dressing up for Halloween again...

If you'd like to view pictures of the pirate party, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126288&id=723885367&ref=mf

We ended up sleeping in late today since we stayed up late for the party and we had to do some cleaning around the house after. :P Once that was done, Roman and I went to watch The Incredible Hulk movie, which was actually pretty good, and we ate at this wonderful restaurant in Paia called Fresh Mint. It is a vietnamese vegetarian restaurant and it was so good. Roman even said that the fake beef tasted 'meaty'. I think that's a compliment coming from a meat eater. :)

Aloha!

First Month on Maui

Okay, okay, I give in. I will start a blog about my time in Maui. I didn't really want to, but enough people asked, so by popular demand...

(Sing to the tune of The Brady Bunch):
Here's the story of a girl named Vicky,
Who was living on one very dreary island
She was sick of being cold, and all wet
She knew she had to leave

Here's the story of a man named Roman
Who was busy building ziplines in Hawaii
They were each living in different time zones
Yet they were still dating.

Till the one day when miss Vicky was convinced
And she knew that Roman had a good idea
That they two should finally live together
That's the way she became the Mexicana in Maui.

That's the way she became the Mexicana in Maui...

Okay, okay, so I'll stop the cheesiness.

I arrived on the Hawaiian island of Maui on May 14th. I slept for most of the next day and it took me about a week to get over the jet lag. Hawaii is a 5 hour time difference from Texas. I think it hit me especially hard since I had just recently gotten over my jet lag in Austin from my trip from London.

Now here I am, living in a little town called Haiku on Maui's north shore. I live in a house that is being rented out by Roman's company. It has about 10 bedrooms and right now 13 people are living here. I feel almost like I am in the Real World (the MTV show), but minus all the drama. We do have chores and communal eating, but we also have a large flat screen TV, all the video game systems, a pool with waterfalls, and the house is so big that some of the guys skate from one end to the other.

So, one of first things Roman and I did was get a car since I would need it to get to/from work once I found a job. It is a white '96 Toyota Corolla with some bling-bling rims and a surf rack that we bought from a woman off Craiglist for $2200. We still haven't picked out a name for it.

We also bought a surfboard for me. It is a 9' board and it is too big and heavy for me to carry, so Roman has to lug it around most of the time. :) I think I have tried surfing a total of 4 times and I have been able to ride the waves on my knees, but I keep slipping off the board when I try to stand up. I'll keep trying... The best place we have found for me to learn to surf is called the Cove in a town called Kihei (pronounced KEE-hay). It has good waves, a sandy bottom (as opposed to coral or rock, which is what a lot of other beaches have), and it is not too deep.

Ok, back to business. To explain why I am not looking for a job that is really useful for my career: I am tired of the corporate world right now, so I decided that I wanted a couple of fun retail jobs where I could actually interact with people on a daily basis, unlike my last couple of jobs, where I was stuck at a desk most of the day and only had contact with my immediate coworkers.

So, once I was over my jet lag, I started filling out applications around Haiku and a small town called Paia. A week and a half after arriving in Maui, I had 2 job interviews in one day. One was for Mana, a health food grocery store, and the other was for Ono, a gelato place. Both places ended up offering me the job, but Mana did first, so I started with them. I am trying to figure out if I can work both jobs right now. I think it would be so much fun!

Hmmm, before I go, just trying to think of what else happened...

Oh, so we ran into the guitar god Carlos Santana at a restaurant called Java Jazz.

We also attended the Maui Film Festival and got to watch several movies under the stars.

We went to Little Beach on a Sunday night and got to see lots of fire dancers.

We went hiking in the Bamboo Forest and Twin Falls and jumped from the waterfalls.

Oh, and I am still taking an online course that counts towards my MBA, which actually takes up a bit of my time.

Well, it is time to go to bed. I will try to post more at least weekly, so please check back later and feel free to leave comments. Also, for those of you who have Facebook, I have posted some pictures up there.

Some info on Haiku: http://www.tsunami-zone.com/haikumaui.html
Some info on Paia: http://www.tsunami-zone.com/PAIA.HTML