Just back from Turtle Beach south of Kihei.  We took our cameras and arrived in time to get some photos of the sunset.

Now on the lanai for the last of the Chardonnay and chocolate bannana bread from our last trip on the Road to Hana.

Altogether a pleasant evening.

We did take our lunch along to get another couple of  caches  this afternoon to the south of Kihei. The first one was Kihei beach where there is a boat launch as well as a small beach.  Although there were a lot of people around (muggles in the geocaching world),  we were able to find it without too much trouble.

Next up was the on at Turtle Beach.  This would be our 2400th cache and we wanted it to be a good one.  We drove down and as we were making the circle at the end of the road to get a parking spot that was just being vacated, some guy made a U turn in the middle of the road and stole my spot!  The nerve.  We made our way back to the beach parking area which was about 0.4 mile from the cache and started our walk.

We had a look from the beach area and decided against making the trek that direction because of the distance and the lava rocks that had to be crossed to get to the cache location.  So, on the way back, Gary suggested we just walk up the path toward the resort that was up the hill hoping to find another beach access.  Lo and behold, there was one!  We took it and when we got within about 300 feet of the cache there was a “private property” sign, but we decided to take a chance and walk to the cache anyway.  Found the cache and had no incidents!  Yahoo!  Number 2400!

We decided Turtle Beach would be nice for a sunset photo op.  So, if the weather looks okay we’ll take a chance on a good sunset. We decided against the Haleakala  sunset because the weather report at the summit was pretty dismal–high probability of rain and mostly cloudy!

Dinner was chicken, red peppers and green beans with rice and fresh pineapple.  Chardonnay to go with it.  Very tasty.  Thanks to the personal chef for another nice meal.

Just one more day here and then we have to plan our exit on Thursday.  Hurricane Hilda may have some say in our departure though.  Hoping it doesn’t cancel our flight!

Yep, we slept late again after the big luau last night!  So we got a late start on the day.  We checked on snorkeling at Snorkel Bob’s, but decided against it because we couldn’t get on an excursion.  Then off to the National Bird Refuge to take a walk on the boardwalk and get  some steps since we had a light day yesterday.

Next up, geocaching and beach going south of Kihei.  Packed lunch and will spend a while on the beach after getting a couple of geocaches.

Tonight the weather looks pretty good on Haleakala, so we may decide to go for sunset photo ops again.

Now, what to do about dinner tonight….?

We took our drive into Lahaina for dinner and a show at the Old Lahaina Luau. Another nice drive along the coast on daylight. Arrived about an hour early.  We stopped in for a beer at next door establishment  (Aloha Mixed Plate).  It had been reported that one could see the show at Old Lahaina.  This turned out to be false information.

It was an interesting evening. The dinner was a buffet that had every imaginable item of Hawaiian cuisine.  Joyce who will eat/try anything had no room on her plate for everything. Gary was aa little less adventurous.

One of our objectives was to see Joyce’s cousin Jordan Ruidas dance in the show.  Unfortunately she was off and we couldn’t change our reservations.

The other thing we wanted to do was to capture images of dancing for our first Delaware Photographic Society assigned subject competition in September.  We lucked out with assigned seating and were back far enough that we could stand up to take photos without getting in peoples’ way. Very difficult because of the lighting. Got a lot of shots.  Need to see them on the big monitor to see if any are competition  worthy.

Back to Kihei and good night!

Yes, we were tired this morning from the 16,000 steps, 6 miles total walking & hiking and driving the Hana Highway home yesterday.  Although Gary took ibuprofen at bedtime, his muscles still resisted arising this morning.  Oh, well, it was still a good day on Sunday.

Up about 7 AM this morning, coffee and breakfast.  Then Gary, with assistance from Joyce to identify all the places we’d been,  finally downloaded some of his photos from the many camera cards he’d filled so far this 10 days.

Then around 10:30 we took a trip to the Kealia National Bird Refuge.  Main purpose was to get the 2 geocaches located there. Found’em both.  Took a few pictures of the stilts that were present.  Not very much activity today.

Home to pack lunch and take another ride south of Kihei to get today’s 3rd geocache located at a local beach that was mostly lava rock.  Another success. Now we’re up to 2397.  Only 3 more to get for our next milestone of 2400!

While we were in the area we decided on a little beach time at a different local beach.  Po’olenaleana Beach Park.  Both have documentation that we were at the beach and Gary actually got in the water! We had our lunch and stayed until 2 PM. Back to condo for getting off the sand from feet and slippers (Tevas).

Tonight is our Old Lahaina Luau event.  Too bad Jordan is taking today off for her birthday.  We tried to change our night, but they were all booked up and we didn’t want to give up a confirmed reservation to get on the waiting list again.  We’ll miss seeing her dance the hula.

We did the most up to date section of the Road to Hana last Thursday which was cloudy on the first part and sunny on the second.  We went as far as the Charles Lindbergh grave site and then turned around and returned by the same route.

Today our objective was to return to the Haleakala Park Visitor Center near Hana to take the hike to the large waterfalls that we didn’t make before.  We left at about 8 AM and drove straight to the Park.  Well, not exactly.  We had to stop to get the geocache at the Hana Welcome sign, but it was a did not find even though Joyce climbed up the tree where it was supposed to be.  Due to rain, it was to slippery to climb high enough.  We did buy some chocolate chip banana bread from the local stand at this site.  Then, we made our way to the park arriving around 11 AM.

After making sure we had all our equipment (Gary: camera, 2 lenses, various filters and a tripod) and plenty of water for the journey up.  We started our 2 mile hike (one way) with an 800 feet elevation gain right from the parking lot.

We were so surprised to see water flowing from the falls that had been completely dry on Thursday.  A little rain must have helped out.  Gary spent about 20 minutes photographing the waterfall.  Too bad we don’t have a before and after photo!

Continuing on our journey we were surprised to find a bridge over the river-creek-gulch that was above two waterfalls and pools.  Stopped to take photos of this for about 30 minutes too.  Had to keep waiting on other hikers to get off the bridge because it caused movement of the camera on the  tripod.

Then onward or it should be upward!  We crossed another bridge, a number of raised boardwalk sections and a bunch of muddy, rocky spots on the trail.  We entered the bamboo forest with great surprise.  It was alternately bright and dark.  Most interesting was the sound of the bamboo clacking against itself when the wind blew.  The bamboo forest was about a mile in length or half of the hike up to the falls.  Does the bamboo make a sound in the forest if there is no one there to hear it?

We arrived at the falls around 1 PM with all the stops.  Had to cross the creek-river-stream on foot.  Gary got Joyce’s Tevas on and waded across.  Joyce kept her shoes on and used the only hiking pole we brought to make her way across to the other side.

Gary set up to take photos at the sign which stated it was illegal to go beyond.  Of course, everyone else decided to proceed beyond the sign anyway.  Made taking photos very difficult.  After about an hour there were so many people coming up that we (maybe that was Gary) decided he’d had enough and it was time to begin the downward trek.

The return trip was much faster.  Gravity works!  No stopping for photos either.  At the parking lot we unloaded most of the stuff we had for the hike up, put on our Tevas and headed for the lower falls and pools hoping to get some time in the water.  Unfortunately, the Ranger arrived about then and said access to the pools was closed because of potential rain up in the mountains that might result in flash flooding.  Although disappointed, we were able to get a few photos of the pools and waves.

Back to the car to continue our adventure on the Road to Hana.  We left about 4 PM  to take the other part of the Hana Road.  It was very narrow, very winding and very beautiful.  Glad we took that drive.

Although geocaches were supposed to be on this route, we didn’t find any until we got closer to Kula Road.  We found three.  One at Saint James Church, one at the Sun Yet Sen Park with beautiful views and one at the LDS Chapel on Lower Kula Road.

Stopped at the Safeway to pick up frozen pizza and salad for dinner.  Got back to the condo about 8 PM.

Altogether a 12 hour all day adventure!

This afternoon Gary got 2 of the 4 cards he’s filled up downloaded.  Hasn’t looked at them of course.  2 more cards in the case plus 1 in camera.  This could be a big task!  Joyce logged some caches and worked on the dinner plan.

We decided to check out a couple of sites for sunset photos, but decided neither was acceptable.  Then off to the Safeway for a few things and finally to the Library to check on internet access and printer availability for getting our boarding passes.  The library wants $10 for a temporary library card just to use the internet. No thanks!  We’ll do something else.

Back at the condo we opened the bottle of champagne to celebrate our early morning rise and drive to the summit.  Piper Sonoma Brut.  One of our favorites.  Joyce fixed dinner (chicken, green beans) and we enjoyed a nice dinner on the lanai so we could walk down to the beach and photograph sunset if it actually occurs and you can have good color and clouds.  We’ll see!

It’s very windy this evening.  Has been most of the day.  Some from TS Guillermo, but mostly the usual Trade Winds that blow here.

Another nice day in paradise…..

We planned ahead on Friday for the trip to the Haleakala summit for sunrise.  Stopped at a Shell to fill up the car to make sure we had adequate fuel for the ride to the top and back .  While there we got two large cups of hot water and tea bags so we’d have portable cups for the ride up early in the morning.  The we stopped at a Starbucks to get 1 cup of coffee and several paper rings to go around the hot cups. The tea water was really, really hot!

Back at the condo we drank the tea for an evening treat.  Knowing that the temperature could be as low as 47 F and winds 15 to 25 mph, we assembled our wardrobe for the morning adventure.  Long pants, 3 shirt layers, , warm socks, rain jackets and hats.  Also organized the photographic equipment so there would be less fumbling in the dark at the summit.  Made coffee for the morning.  Showered and to bed pretty early–about 9:30 PM.  Set the alarm for 3 AM.  Ugh!  A short night in store.  We plan to leave no later than 3:30 AM.

3:00 AM the alarm sounds.  It’s up and get dressed, make the coffee, load up the car.  We’re on our way about 3:15 AM.  Earlier departure means there is a higher probability of being able to park at the summit.

Not too much traffic to start out.  Only 1 car ahead of us until we turn off on the Haleakala Crater Road.  Then we caught up to about 5 in front and soon there were 5 behind us making the winding drive up the mountain.  So, we arrived got close to the NPS gate where  people have to pay.  There must have been 20+ cars in front of us and we were pretty much at a dead stop.  A traffic jam at about 4:30 in the morning!

When we got to the booth we showed them Joyce’s Senior Pass so we didn’t have to pay the $15 entrance fee.  Nice!  The attendant was also named Joyce and remarked on it.  A quick stop 1 mile up the road for a potty break and then continued on up the road to the top.

We were lucky!  The road to the summit parking was not closed and we drove up in hopes of actually finding a parking spot.  All the lined spots were taken so we just pulled along the curb and shut off the motor.  Now, it’s 5:30-ish and sunrise is at 5:55 AM.  We first climbed to the overlook building, but there were just too many people to get a good spot.  Since we had been there on Monday evening, we knew that the short path on the opposite side of the parking lot was a good spot.  Fortunately, there were only 2 or 3 other folks there.  Gary had a good spot to set up his tripod and get set for the sunrise.

Sure enough, the sun came up on time!  Got some photos and then turned around to capture a few images of the volcano’s shadow on the opposite side.  Finished up on the summit around 6:45 and drove down to the visitor center about 0.1 mile down the road.  Here we had some additional photo opportunities of the crater which we hadn’t seen in the dark nor on Monday when it was really cloudy.

We started down the volcano about 7:15 AM, but stopped to do two geocaches on the way down.  Trying to keep up our 3/day schedule so we can get to 2400 caches while here in Hawaii.  We are certain to make it now!

Had to make a stop at Target to get a card reader so Gary could download some photos from the camera cards he’s been filling up.  Maybe there’ll be some photos here some day!

Back to the condo around 10:30 AM and ready for a rest.  Gary napped in front of the TV for a while and Joyce logged our caches from the past couple of days.  The TV was on FOX (ugh!) where some of the Republican debate was showing.  Finally got tired of that and had a nice lunch on the lanai.

Oh, what a beautiful mornin’
Everything’s goin’ my way
etc……..

We completed our errands and made a quick lunch.  Then we headed south to the End of the Road.  Our objective was to secure a virtual cache that required getting information on a monument at that location.  Got a few pictures from the lava fields.  On the way we visited another Congregational church to get a nearby real cache.

We completed the drive to the End of the Road.  On the return trip we stopped at Makeno Beach State Park for another real cache. This one required a short climb up aa lava hill to get to the top of a hill separating the Big Beach from the Little Beach.  Nice views from this elevation.  Got a few photos of the beach, waves and clouds.

We stopped by the Kihei Canoe Club to check out the area for photography.  Decided it wasn’t very good.

Then on to the condo for spaghetti and fresh pineapple for dinner with a good red wine. We were hoping for another sunset, but it’s too cloudy.  No sunset photos tonight!

We still need to gas up the rental car for the trip to Haleakalā for sunrise tomorrow.  I think we need to get up around 3 AM and leave no later than 3:30 AM to get to the summit before sunrise.  To bed early tonight!