It is not always rainbows and sunshine on the islands of Hawaii.  Well, okay, most of the time it is.  But depending where you go, it can be different.

Another of our day trips while we were on Maui was our journey up Haleakala. 

This is a dormant volcano that is one of those things that every person should get to while you're on the island.  Someone had told us that the road would be even worse than the road to Hana, but I completely disagree.  It was indeed full of twists and turns, but at least there were no one lane bridges.

As the elevation rose, the temperature dropped.  We stopped at the first visitor's center that is somewhere around 7000 feet, bought a couple souveniers, and got a little video.  It was WINDY!

We continued our drive up the mountainside.  One side of the mountain was sunny and bright....

The other side cold and sleeting. We got to the top visitor's center (9600 feet elevation) a few minutes after it closed, but we didn't know that.  So we bravely ran through the sleet, thinking we'd at least get into the building, only to find it locked.

We were freezing, but we're from the midwest. so we can handle that.  Haha.  Even thought it was disappointing not to be able to summit the volcano, it was still a good trip.  And we can put "summit the volcano" on the list of things to do next time we're there! 

On the way down the mountain, on the sunny side anyway, there was this amazing rainbow.  You could literally see where it touched the ground!!  Apparently though the hikers that were there had gotten to the pot of gold before we did, because we never saw it.  Even so, I didn't even know you could see a rainbow touch the ground like that.  It was VERY cool.

TRAVEL TIPS:

If you're planning a trip to Maui, you definitely need to schedule a visit to Haleakala.  The name means "House of the Rising Sun", and many people like to view the sunrise from the summit.  I am not a morning person hower, and waking up early enough to make the 2ish hour drive up the mountain, plus then hiking to the summit, all before sunrise, was NOT an idea that thrilled me.  However, there are a few overnight accomodations available at the national park, so next time we go, we'll try to book one of those ahead.  You can get info on them from the official web site here.

One of the things that our travel agent, Don, from www.5starhawaiiresort.com and our friend Rick (www.fix808.com) both told us, was to bring something in case it got cold.  As you saw in my video and photos, I did have a sweater and my husband had a raincoat.  But we were both in sandals and summer clothes, which was probably not a wise choice.  (In our defense, we had originally planned to do the road to Hana that day and changed our minds at the last minute.)  If you're going to go up the volcano, take raingear and dress appropriately.

 I finally got photos to load!  Every time I've tried them lately, I've had nothing but problems, but hopefully that's now fixed.  So on with the story.

Our new condo was located in the Kamaole Sands Resort.  It is, in fact, very much resort-like, with lavish grounds, a sparkling pool, not one but TWO hot tubs (one is reserved for those over age 18), and abundant picnic areas with gas grills.  It is located directly across the street from the Kamaole III beach, known to locals as Kam3. 

We stayed in unit 105, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot to take pix of the interior.  You can see photos if you go to the property page at http://www.5starhawaiiresorts.com/maui-kamaole-sands-3105.htm, although I don't think the pictures do it justice.  The kitchen was well stocked, even including glassware and quite a few staples, such as sugar and coffee.  (Not that I consider coffee a staple.  But some people do.)  Our condo had a washer and dryer, free internet, comfy furniture, and something that is quite attractive to people like me:  a stocked bookshelf.  I love finding a bookshelf packed with well known classics and new popular items.

We spent the morning wandering the grounds and taking photos.  It had rained a little early on, so we got some gorgeous close-ups of the hibiscus with rain drops on them.  We took lots of posed shots around the ground, but here's one my husband, Chadd, got of me when I didn't expect it.

We went to the grocery store that morning to buy things for the cook-out we had planned.  I will caution the tourist that everything in Hawaii is expensive, even groceries.  So while buying groceries and preparing them in your condo is definitely a more frugal way to go than eating out constantly, just remember that even that won't be cheap.  I was shocked to find most things 3 to 4 times higher than the grocery prices I pay in the midwest.  A plain old cake mix, which I regularly buy in Illinois for .88 cents, cost $3.45 there.  And that was the cheapest one available.

Our afternoon guests were our friends Rick & Geanelli, and their youngest son Trenton.  Rick is the one who owns TradeWinds Appliance there on Maui, so he is familiar with the whole island.  (Not to mention a handy resource for appliance repair, remodeling, and building maintenance.)  Geanelli runs L'amour Wedding Bridal Salon, so if you need a tuxedo rental there, or are planning a beach wedding, you should definitely give her a call.  Trenton, meanwhile, was put in charge of one of the cameras, so this is him, taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him.  Haha!

This was taken in one of the covered barbecue areas.  We didn't actually eat out at the picnic tables, but Chadd and Rick grilled the steaks out there and then brought them back to the condo.  I suppose we could have eaten outside, as it was actually very comfortable.  In fact, the entire time we were on Maui, we never used an air conditioner in any of our rooms.  The prevailing winds keep things pretty comfortable, and nearly everywhere has giant open windows and ceiling fans.

After dinner we all headed out to the beach, which I will tell you about in my next blog.  Hope you are enjoying this trip through Maui as much as I'm enjoying remembering it!

This was one of my favorite places that I visited on Maui.  Although truth be told, I would probably say that about every stop.  :)   But I do love a good beach and interesting scenery, and this place had it all.

To begin with, there was this extremely cool rock formation right in the center of this little inlet.  To me, it looked like a perfect location for a clue to a pirate's treasure! 

 When the sun is in the center of the outstretched stone, into a cave ye must be goin'

There were very cool caves all around the shore.  I was feeling queasy after the long curvy ride, so I did not hike down to the caves, but my husband found them fascinating.  He said the view of this formation was just as spectacular from the ground level, and in fact there are large openings carved by the water, into that rock.

I did, however, walk along the shore up top and get to enjoy the view of the blow hole.  When the waves come crashing into the stone, they will shoot out the top of cliff through holes in the rock.  As you can see, people are not too good at obeying warning signs.

Before we left and while we were there, our son requested one thing for a souvenier.  All he wanted was a coconut from Hawaii.  We were going to stop at a store and buy him one, but then I saw this:

I decided to see if perhaps any coconuts had fallen out of the trees, and sure enough, this tree here...

had a few laying around its trunk.  I picked one up and carried it with me back to the mainland.  We had to go through a special customs line, just to have them shake my coconut, (heh heh.. but really that's what they did,) and approve it.  When we got home, our son had a blast hacking his way through the hard outer green shell and then carving away the hairy brown shell.  As it turns out, fresh coconut meat is pretty good.