On Friday, Ash and I were both up about 4:30am. We made coffee and he watched a movie on Netflix (“Carry-On”) while I worked on the blog, which was done about 6am. Vasco was up by 6:30am. We got organized around laundry which we’re able to do here and waited for the load to be done in the wash so we could put it in the dryer before we headed out.

We then went back to the same place we were at the day before in the Kaanapali area and stayed there for about an hour. Ash and I literally just sat on the beach – under the shade of a big tree – while Vasco was out in the water. It might have been the most relaxing hour of the trip so far.

When he returned, we went out in search of lunch. We’d noticed on the way in a curbside area with a farmer’s market and food trucks which would be on the way back to Kihei, so we stopped there.

We got tacos from the food truck for lunch. Vasco got a fresh coconut water from the market. When he was done, another customer parked next to us got out his machete and cut it open for him so he could eat the meat!

We made our way back to Kihei and stopped at the first beach that was listed on Boss Frog’s snorkel report, Kameohe.

It had been cloudy all day and now was even more so. Vasco was talking to friends in Portugal and Ash and I went for a walk. At the end of this beach was a rocky area where a kid had built a sandcastle. He later came up to me and handed me two rocks and said I could place them on it if I wanted. Well or course I had to then.

This is my first time to Maui, and the only thing I’d known about it was The Road to Hana. And I hadn’t learned about that from a tourist or travel source, but from a self-help or management talk I heard or book I read – I don’t remember the details. I just remember this guy’s story about how for him, The Road to Hana was his life lesson in: it’s about the journey, not the destination.

We’d had our fill of the beach after 2 days of not much else and made out way in that direction. Our Airbnb is one block off of Hana Highway, which is literally the other side of the island from where we were. It took an hour to get from the beach to our first stop (after stopping to drop off the snorkel equipment).

We made our way to the first waterfalls we saw on the map, which seem to be located on a private farm which allows visitors. And plenty of other people had the same idea. The parking lot was full, with cars waiting to get in. We chanced it and parked on the road just outside of the lot. We came across the first waterfall pretty quickly. The terrain here had changed completely, and it was more jungle-like, lush and beautiful.

The sign says: WARNING. Rugged Hazardous Trail. You could fall and be seriously injured or killed.

Ash and I were just in flip-flops. We passed. Yes, that’s Vasco you see half-way down the trail behind the sign. The treat at the end was another waterfall, with a smaller one behind that.

Closeups of a couple of flowers on our way back to the car. I’d never seen a peace lily in the wild before.

We continued along the Hana Highway to make one more stop before it got too dark. This isn’t a road you want to drive at night. The lanes are narrow and often just one of them, and lots of curves and sharp turns. These are Eucalyptus Rainbow Trees. Appropriately named, don’t ya think?

Vasco asked to stop at this spot marked as a lookout on our way back. He was focused on taking photos of flowers by the road. I went down to the lookout area and came across picnic tables, restrooms, and a spot where someone had been selling bananas and other things. But it was a good stop. If you look closely in the middle of the photo on the right you’ll see the ocean.

We made our way back to the house. We returned the beach chairs they’d let us borrow, and Ash and Vasco took showers before we made our way out for dinner. We went into the town of Paia, a few miles down the road. We decided on Flatbread Company for dinner, #2 of 27 on TripAdvisor. There was a ton of people waiting, so were surprised to learn the wait time was only 30-45 minutes; we’d been expecting 90.

We got a large pizza which was primarily for Vasco. Ash and I each has one slice but primarily ate salads. We also shared a cheesecake amongst the three of us. All terrific.

And that was our day. We leave in a few hours for Honolulu where we will stay through Tuesday afternoon.