Noah and I have driven this road 3 times. We have enjoyed it every time and every time it has been different. We started our journey in the valley of sugar. It is 37,00 acres of sugar cane fields. The last town you visit is Paia. This is a small and very unique town they say "it is where it's still the Age of Aquarius and shoes are always optional in the street".On the road you travel a few miles and find yourself on Highway 360 and shortly there after come to your first of many waterfalls(however this was the first time we drove and didn't see as many waterfalls). We turned off at the overlook to see Ke'anae peninsula. Our first official stop was in the small village of Ke'anae where we bought the best banana on the island(moist and sweet), took a potty break and saw the jagged lava boulders.
The tide was really low so we go to see some small tide pools with some fish and other marine life. We stopped in front of Waikani Falls (aka the 3 bears) for a photo.
Our next stop was Pua'a Ka'a State Park to see a small waterfall and a small pool to swim in. We took photos and thought about swimming, but didn't. We did see a proposal in front of the falls were the girl said yes.
We ate lunch at Wai'anapanapa Park (Black sand Beach). We saw mongoose, walked a short loop to see two spring fed caves, walked down to the volcanic black sand beach and walked through a lava tube.
As we were driving through Hana something hit our van. I got out to see what it was and to make sure we didn't have a dent(it was a really loud thump). I didn't see anything on the ground, but remnants of mango still lingered on the hood of the van as Autumn said very animated "there was a loud bump noise and this mango bounced off of our car and rolled into the dirt!"
In Hana we stopped at one of the many fruit stands on the side of the road. It is all based on the honor system. They leave there goods that they are trying to sell on their stand along with the prices and you take what you want and put your payment in a locked box. I bought a strawberry papaya and four bananas(they were really really sweet and yummy!)
In Hana Bay we stopped to buy shaved ice Noah and I both bought the passion fruit. It was very refreshing and just the right sweetness. Our last stop was 'Ohe'o Gulch AKA Seven sacred Pools. It is part of Haleakala National Park. It is very beautiful here and has a waterfall that falls into a pool several times over and over again. In the past when we have visited we have been unable to swim in the pools due to the raging water that was flowing down and into the ocean. Ashlyn called it the raging river of death. Noah and I have been waiting three years to swim in these so called pools, well with summer and not much water at this time our wish came true.
We were able to walk down to these pools and swim in(the raging river of death) the 40 foot deep pool and watch all those brave people jump the cliffs into the clear fresh water. It was an amazing and unique experience. Ashlyn loved it!(the other two girls slept in the car with grandma)
We headed back home on the only way there and saw one of the locals jump into a pool at the bottom of one of the waterfalls and enjoy a colorful double rainbow over the ocean. What a wonderful adventure we had today.
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