Hawaii – One Relaxing Day

Taking a break after the trek across the ancient lava fields, we decided to enjoy a rest day to unwind…or so we thought.

We stopped at Grandma’s Coffee House in Kula for a hearty breakfast & locally grown coffee.

The row of stores along the highway provide a nice rest stop for drivers/bikers.

We drove uphill towards the Polipoli Springs State Recreational Area for hikes into the redwood forest.

Overlooking the Northern shore. There are several paragliding schools along the way.

It has been raining for the past few days and the road conditions got progressively worse, so we decided to turn around.

However, with our 2WD compact we got stuck in a big puddle. I got out to spot for Carmen and told her to step hard on the gas!
Mud went spraying everywhere and we watched as thick globs of mud splashed through the open window into the passenger side….

Driving down the mountain, we headed straight to the nearest department store to buy cleaning supplies. Carmen felt so embarrassed to be driving such a dirty car!

Many people gave us the thumbs up or came to find out what happened while we were cleaning the interior. One local gave us directions to a self service car wash nearby.

All better! I think in the end the passenger seat had a slight brown tint to it….

Since it was such a sunny day we decided to go to the beach to swim and relax. We drove along Hwy 31 and parked near Kamaole Beach Park in Kihei. Got changed and all ready to go!

Just as we waded into waist level, the life guards made the announcement for everyone to step out of the water. Turns out they could see a shark swimming in the very shallow areas. So no swimming…

We did walk around the area, play some frisbee, and spot sea turtles swimming near the shoreline.

Heading up north, we stopped at Makawao, a thriving/artistic town around dusk for dinner.

So our rest days didn’t exactly pan out, but it made for some good stories :)