Hawaii Day Six – The Road to Hana -- “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey…”

Finally … awakened at a reasonable hour (6:00 AM) to sit in the hot tub and then enjoy breakfast at the B&B. It started with a bowl of strawberries and pineapple.


Then came poached eggs in a mixture of cooked red peppers, green peppers, and onions … or French Toast, depending on your taste. The food was great. We could get used to this.



Due to a desire to keep moving posts to the website, we got started alittle later than we intended.

But needing some things at Walmart, our arrival at the start of the “Road” was delayed further, but we eventually got there, full of anticipation of outstanding scenery along the coast.


Everyone says this excursion is about the trip … not about the destination. Read that as “enjoy the journey ‘cause there’s not much in Hana”. We learned that’s true (more later), but we also learned it’s very, very difficult to enjoy the journey. But, the stops along the way were magnificent.



About the journey ... Picture 36 miles of twisting, winding road … non-stop single lane bridges and sections of road too narrow for two cars to pass … non-stop U-Turn switchbacks hugging stone walls … enough non-stop turning, stopping, starting, to nauseate (literally) the strongest stomach to a very unpleasant shade of “green” … an average speed of 15 MPH.



It takes nearly two hours to navigate “the Road” if you don’t stop for the waterfalls and, the incredible ocean views. We even had a narrated cd with us that was borrowed from the hotel. We walked away from each stop marveling at the scenes we’d seen and noting that these images were like nothing we’d EVER seen before and were going to stay with us forever. We decided the trip was truly worth the anxiety and nausea we’d endured to get there. Hope you enjoy the photos!

We finally arrived in Hana at 5:30 PM, looking for food. (Don’t bother looking anywhere along the way.)

So, we stopped at the General Store, which appeared to be an oversized bait shack with beer and beach stuff thrown in for completeness. The woman behind the register said there were only two games in town for food … a restaurant across the street, but it’s closed … and the restaurant in the hotel, but then went on to say that their prices were “unGodly expensive”. She advised us to go to that restaurant but go into the bar area to eat at a better price.

We headed there … followed her advice … had a very nice meal (but then we hadn’t had any lunch) … and enjoyed ourselves immensely, marveling at the people who live in this town and make this trek daily. Wow.

But the “wow” factor was just ahead. We set out for “home” at dusk, thinking the ride would be better because there’s be no one coming toward Hana except those residents returning home. (Oh, did we forget to say there’s only one way in and out of Hana … that 36 miles of twists, turns, and danger? Yeah, that’s it!). Well, our belief was true … we met VERY few vehicles that made us stop on the way back.

BUT, we could barely go more than 10 or 15 MPH EVER ‘cause in the dark, with our vision limited to the span of the headlights, the non-stop turns and twists were even more stomach twisting than they’d been in the daylight! Two in the backseat were so green, there were moans. The driver was just wishing and praying for the trip to end with everyone alive and stomach contents (including his) intact. We stopped several times along the way just to let our innards settle.

We usually refer to something we’ve done as a “once in a lifetime experience” because we know we’ll never have the opportunity to do it again. This time, we all agreed this was something each of us had no need to EVER do again. We were thrilled with what we’d seen but we have no desire to ever navigate that road again in our lifetime!

Tomorrow, a big, busy day: Whale watching, a pineapple plantation tour, and the Old Lahaina Luau!!