The Maui Road to Hana or a Road to Nowhere?

My new husband and I began our trip on Maui’s infamous winding “road to Hana,” early – and it’s a good thing. We had no idea the adventure that lay ahead.

The day was gorgeous, as are most days on Hawaii’s beautiful isle. We got nowhere fast, as nearly immediately on our tour, we pulled over to enjoy a scenic lookout where several natives were surfing and sailing. To say that the scene before us was breathtaking is an understatement. I can still smell the sweet, salty air and hear the waves crash on the shore. We stopped here, took several pictures, and hit the road again.

We stopped often to marvel at the beauty that if not witnessed with my own eyes, I’d be certain was a manmade movie set. Suddenly, we were several hours into our trip – but nowhere near the legendary town of Hana.

One of my favorite stops was down another winding road off the main road. It led to the most majestic and stunning coast I’d ever seen.

The sky was an incredible blue, and the whitecaps of the waves hitting the black lava rock were stunning. Some of the lava was brick red – an amazing palate of color! We spent lots of time here enjoying the surf, wading out over the lava rock to feel the surprisingly cool water on our toes.

On the way back to the main road, we stopped by a bread shack (the best banana bread I’ve ever had!) and saw something I didn’t expect to find so close to such a beautiful shore – bulls. There were two bulls napping in the sun near the shore. They didn’t bother anyone, and no one seemed to bother them.

Finally, we saw a trickle of water from above. Was this one of the many waterfalls we’d read so much about? There hadn’t been much rain, apparently, so most of the waterfalls were dry. When we came upon what could only be described as a steady tickle, we were so thrilled we got out of the car and danced! (And took more photos, of course!).