Haleakalā (/ˌhɑːliːˌɑːkəˈlɑː/; Hawaiian: [ˈhɐlɛˈjɐkəˈlaː]), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui.
Ben and I had done this on our honeymoon in 2009 but Ben H. wanted to do it so we were happy to do it again, since we didn't see much in 2009. When you have a clear view at the crater, sunrise on Haleakala can be really spectacular.
The one drawback to this activity is that you have to be up really early to be at the crater in time for sunrise at 7:00 a.m. So our alarms went off at 3:00 a.m.! At first, Ben just wanted to cancel altogether but since we were already up and might not get this chance again, he texted Ben H. and at the last minute, we agreed to get up and go. (Nick decided to sit this one out.)
So we packed snacks, water, and grabbed our heavy jackets we had brought and headed out at 4:00 a.m. We got to the crater around 6:30 a.m. The boys were really cold but I had dressed pretty warmly.
I am really glad I took that picture because shortly after, the fog rolled in and we couldn't see a thing!
Oh well, you can't win them all I guess.
Luckily, we still had plans for a full day seeing some of Kula, one of the four towns surrounding Haleakala which define "Upcountry Maui." First on the agenda was breakfast at Kula Lodge.
I got the traditional breakfast which was good.
We had a beautiful view at breakfast.
The Lodge had lovely gardens so after breakfast we walked around and saw all the plants and flowers as well as an art gallery downstairs.
I love upcountry and it's on my bucket list to stay a couple of nights upcountry on a future trip.
We left the Lodge and drove to the Ocean Vodka distillery to take their tour. Ben and I had done this tour on our last trip but we didn't mind doing it again with Ben H. as it's fun and informative and the grounds are really beautiful too. We were so early, we had our own private tour!
The sugar cane from which the distillery makes the rum and vodka.
After the tour, we decided to try and see the little coastal town of Pa'ia. Ben and I have never been able to find parking but this time we drove around a little more until we found a lot that was reasonable and allowed us to safely leave our car and walk around. Finally, we would get to see Pa'ia!
We dropped by Charley's which is a bar Willie Nelson has made famous.
A replica of Willie's guitar, Trigger.
We had a drink and then decided to grab some lunch at Milagros. Ben and I shared a blackened fish sandwich and it was yummy!
On the way back to the condo, Ben wanted to stop by the Maui Tropical Plantation. We planned to spend our departure day here, but Ben wanted to stop by for a quick look around. So we stopped and got ice cream and looked around just briefly and had a drink at the Mill House restaurant.
I got a drink called The Final Punch served in a pineapple glass.
We saw a rainbow on the way back to the condo.
Back at the condo, we filled Nick in on our day and just hung out, downloading pictures, and visiting. We had a great sunset that night.
Tomorrow we would spend the day walking around Ka'anapali.
