Yay! We're finally updating our site! Our internet connection has been under hiatus the last couple of days, and we have so much to talk about! First of all, Thursday we took the car in the morning and drove the "Road to Hana," which is an all-day drive through the north/east coast of Hawaii - this side of the island is what we picture Hawaii to be like - green, lush jungle! Over where my parents live in Kihei and Wailuku, the island is very dry and though they are still tropical plants and beaches, it resembles more of a desert. The island is really awesome that way - so many different climates can be experienced in such a small radius, so it hardly rains in the South, it is always cold at the top of the volcanoe, and if you want rain, head to Hana! Unfortunately, we didn't know about the rain before we packed up camping equipment and headed on the road - my mother lent us a book called "Maui Revealed" by Andrew Doughty and Harriet Friedman, which is an excellent guide if you're ever planning on visiting - it tells you what amazing things you can see at each mile marker along the Hana highway, and many times we were trespassing private property, climbing through barbed wire fences and venturing into the deep land with no paved paths - many times, I thought I was going to slip on the slippery rocks/mud and fall down into the rocks. Here are some of the trips' highlights:

Honomanu Bay - We went offroading with my mom's Element to the shores of these beautiful black beaches - the water is very nice and calm in this bay and the sand is black and rocky - very cool.

Ke'anae Peninsula - you can get off the highway and head down to the point of this peninsula and see what big waves crashing against lava rocks is like - wouldn't dare go swimming here! It's suicidal.

Wailua Valley Lookout - this lookout actually had a rail and stairs so it was really easy to access - a beautiful lookout into the Wailua Valley.

Waikani Falls - one of the many waterfalls that you can stop and admire.

Hana - Hana has a black beach on one side and then you can take a hike (into private property) on this slippery cliff-side path and find the hidden red sand beach - the waters here were really rough but much more suitable for swimming.

Venus pool- Because it is low tide during the summer, the pool waters were a bit stagnant - these are natural pools formed by ocean and spring water that trickled into the rock formations. If the water had been higher, this might have been a nice play to swim.

Kipahulu - as it was nearing 5pm (it gets dark around 7), Shawn and I entered the campsite here - of course, it started to downpour just as we were setting up camp! We hit the hay around 7:30pm and woke up at 6 to go for a rainy hike into the bamboo forests!

Check out the Hana photo album to see the sites!

-Sheenah