Off the Island List

I hope you have enjoyed all the scenic photos I have been flooding Facebook with.  Seriously, I have way too much fun taking pictures, even if I just took a picture of that same strip of beach the previous weekend.  I spent a few hours out at Kam 1 a couple of weekends ago, and I actually stayed for sunset. Usually I don't because my favorite beach has a parking lot that closes (and gets locked) a bit before sunset.  Anyway, I couldn't get over all the unreal colors.

When I first got here, I started compiling a mental Hawaiian "bucket list."  Perhaps I should rename that, because it's not like I'm going to die anytime soon.  Let's call it my "kicked off the island" list, because I now have less than ten months to get my fill of the islands before my temporary license runs out, and I have to go be a dentist somewhere else.  Anyway, I feel like I've accomplished a good number of those things.  I already drove around to Hana - twice - and the second time we went specifically to the Seven Sacred Pools.  The Seven Sacred Pools is a set of, you guessed it, seven pools connected by waterfalls, which runs underneath the road all the way to the ocean.  It's a total blast, but also a total pain to get to.

This was a glorious adventure that my two friends and I set out for one Saturday morning.  We drove the less conventional back way, meaning we braved the treacherous one-lane, windy, gravel road.  But we did manage to beat most of the tourists.  Compare what it looked like when we first got there:

And about an hour after that it was crowded with obnoxious little kids.  Anyway, we had a blast clambering along lava rock, standing under the falls, and jumping off the cliffs.

Number one, go to Seven Sacred Pools is completed.
Number two, survive the Road to Hana is also completed, and I'm sure my car will thank me not to do that too many more times!
Next thing we kept talking about, but never really got around to doing was visit the Lavender Farm.  Another Saturday morning I finally organized and supplied transportation for this activity.

The Lavender farms were beautiful, and had an amazing expansive view of the island.  I also re-affirmed that I love the smell of lavender, and discovered multiple things you can put lavender in and sell to tourists!  That being said, the lavender scones were delicious.

Another list item was to drive up to Haleakela.  That is the name of the 10,000 foot volcano crater on the east side of the island.  The view of the sunrise there is practically legendary, but I had next to no motivation to drag myself out of bed for sunrise, no matter where I saw it from.  Well Labor day weekend came around, and one of my friends suggested we make the Haleakela drive.  I went to bed around 9:30 pm so I could drag myself up at 2:45 am.  Believe it or not, I was surprisingly alert for that time of night!  It took us about an hour and a half to drive from sea level to the summit, and we got there around 5:00am.  It was inky dark, and surprisingly cold for Hawaii.  The cold was surprisingly refreshing, and we dozed with the windows down for a while before heading up to the lookout.

I miss sweater weather.  Weird, right?  I get the feeling I'm going to be incredibly confused when it's still in the 80's come winter time.  The sunrise was glorious!  I sat around with my sweater and blanket, and drank a Diet Coke while the sun came up.

Gotta say, I couldn't get enough of the view.  After the sun came up we drove back down the mountain, and made a stop for some delicious breakfast.  Too bad I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping!