Every March we jet off to somewhere new to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This year our plan was no different. We hadn't really 'gone' anywhere since we moved and so I was really looking forward to a beach trip. We'd been to a few Caribbean islands and although I'd love to go to some more, with us being in Denver no, Hawaii would be about the same travel time so we thought why not?
Brandon had a ton of points he had acquired from all his work travel so he booked us 2 first class tickets to Maui for March and I could not wait!
Our trip rolled around after a very busy schedule of work, friends visiting and work travel for us both and we were so ready for some relaxation and adventure.
We had really just started hearing about COVID-19 and were slightly nervous our trip would be cancelled but the end of February there were still no restrictions so we were business as usual.
There were not any direct flights from DEN to OGG so we had to have a quick layover in SLC.
I said my good byes to Liam against his will and we were off to the airport! Our first flight was short and sweet and we had a 45 minute layover which provided more than enough time to walk the 2 gates over for our next flight.
Once we got on the plane, we started wiping down our seats. Normally I look like a weirdo on flights when I do this, but this time, most everyone around us was wiping down their seat, screen, tray table and buckles as well. With news of COVID-19 being new but also scary, no one was taking any chances. I definitely wasn't trying to get sick for the entirety of our vacation. The flight attendants laughed and said the seats had never been cleaner since every passenger had been religiously cleaning them on every turn.
Our flight over was so nice, although a bit turbulent over the middle of nowhere in the water. I thought sitting at the front of the plane and laying flat would help with my flight anxiety and maybe it was better than if I had been behind the wings but I was still more anxious than I care to admit. I just tried my best to watch some movies and relax and look forward to landing.
Once we touched down in Maui, we were immediately greeted by the warm humid breeze of the island. It felt so nice after being in such a dry climate for the past 6 months!
I'd planned for us to do the Road to Hana as one of our first adventures and almost everything I'd read on the internet mentioned needing 4 wheel drive so I was really hopeful we could rent a Jeep for our trip. I'd looked at renting local and renting with the corporations and it was wildly expensive. Brandon has Emerald Aisle with National and so he can 'pick' any car he wants if it is on the aisle for a set price so we crossed our fingers that our dream car would be waiting for us.
Sure enough... it was! We lucked out on not only a jeep but a beautiful turquoise one! I was kinda surprised Brandon would even go for it but he said it's Hawaii so why not? I was thrilled and our vacation was off to a magical start!
Our first stop was to check into our hotel, The Paia Inn, and explore the small town of Paia. This was the closest town to the start of the Road to Hana and it looked so charming and cute online.
The Paia Inn only has about 8 rooms and was walking distance to the shops and market. It was just as quant in person as it was online. We dropped our bags and immediately went to explore since it was already late and we were hoping for some dinner before we fell asleep. We found the Paia fish market was still open and went inside for some locally caught fish... it was SO good!
The next morning, we set out for the Road to Hana. I had downloaded The GypsiGuide Maui app and I can't recommend it enough. It is GPS enabled so as you're driving down the road, your tour guide will start playing over your music and tell you which way to look and if there is anything good to stop for. We'd started about 6am local time and were in swim suits, cover up and had a few snacks and water for the car.
Our first stop was the bamboo forrest. It was so pretty but was really raining so we had the entire area to ourselves for about 30 minutes where we could walk through the bamboo forrest to a few beautiful and powerful waterfalls. We snapped a few pics before it was back to the car, we had so many stops to make so we couldn't stay there all day.
We were back in the road and on our way. The guide mentioned that there was a really pretty and short hike on the Waikamoi Ridge Trail so we decided to stop.
Since it had been raining, I felt like wearing my water shoes were a better bet than my hiking shoes so I could just rinse the bud right off. These are flimsy mesh shoes and they have been great for kayaking and all kinds of adventures so I put these back on, wore a bikini and my hat and set off for our mini hike.
Our guide wasn't kidding, the views were beautiful and the trees were really something to behold. They were huge and had very unique and twisty branches.... and roots! Brandon was stopping to take pictures of something at every turn and I was a few steps ahead of him when I jumped off a higher up ledge down to the lower part of the trail and SMACK. I'd slipped in my water shoes and fallen hard on my side. I sat there for a moment while Brandon ran up to see if I was ok.
"I just broke my foot" I told him and he exclaimed "are you sure! how do you know?"
Sadly I had heard a loud crack and although I had never broken a bone before, I just had a feeling that something wasn't right. I tried to get up and walk and surprisingly could ok. So I though hmm maybe not. About 5 or 6 steps layer I started getting very faint and my vision was blacking out. "I think I may pass out!" I told him and he grabbed me and helped carry me back to the car. We took my shoe off and yup you could tell it was broken, bruised and immediately swollen... I took an ibuprofen and googled the nearest ER. It was about an hour away so I had to suck it up for the drive AWAY from Hana back towards the airport and to the hospital. I was beyond upset and really just mad how quickly that ruined our plans and trip.
We got to the ER and it wasn't until I was checking in that I started to cry. It really set in that I broke my foot and that everything was about to be very different from what I planned.
A few X-rays and a boot later and we were off. At this point I would just periodically cry, not from any pain weirdly, but from being so upset. I think it was taking awhile for it to set in that I was supposed to "just relax and stay off my foot for 6 weeks" and that is just not something I felt capable of.
We tried to make the best of it so we figured we would explore the town a bit. This didn't last too long as crutching around town was not only exhausting but really seemed to draw a lot of attention and I just wasn't in the mood for small talk on "Omg what happened to you!?" So we went back to our room to relax.
I'd made reservations at Mama's Fish House for that night (months in advance!!), as it was recommended by just about everyone so I had that to look forward to. I got ready for dinner... which took way longer than I expected it to with only one good foot.
Not only are the gardens and ambiance at Mama's Fish house beautiful but the food was wonderful. We had such a nice dinner and our server was wonderful. I felt so silly wearing a knee high boot/cast in such a nice place but once I tucked my feet under the table you couldn't tell so the embarrassment was only short lived. I was still pretty emotional and I think felt guilty that I'd ruined this trip for Brandon so I was pretty ready for bed by the end of dinner and hoping for a new day the next day.
Road to Hana Day 2 attempt was our plan today. Although we couldn't do any hiking, I was determined to still do what I came here for and that was explore the freaking road to Hana!
I put on some shorts and an anorak and threw my crutches in the back seat and we were off.
We got an early start again and just zoomed past the 2 previous stops we'd already made. My stomach turned when we drove past the trailhead for Waikamoi Ridge Trail. Still in disbelief that I broke my foot on a mile loop trail and not any of the crazy and treacherous hikes we have previously done... looking back that is probably a good thing since we could get to medical help so quickly.
We made a ton of stops... the black sand beach, the Keanae Arboretum, the rainbow eucalyptus forrest, the blow hole. And I got out and crutched my way to just about anything I could. The sites were all so beautiful and I was surprised how much of it I could actually get to. There were several stops we would pull up on and go ehh never-mind since it just didn't look like I'd be able to go but otherwise, we still got to hit all the major players.
We made several stops along the way for fish tacos, dried coconut, coffee at a local market and the Famous Banana Bread we kept seeing signs for all along the drive.
One of my favorite and most random stops we made was at an orchid farm, Hana Tropicals. Our guide on the app mentioned it and I thought let's just go see it. We pulled up to this farm with goats and dogs and chickens and crutched up a set of stairs to see tons and tons of beautiful local flowers and orchids. We spent a decent amount of time here picking out and orchid to send to my mom and feeding some very hungry ducks.
The Road to Hana is a 64 mile long stretch of Hawaii Routes and connects Kahului to the town of Hana in east Maui. The road has over 640 turns and crosses plenty of one way bridges. The road TO Hana is what it is all about, once you actually reach Hana, it is just a tiny town with not much going on. Once you get the the end of the Hana Hwy, you have the option to continue through or to turn around. Most car rentals strong discourage you from continuing as the road can be treacherous. Since we were already down one leg, we decided to turn around. I am so glad we did because on the way back, we saw some amazing double rainbows back at the black sand beach.
And just like that... our trip to Hana was complete. We didn't think it would take us TWO days but we enjoyed it just the same.
Things to Bring:
Water
Snacks
Sunscreen
Towels (if you decide to swim)
Swim Suit
Navigation: Map or Gypsie Guide App
Cash for souvenirs and Banana Bread
Shoes that can get wet
Hat
Anorak or light jacket