Hana

This past weekend has by far out-funned all other weekends since we have been here. Saturday afternoon me and Jake and 9 friends headed out in a 4 car caravan on our way to Hana. We stopped at a bamboo forest to go see the waterfall at the end. It was so beautiful. We hiked through the bamboo and then you have to swim for about 5-10 minutes to get to the end and see the waterfall. Some of them jumped off the rocks but I totally wimped out and didn’t even climb up to try to jump. When we got back to the car one of Nick’s friends, James’, back pack had been stolen from the Jeep. So we called the police and had him write James a temp license so he can get on the plane on Wednesday to fly home to Tennessee. So he now has no money, debit card, ID, credit card and camera and cell phone. That so totally sucks.

Once we got to the campsite we pretty much just chilled. There was no campfire pit so we sat around the lantern had a few drinks and chatted late into the night. The next morning I was going to get up and watch the sun come up over the water but it took me to long to get dressed. By the time I got out there the sun had just risen. There was just a few people up so far so me, Gene & Matt all went out and hiked on the rocks. At one point we were standing on some rocks and suddenly a large wave came and completely soaked us. Although it was only about 6:30am it was still hot enough for the ocean shower to feel good.

Once we left the campsite our first stop for the day was Venus Pool. So I jumped off a bridge into the water about 11 years ago and that was the last time I jumped into the water like that. I was so scared to jump off a rock even though it was only about 5 feet up. Finally after staring at the water for a while Bret came up and grabbed my hand and jumped. It was fun once I actually did it. It is just a matter of building up the nerve to step off. After jumping off that rock a few times I moved up to a rock that was about 5 feet taller. This time I told Jake that if he jumped I would. Next thing I knew Jake was plummeting into the water and my first thought was “oh crap, now I have to jump”. Once I did, that too was really fun!

We stopped for lunch at Hana Ranch Restaurant then headed to Hamoa Beach. That is definitely one of the best beaches on Maui. The waves were enormous!! We did a little boogie boarding and a lot of swimming then headed over the Red Sand beach. It was quite a hike along the side of a mountain. That beach was just alright. The sand (it would be more accurate to call it small rocks) was really sharp and not nice to walk on. That was our last stop on the trip. Two of the cars left while we were at Hamoa Beach and went back the same way we came and the rest of us continued on around the island. It was such a pretty drive.

After all the hiking, rock jumping, climbing has completely worn me out. My muscles are so sore but I would have to say it is worth it because we had so much fun!