Today we drove the scenic windy road to Hana. The first day I got sick on the plane and the second I got sick on the short drive to the Waihee Ridge Trail. I was not going to be caught nauseas again. I started the morning off with a single chewable Dramamine. Yes a chewable. I prefer the orange flavor of the chewable tablet over the soap taste of the non-chewable. That soapy taste is enough to make me vomit, which is completely counterintuitive being that I am trying to prevent vomiting. Besides, absorption starts in the mouth so the chewable tablets are likely to be more efficient nausea preventers anyway. The problem was that I became extremely exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open for the drive. I actually remember dreaming about fire works and the Giants game. I hear they won actually. Anyway, when I purchased the Dramamine I noticed that there was a non-drowsy form, but I completely bypassed it. I assumed that the non drowsy formula wouldn’t be as effective, like that of Nyquil. I swear the orange non-drowsy formula doesn’t work like the real thing..... the green one.
Let me start off by saying that the trip was not my idea by any means. Keith’s dad and sister were the ones who really wanted to go. We told them that it was an all day trip and that it was probably going to rain. In an attempt to avoid the “We always do what you guys want to do,” phrase we went. My friends Mike and Kath actually recommended the trip, so I figured it would be worth a shot even if I am prone to motion sickness. The plan was to leave at 7am and meet at the Kahanu Gardens. Ray and Katherine were not ready to leave, so we left before them and headed off for the journey. About an hour into the drive we received a text message from Katherine, “We are turning back.” I guess they didn’t want to endure the rain. I really have no idea, but we were already on the way so we pressed on.
We made our first stop at Pua’a Ka’a. According to the Maui Revealed book we were supposed to make a 5-10 min hike up a trail in order to find the perfect photo-op under a waterfall. Needless to say we hiked for 2 hours in the pouring rain and deep mud and found no such waterfall. The adventure was actually one that tested my comfort zone. We crossed rushing water and narrow bridges. We did find this old building, which looked like an excellent opportunity to seek shelter from the rain. Inside was this old wheel. Brian decided it would be a great idea to tell Keith to give it a little turn. All of a sudden water came rushing down the bank. It turns out that wheel opened a dam ahead. We quickly closed the dam and continued on our way. We ended up hiking around and found ourselves back at the main road about 200 yards from the car. We were surrounded by numerous “keep out” and “no trespassing” signs. OOPS.
Stop number two was the Kahanu Gardens. Ahead was a sign that read “Road Closed.” It had been raining so hard that the road was a little flooded and the garden was closed. We crossed anyway. Brian drove the car through the water and we walked around the closed garden. It was nice because we didn’t have to pay the 10 dollar fee and we had the place to ourselves. Amy and I found some really cool shells on the beach. We really had to be careful around the coconut trees though. Those things burrow in the ground when they fall from the trees and could potentially be quite dangerous if you are standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. We actually attempted to crack one open. It looks so much easier in the movies. We were not successful. We went to leave and were unable to cross the road. In the hour that we had been touring the garden the road had completely flooded and there was no way we could drive through. We ended up finding an alternative route through private property and muddy roads.
Stop number 3 was the Black Sand Beaches and Caves. This was actually the only stop we made that I didn’t feel like I was breaking a law. We did make a few “adventure pee stops” on the way in addition to these listed, but I don't count those. We attempted to find a fresh water swimming hole, but ended up hiking in wet muddy terrain once again, only to find nothing. We did see some awesome caves and stuck our feet in the black sand though.
Overall I would say that the trip was a success. I guess you could say that we found a few new adventures that could be written in the next addition of Maui Revealed. The day was coming to an end so we drove back down the mountain. The rain diminished and the sun was shinning. Score, a rainbow.
Thanks for reading,
JenniferMarie
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