Mount Haleakala

One of the things I had planned to do during our originally scheduled trip in March was ride up and down Haleakala. I wasn't going to travel to Maui and let this once in a lifetime opportunity pass me by. I rented a bike from West Maui cycles for the whole time we were in Maui, but. mainly for this ride.  

Haleakala is the longest continuously paved climb in the world. I did the standard route, which leaves from the beach town of Paia, through the hillside, through the national park, and to the top of the crater. It's about 70 miles round trip and 10,000 feet of elevation gain. It's a long day. I started early, essentially right after sunrise, since the weather is unpredictable and at certain points you can get rain and fog just due to the natural topography. Many people drive to the top and often can't see anything due to clouds and rain. I pretty much had a perfect day, but I also specifically picked this day based on the weather forecast.

The ride up was pretty amazing and unique. I am used to to climbs, but I am not use to a climb that never really changes for 35 miles. It was a steady 5% grade the whole time. It starts out in some lush farmland at the bottom, which explains why the highway is littered with cow patties. After the lushness starts to fade, it turns more to neighborhoods and some small towns and then more like tundra as you approach the national park entrance. Eventually that changes to black lava until you get to the top of the crater.

The ride was pretty hard, scenic, and a must do. The traffic was light and the road was great. I met two other cyclists. One that was just working out and turned back at the park entrance, and then someone from Portland at the top. It was pretty amazing to ride through all the different elevation zones though. I had driven to the top a long time ago, but you get a much better sense and feel for the area going 7 mph on a bike.  The ride down was great too! Since it was a steady climb/descend, it was like 30 mph downhill for almost an hour.  The road doesn't have too many hairpin turns either in my opinion, so you can just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Maui Pictures

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of the areas around our condo and some of the landscaping at the complex (Kamaole Sands). The sandy beach photos are across the street from where we stayed. They were just too nice of pictures not to add to the scrapbook.

Happy 13th Birthday Julia!

We celebrated Julia's 13th Birthday in Maui. There was no better place given the current circumstances to celebrate her becoming a teenager than together in paradise. In the afternoon we went to the beach and then let her pick whatever she wanted for dinner in celebration. In reality she had three parties this year. One before we left with family presents, including Grandpa and Grandma, in Maui, and with her friends after the holidays passed.

Also, in case you're wondering what the pets did at Grandpa and Grandma's house while we were gone, it's pretty clear that they enjoyed the vacation too.

Hoapili Trail

We went on a great hike after getting settled into our place on Saturday. 

Although Jonathan was tired and made the walk difficult, we still had a lot of fun. It was great to see the kids experience the powerful ocean waves, lava fields, and collect interesting shells on the beach. Especially considering that they had been inside a lot recently as the weather turned could back home (and in most of the country).

The thing that I will remember the most is Julia and Jonathan standing near a mini blowhole, enjoying the shooting water and ocean spray. We spent a little bit of time just letting them explore and experience that from a safe distance. Without getting too wet, of course.

Maui Christmas

Panda is ready for our impromptu Spring Break make-up vacation! 

We were originally scheduled to go to Maui for Spring Break, but we had to reschedule the trip as things were quickly changing during that time. Since the kids moved to online school exclusively, getting out of the house and finding some warm weather in between the holidays made this possible.

The kids completed their online school very early in the morning, and by lunch time all work an school was complete. Stacey and I worked out in the morning, and then we spent the rest of the day outside at the beach, or at the pool, or hiking. Panda...wear is your mask at the San Francisco airport???

Happy 13th Birthday Julia!

I can't believe Julia is a teenager now...

We had a small family party the weekend before Julia's actual birthday since we were leaving for Hawaii prior to her actual birthday. She'll have a party with friends later on after we get back. In typical Julia fashion, she picked out her own party decorations and helped put them up. She received a lot of good presents, including money and what she has been wanting for awhile, an iPhone. Special thanks to my parents and Michelle for making that happen by upgrading their own phones and having Michelle's old left over.

Julia is a very special person. We've known that for aong time as her parents, but it's still fun to see it over and over again in different situations as she grows up. We love you Julia!