Haleakala today

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Whew. Today we visited Haleakala. I must thank Emmy publicly for encouraging me, since my 'pool potatoes' would rather not have taken yet another adventure this trip.

WOW. It probably wasn't even a great day to go, as it was cloudy, but as we ascended up to 10,000 feet (I may be Mai-Tai'ed, but that is not a typo), and all were awestruck along the way as we looked at clouds ahead on the road and down below. We hiked a short way down Sliding Sands trail (maybe a mile, not more) but the wind was so fierce at our backs I was worried about making it back up so we turned back. MAN IT WAS NOT EASY GETTING BACK, the easy descent fools you!! Of course my 14 yr old would disagree, he carried his 11 yr old on his back in the name of 'getting in shape,' but I know he enjoyed making us look bad.. it was so windy we sat behind a 'ledge,' sort of like a foxhole, to block the wind long enough for us to have lunch.. Of course we found a great lookout on the way back with a better view than we had hiking, but it wouldn't have replaced the experience..

Were we to go again, well I might spring for a night (or two) at Kula Lodge... what a view from there!! and a great location from which to explore Haleakala...

Where is the photo server???

[susieq Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close susieq]

Glad you enjoyed it ~~ It is breathtaking!!

Sue

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Avery, I am so glad you enjoyed it. I am always a little worried when I recommend something highly but the ride up to the crater is spectacular too. At a few places, you can see both sides of the island at the same time.

I remember huge cacti fields at a certain level but they are all gone now in the last few years. The land must have been sold and used for other purposes. They are growing some crops now so they must have removed the cacti. What a pity as they grew wild. You only see a few now here and there. Has anyone else noticed this too?

I always love noticing the changes in plant life on the way up to the top and the cacti made it so noticeable. There is such a big difference in temperature from very warm to freezing sometimes, especially with the wind.

You may be glad you didn't go for sunrise. Now that was really cold when we did it once in April. Never again unless you were guaranteed to get a perfect sunrise over the crater. I have seen postcards of it and pictures too on the Net, if you search for them.

A few pictures of the beautiful color in the crater are in this album.

Avery, I read that you are checking in to the MOC today. I hope you will enjoy staying there. You moved around quite a bit in Maui but you traveled light otherwise it would have been a big hassle.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Avery, I am so glad you enjoyed it. I am always a little worried when I recommend something highly but the ride up to the crater is spectacular too. At a few places, you can see both sides of the island at the same time.

I remember huge cacti fields at a certain level but they are all gone now in the last few years. The land must have been sold and used for other purposes. They are growing some crops now so they must have removed the cacti. What a pity as they grew wild. You only see a few now here and there. Has anyone else noticed this too?

I always love noticing the changes in plant life on the way up to the top and the cacti made it so noticeable. There is such a big difference in temperature from very warm to freezing sometimes, especially with the wind.

You may be glad you didn't go for sunrise. Now that was really cold when we did it once in April. Never again unless you were guaranteed to get a perfect sunrise over the crater. I have seen postcards of it and pictures too on the Net, if you search for them.

A few pictures of the beautiful color in the crater are in this album.

Avery, I read that you are checking in to the MOC today. I hope you will enjoy staying there. You moved around quite a bit in Maui but you traveled light otherwise it would have been a big hassle.

Emmy,

We were too busy gawking at the clouds below us to notice the change in cacti.. we did see a few nene and a lot of cows... the colors in the crater were just so surprising and beautiful compared to Big Island... even my unenthused teenager commented on how 'awesome' it was even though he expected to be bored..

We did check into MOC today, and did the sales tour since they made it somewhat worth our while and we had the time. Marriott continues to make ownership valuable in terms of exclusive views/locations, with exchangers getting shorted. Still, I am happy to be away from the construction, and even though our 'ocean view' is really 'dumpster/parking lot' view with the ocean in the distance, I don't mind. The kids are happy to have their own bathroom and the change in scenery, and the location seems to be a little more convenient to the central Ka'anapali Beach area and Whaler's Village..
But I must say that our suite at the Embassy was more luxuriously furnished and the bathroom was Fabulous... so for two people the Embassy would win me over (except for those obnoxious daily charges.. we are saving $22/day in parking and WiFi charges at the Marriott, plus Embassy charges another $20/day for a rollaway though thankfully we didn't need it).

As for the new Marriott building, well the units are just gorgeous, and I am glad to see Marriott Finally offering fixed weeks, pricey as they may be...

Aloha,
Avery