Life Lesson #15 - It is dangerous to drive the road to Hana drunk and high

The Road to Hana is a wild highway with 54 bridges and 600 hairpin turns that runs along Maui's northeastern shore. The drive to Hana takes about 3 hours, but most people make an entire day of it.

My life lesson states that it is dangerous to drive the Hana Highway while intoxicated. I believe this to be true - but not from experience. I wasn't drunk or high, but thought the lesson would still be of value. I was, however, a bit tired. You see, I stayed up a tad too late the night before playing trivia at a local bar with my new friends (they were a group of gay men who just moved to Lahaina from Wilton Manors, FL) What are the odds! Ha.

My alarm went off at 5:30am and I began to get ready. I didn't want to be stuck in traffic with other tourists so I figured if I got up that early I would be in good shape to avoid the rental car parade. Me and lil' Kahuna (my blessed Jeep Wrangler) hit the road. It was 70 degrees out and I was the only one on the road as I passed mountains, green pastures and scenic views of the ocean. One of the things I really like about Maui is the way it smells - constant scents of honeysuckle, magnolia, and lavender. Honeysuckle reminds me of my childhood when I was convinced that I could survive from eating honeysuckle if I were to run away from home.

First stop off the highway was Twin Falls. I was excited to hike into the mountain to catch a peak of the waterfalls. As I pulled off the side of the road to park, only one other car was there. I thought this was a good sign that I was ahead of the game. Unfortch, there were three trails to choose from and my book didn't really explain which one to take. Well, I hiked all the other trails before I took the correct one. What should have taken me 30-45 minutes ended up taking 2 hours. I finally made it to the waterfall, took a picture and started to head back. I passed oodles of tourists who asked me which path to take. They were gaining on me! When I got back to the road I was shocked to see that there were about 25 cars parked. So much for my 5:30 am head start.

Personally, I think the best part of the Road to Hana is driving. I like driving and going around all these turns and seeing the sights from your car is a lot of fun. There are so many places to stop, get out of the car and explore. Along the journey I made several stops. I even got myself some pretty amazing banana bread.

When I got into Hana, I hung out at some lava cilffs, a gray sand beach (Hamoa) and a black sand beach (Wainapanapa). Hamoa was so nice. Picture a rural farmland right beside huge cliffs and beautiful blue water. Wainapanapa was surreal. I've never seen black sand before. I was the only one on this beach and I got there by accident. While driving along the highway I noticed a small road and I went down it. I was shocked to see that it took me to a beautiful black sanded beach. I didn't want to leave.

The entire trip took about 12 hours, but it could easily take more if you stopped to explore all the different stops such as Seven Sacred Pools, Kaeleku Cavern, the Lava Loop, etc. I got back to West Maui just in time to see the 7pm sunset. Oh and I ended up renting lil' Kahuna for another day, I just cant say goodbye.