Sunrise at Koki Beach in Hana 
According to legend, Pele’s bones are buried here 
An early morning selfie 
Look, more waterfalls! 
Waimoku Falls — at the end of a vigorous hike 
My stained glass windows on this Sunday morning 
Banyan tree on the Pipiwai Trail 
Along the Pipiwai Trail 
One of the pools at Oheo Gulch
Sunday I was up before dawn and continued the tour I had started the day before. First stop, sunrise at Koki Beach in Hana, next to which is a hill that is believed to have formed from the bones of Hawaiian goddess Pele.
Later I stopped at Haleakala National Park (which extends from the top of the extinct volcano, where I was earlier, all the way to the ocean). Here I took the Pipiwai Trail (described as “4 miles roundtrip with a rigorous 650 feet elevation gain”) to see a couple of more waterfalls, a huge banyan tree, and sublime bamboo forest. At the end is Waimoku Falls — tall and magnificent and worth a long, sweaty climb.
After a quick (and much needed!) shower, I drove to Kihului to catch my flight to Honolulu. With time to kill before my flight, I stumbled into a Ukulele festival in Kihului where I heard two sisters playing ukuleles and singing a portion of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Never saw that one coming!
Moments before boarding my flight I realized I had somehow left my Kindle in the rental car. I had no time to go back for it, and my phone call to the agency dumped me into voicemail hell in which I learned, in essence, there was no way I could recover my device in less than a month. I said words I shall not repeat here! Bad, bad words…
Fortunately, Honolulu has a Best Buy near my hotel, and they carry Kindles. A stupid expense, but I’ve become very reliant on this device when I travel. The good news, however, is that I seem to have hung to everything else I brought (so far, at least!).
Images & Moments 