Sunday on Maui

Sunday we got to play tour directors to my sister Linda, and her husband Jim.  They had decided to take a cruise through the islands for a week before they were going to fly home.

They met up with us in Honolulu and were there for the ceremony for our Father.

 

 

They cruised into the Kahului harbor where we picked them up for a day of touring.  The cruise lines had a tour they were interested in taking, but it was $240.00 per person.  When we found out what and where it was, we told them we would take them for the cost of lunch.

Our destination was the summit of Haleakala.  The volcano that has been dormant for many years. It takes at least 2 hours to drive to the 9,740 summit.  The road is winding, with steep turns, fog, rain, cattle, buses, and bicyclist, along with heavy traffic.

 

When we reached it, the whole valley of the volcano was covered in clouds.  We were actually above them.  As you can see, it is chilly and windy at that level.

The clouds moved out a bit, and you can see down into part of the crater.

Another shot of into the crater.

The bus crowd moved out and you can see where the clouds rolled back in.

Can you tell we were cold!

This is Linda and Jim.  Silly people wore shorts!  I had told them it would be cold and windy.

As we started down we stopped a couple of time to get shots of the valley.  It is an amazing view.  We could almost make out where we were staying.

Back to a tree line.



At this height, you can see the ocean on both sides of the island, and some of the road below us.

We stopped in Kula for lunch at the Kula Bistro.  What a wonderful lunch we had.  Everything was fresh made and there was plenty of it. Plus, as tour directors, it was free!

Next stop was the  Alii Kula Lavender farm. This statue greeted us upon arrival.

Not a great picture, but lavender is one of my favorite scents.

There all sorts of beautiful flowers, and of course lavender in the gardens. The lavender farm is on the side of the volcano, so there is a lot of steep climbing in the gardens. We are still at least 4,000 feet high.

Our last stop was the Tedeschi Vineyards, Ltd.  Had to take photos of the goats running around on the hill above the winery.

We all had to purchase a bottle of wine.  The one we got has a taste of pineapple.

This is the tasting and retail store.

Linda and I went across the road to the General Store.  Looks like she met a couple of old friends!

We got them back to their ship and were in time to see a beautiful sunset.

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Aloha