Drive!

Kara arrives in Hawaii today!!! I’m super excited, because I’ve been very bored and lonely here for the last week or so. Yesterday I was talking to her on the phone, and I mentioned how I kinda freak out (in a good way) every time I go for a drive and see all the beautiful sights. So after the call, I decided to go for a drive. First, I prepped the Jeep for Kara’s arrival (removed the back seat and took down the soft top) and then I picked a destination... Paia.

Here’s a map of the complete route I ended up taking. It was a very pretty drive, just past Paia the road moves out to skirt the coast. The ocean was choppy looking; this was the windy side of the island after all! Speaking of, without the top half of the doors to protect me, I was getting a bit beat up by the crosswind blowing against my side! And it appears that the windward side really does get all the rain. As I approached Paia, the sky was dark and cloudy, but on I went hoping that I wouldn’t get rained on!

Right about when I hit Haiku (letter B on the map) it started raining. Just a little at first, nothing to make me pull over and put the top up for. But as I kept going, it started raining harder and harder. Big fat drops would hit me every once in a while, falling down from the powerlines above. But I knew that if I just pressed on, I’d soon escape the rain! My glasses became rain speckled, cutting down my visibility. Also, windshield wipers don't work if there’s rain on the INSIDE of your windshield! But this wasn’t miserable, it was fun! I was never cold, even though I was at higher elevation, being rained on, and wind blowing at me at 40 MPH.

Just as I expected, the rain let up as I turned away from Upcountry. Right when I got on to Haleakala Highway (where the route turns NW near Pukalani) the clouds broke, and sun started beating down. By the time I got back to Kahului, I was dry! I can’t describe how magical this place is. The sights are overwhelmingly beautiful, the sound of wind rushing through palm trees is ever present, and the smells! You often get a whiff of that humid, tropical island smell, but every once in a while you get smacked with a new smell. Yesterday I passed by the sugar cane mill and the whole area smelled strongly of sugar cane. I kept sniffing and sniffing as I drove, it smelled so good. And along the route east of Paia, the road darts down into a valley and then climbs back out. The valley was filled with a wonderful smell of flowers.

I can’t believe I live here.