Mahui--Thursday, February 26, 2009

We woke up to more rain, but we decided to take a shot at getting some hiking in, as the weather was often vastly different just a short drive away. We packed clothes for various climates and headed down the winding road and across the isthmus to West Maui for more whale viewing and hiking on the Lahaina Pali Trail trail. This was a great trail, but wow, was it windy. And I don’t mean a little breezy, I mean 40+ mph gusts, enough to actually push you off balance. Jean was clinging to rocks as times (fortunately, my mass kept me a little more stable).

After our hike there, we made our way back to Kahului for lunch at a great health food store, Down to Earth, then it was back to more hiking, or so we thought. We went to the Iao Valley State Park to see the Needle, a rocky prominence we later learned was felt to be a phallic symbol, however, we were disappointed to learn that the only "hiking" was 0.6 mile paved loop. Bummer. We still went, took our obligatory photos, and also walked around another nearby garden.

Now, truth be told, I'm writing the actual text of this post almost two months after the fact, and I'm going off of:

• my pathetic notes
• my pathetic memory
• a pathetic review of my photos from the day

So, I don't remember what else we did this day, but I'm sure it was Hawaiiriffic. Enjoy the pics.

Can't she read?

The Needle.