A road adventure, then new diggs!

Yesterday we drove the road from Hana, (normally called the road to Hana, but we were already there for four days). This was the second half of the eastern Island loop. The road here was not recommended for rental cars, but hey, it's a rental car! We went about ten miles on fairly good road, then it started to look like a narrow trail blazed along the mountainside. I was fortunate enough to have two cars ahead of me who I followed closely so that they could block for oncoming traffic. I called them my bird dogs, because I could just watch them and I didn't have to worry about meeting anyone head-on at the blind curves. It worked like a charm and in most cases anyone coming the other way would pull over to let them through and I would just follow behind.
The Island changed a lot here going from rain forest to rugged mountains and then it opened up to an out-west sort of yellow prairie. The road finally widened again and eventually we even started to have a center line again! I let the bird dogs move on and we took our time to sightsee.
Eventually we made it back to the center part of Maui and then on to our condo on the southwest coast in Kihei.
The condo is fabulous, on the third floor just above the ocean. the waves crash in within fifty yards of our balcony. We have five nights and four days to explore the west end of Maui.

The road from Hana was quite a challenge in some areas.

Not wide enough for two way traffic, I let my bird dogs blaze the trail.

The scenery was awesome, and I wish the two lead cars weren't in such a hurry so we could enjoy the views more.

After getting away from the rainforest and rugged mountainside the country started to open up again.

We couldn't believe the difference from where we were an hour ago!

Soon even the road started to get wider and smoother.

A rugged shore on the south side. This is the seaward side of the volcanoes at Haleakala National Park.

Pavement!

The tradewinds generate power for the Island at several windfarms on the Island.

At our condo in the evening we went down to the beach to watch the sunset. This guy joined us.

The sun was setting as this outrigger canoe came by.

Unfortunately the sun dropped into a cloud before it set into the ocean. No green flash today!

We are on the third floor overlooking the beach. The condo is located on Maalaea Bay  just south of Wailuku. Check the map!

This is the view from our living room.