It's Official, Maui's *Really* Pretty -or- The Drive Around the Northwest

After two days of early wake-ups we took our time this morning.  We stopped to refuel in Kahului - gas for the car, and Whole Food trail mix for the car's occupants.  (Hawaii's second Whole Food opened in Maui in February of this year.)  We drove through the island's most populous area to 'Iao Needle State Park to walk around and take a dip in a swimming hole.  At the park we viewed the 'Iao Needle (we're not sure why this is in every guidebook as it was not particularly remarkable to us) and sadly could not find the swimming hole(s).

We continued to add miles to the Jeep by driving around Kahekili Highway, which hugs the northwest coast of the island.  This drive was perhaps more beautiful than the road to Hana though it may be more curvy and also has its share of one-lane bridges and turns.  At one lovely curve in the village of Kahakuloa we stopped for a banana bread break.

Continuing along this picturesque drive we stopped for a 2-mile walk where we saw different types of plants and wildflowers.  Not being horticulturists we can't tell you what we saw, only that they were different from what we've seen elsewhere on the island.  Along the walk we came upon a perfectly placed bench where we stopped to watch the north shore waves and blowholes.  We also tried to not get blown over the edge of the cliff due to the strong winds.

After peeking at another blowhole we stopped at the beach adjacent to the Ritz Carlton.  The waves were way too rough for playing and the wind made the flying sand feel like constant pinpricks, so we read our books for as long as we could manage the pain.

Our scenic drive brought us to another beach park where we stopped to watch the sun set between Moloka'i and Lana'i.  A feels like he's Mr. Romance having delivered consecutive nights of sunsets.  We finally reach Lahaina and walked the streets eyeing the ice cream shops before passing the world's largest Banyan Tree on our way to dinner made from local ingredients.