Road Trips Really Aren't for Sleeping

Yesterday, we woke up really early at 1:30 am and were driving to Haleakala National Park at 2 am to see the sunrise. We also were going to bike down the dormant volcano, so we headed to the bike shop to get our bikes and take a shuttle to the top of Haleakala. Our driver was funny and provided us with trivia about the volcano and the island of Maui. We arrived at the top of Haleakala around 5:10 am and waited a half hour for the sun to rise. There was a decent amount of cloud cover but we could see the sun rising slowly over them. As it became brighter, we were able to view the 3000 feet deep crater of the volcano which looked a little bit like the surface of the moon. Finally, the sun came out and a traditional Hawaiian song/prayer was sung as it rose over the clouds. It was a majestic sight and I probably would have appreciated it more if I wasn’t sleep deprived. After the sun came up, we got back in our shuttle to drive down to the start of our bike ride. 

Before the sunrise

Sunrise

The crater

We got “the best bikes” according to our driver and began the 6500 feet decent down Haleakala. The ride down was a little scary at first as I sped down the road and getting a feel for the bike. Once I got used to the maneuverability and riding next cars coming down the road as well, the ride down was a lot of fun. I did become anxious when a car was coming down and riding right next to me for about thirty seconds. We were told before we started biking not to look behind yourself while riding and to stay in a straight path close to the right side of the road when cars drove by. I did all these things, looking only in my peripheral vision, but this car wouldn’t pass me. I slowed down and the car slowed down too. Eventually, the car passed me and I continued my peaceful descent down Haleakala. We ate breakfast at the Kula Lodge about hallway down the volcano and then continued our bike ride. We arrived back at the bike shop around 10 am (though it felt like 2 pm because we’d been up so long) and turned in our bikes and gear. 

The Road

The bikers

The Breakfast

We drove back to the villa, but stopped at a shaved ice shop on the way. The shaved ice was really fine, almost like snow powder, and mine came with three different flavors and sweetened condensed milk. I ordered a small shaved ice and was surprised at how big of a serving it was, being larger than my fist (I can’t imagine how big the large size is). After shaved ice, we headed back to the villa, took naps, and prepared for dinner. It was my family’s turn to cook dinner and we made a pizza bar. There were so many topping options, we rivaled Pieology. I manned the oven and kept times for everyone’s pizzas as they cooked. After cleaning up, we watched a movie called Lucy and it was time for some well needed sleep. Today, we are relaxing and going to a restaurant my grandparents recommend.

To read a different perspective of today’s events, you can read my mom’s blog here.