Moms 88th Birthday

Thursday was a busy day. We awoke at 1:30am. This morning we were heading to Haleakala. It's the tallest mountain on the island, approx 10,032 feet. So high you are actually above the clouds. The drive is a windy road, speed limit is 15mph. We arrived at the top at about 4:30am, we were one of the first cars there. We sat in the car for awhile, then walked about about 100ft up to the very top. Fortunately there was a ramp, so we could take Mom the wheel chair. While it wasn't a long way, I was quickly out of breath due to the high altitude. Jim and I both felt it, but Mom didn't feel it at all. Funny because I was more concerned about how she would be at this high altitude and she was fine. She did have a bit of a sore throat though, which was gone by the time we were all the way back down the mountain later.

Jim stayed with Mom in the observatory while I went outside to take photos. It was much warmer then last time, about 50 degrees (usually it's below freezing). Even though it was warmer, the winds made it quite cold. I had a sweatshirt on with a fall coat, hood, and gloves and still was a bit cold. There were probably at least 50 people up there with us. While there are no lights up there (I brought a flashlight this time), the moon was pretty bright so you could see a little bit. Last time we went it seemed pitch black and we had no flashlight with us.

The sunrise was gorgeous. We watched it majestically rise above the clouds. When we left, we saw some other people just arrive. One was a commercial van, I'm sure they were not happy customers having arrived after the entire event was over.

Sunrise at Haleakala...

We proceeded down the mountain and ate breakfast at the Kula Lodge. It was cold in the lodge, partly because they had some windows open and partly because they don't have heat- who needs heat in Hawaii?

We all had the pancakes which were the best I've ever had. Macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup to go with it. The lodge is still partly elevated and has a great view of Maui.

We went back to the hotel, stopping briefly at Borders so Jim could pick up a Hawaiin CD he wanted. We all crashed, I took the longest nap (a couple of hours at least). We had to rest up because we were going to a Luau later.




We rested a bit then headed out for the Old Lahaina Luau. It was about a half hour ride from where we are staying. A very pretty drive partly along the coast. We arrived a few minutes late, but didn't really miss much, just the pulling of the pig out of the ground. We walked around the property a bit looking at the sunset and settled into our seats. We were the furthest from the stage, but the seats are elevated so there really isn't a bad seat. We were fortunate to be the very first table to go up for food. A good selection of Mahi Mahi, pulled pork, ahi, chicken, purple sweet potatoes, and more. We also had a choice of about a dozen different fancy drinks...as much as we wanted. The waiter was pretty attentive and we were never without a drink!



The show was entertaining. The dancing was all about the history of Hawaii. Every gesture in Hawaiian dancing has a meaning, so the dance is actually telling a story. It was a total of 3hrs but it certainly went fast. We went back to the hotel and called it a night. It was a long day.