February appears to be the month in which Lee and I take our extended vacations.  This year we headed to Hawaii for a couple of weeks.  We spent the first week visiting the National Parks and the second week with my family in Kauai.  Given that we are in the process of packing, moving and remodeling -- pictures of our trip will be delayed.  BUT here are a few highlights and updates of our trip.

We left CA on February 3rd and our first stop was Maui for 2.5 days so we could visit Haleakala National Park.  Haleakala NP spans a fair amount of the southern half of the island and the majority of it feels like you are walking on the moon.  A small section of it is lush and green -- but is accessible only after driving the windy road to Hana.  We spent our first day doing this drive.  We read it was one of  the most scenic drives in the world -- but we question that. It was no doubt beautiful, but not sure if it's in our top ten list.  We did thoroughly love our brief stop at Wai'anapanapa State Park and wished we had driven straight there so we could have sat and enjoyed it for longer.  The day was quickly passing and we were super excited to swim in the Seven Sacred Pools and hike up to the waterfalls - so off we went. Unfortunately for us, when we arrived at the entrance to the park there were signs stating: No Swimming.  Stagnant Water.  Unsafe for your Health.  Lower pools and falls dried up. Who would have guessed that in the wettest time of year they haven't received rain for over two months!  We still hiked the short trail up to Pipiwai Falls (trickle) and loved the bamboo forest and gigantic banyan tree.  

Our second day started early (3:20am) so we could drive to the top of Haleakala for sunrise.  It was cold and crowded, but a beautiful morning.  After the sunrise we spent several hours hiking in the valley at the top of the volcano.  We hiked to and looked down into a cinder cone.  It was a clear morning and the views were amazing.  We loved it -- definitely the highlight of our time in Maui.

We benefited from food recommendations from a friend of mine and had some of the most delicious meals.  Our favorite of which was the Paia Fish Market.  It was delish!

We enjoyed a couple of hours in the late afternoon on the beach outside our hotel but otherwise were on the move in Maui.  The days passed quickly and we flew out Saturday morning for The Big Island.