The Crater

Today was a great day.  We got up pretty early (although we are all getting up earlier than usual because we are still pretty much on east coast time).  We drove about an hour to the town of Haiku (no poetry here!) and took an hour and a half van ride up 10,000 feet to the highest crater on Maui.  It was a gorgeous view.  It was extremely windy.  It was pretty cold.  Luckily we had some windbreakers and pants, but it really didn't help that much.  The view inside the crater was amazing.  It was massive - and the colors were gorgeous - not lush green colors usually associated with Hawaii.  The colors were deep dark browns, rust and blacks.  There was virtually no vegetation in sight.  We spent an hour at the top of the mountain looking down into the crater.  However, the best was yet to come.

We biked the 23 miles down the mountain (at speeds up to 30 miles an hour) for the next few hours.  It was thrilling and scary at the same time.  I must admit, as we were ascending the hill I thought that our plan to descend the mountain on bikes was not a good idea.  The road is filled with hairpin turns, very steep drops and - in places - very little room for bikes.  It didn't seem like the best thing for an 11 year old (or me)!!  But the kids did great.   Jackie calmly led us down the hill.  Anna kept pace with her, and Sarah followed Anna.  I took up the rear.  Sarah didn't try to be a daredevil.  She kept her own pace, took the hairpin turns like a pro and made us proud.  Oh, and did I mention that for about 2/3 of the trip it rained, so the road was slick, there were puddles throughout and it made it even more treacherous than it would have been even without the rain.

At the end, I thought the kids were going to say they hated it, but they both said it was the most fun they have ever had... it's hard to believe that... but it was fun.