Off to Maui!

I'm at the airport ridiculously early because I had to return the rental car. When I got my receipt, one interesting number popped out: 220 miles (354km)—that's how much driving I did in just two days. And here's another number: $21 for half a tank of gas. So, that brings the total for the car to $84 for two days, with the rental itself being $63.

Speaking of driving, I saw just about the whole island except the SW side from the airport to the pointy western tip. AfteI got the car, I had to go back to the hostel and pick up my bags. The smart thing to do would have been just bringing my stuff with me, but at the time, not having to lug around my camping backpack seemed more appealing. Oh, well. Just another 1.5h added to my trip.

So there was the driving from the airport to Waikiki, Waikiki to Kahana Valley, Kahana to Valley of the Temples, Valley of the Temples back to the campsite, and then north around the coast all the way to the North Shore, stopping in places like Historic Haleiwa and Waimea Bay (it was at the latter that I saw the strongest, most furious-looking waves I've ever seen in my life. If you want a seriously trippy case of horizontal vertigo, just try standing at water's edge with the waves rushing in, and then look at the water going back out while you balance that with knowing you're standing still. It's sort of like sitting in a parked car and thinking you're moving because the car beside you is the one that's moving). There were about a half dozen people in the water at Waimea Beach and they stayed in, despite the lifeguard going on the loudspeaker and telling them to get out. The strength of the water looked...scary.

I also visited the Dole Plantation, which had been a goal of mine so I could get fresh pineapple. Tip: don't eat an entire pineapple at once, even if it's cut up into pieces for you. The acidity will create a funny feeling in your mouth for a long time. At Dole, there was a maze that the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records called the biggest maze in the world, so of course I had to go. The girl told me the record for finding all 8 stations was 10 minutes and I set off on a walk-jog, aiming to beat it.

My time? Just about 54 minutes, and that was with using the map of the stations.

The wind stayed super strong all day with on and off rain, so again, there was no hope in pitching a tent and I had to snuggle into the makeshift trunk-backseat bed I'd fashioned for myself the night before. Except this night, my car was the only one in the parking lot and that was too sketchy for me, so I drove to the next lot over where there were a ton of families and campers.

Speaking of driving...it turns out the headlights don't turn on automatically, which, when I discovered this fact, made me suddenly understand why half the drivers going the other way seemed to turn on their high beams at me. Oh.

Another thing I learned: when a website says there are showers available at a campsite, that may not be true. There weren't any showers at Kahana Valley State Park, so I had to throw on a bathing suit and take the coldest 'shower' of my life under a jet of water (a rinse-off station)—outside. About 20 feet from the parking lot.

But it was an adventure! And that's what I was looking for. I didn't do any hiking yesterday because the rain muddied everything up, but that's okay because I had a fun day, a driving around day.