Today was the second reason why we came to Maui, to celebrate Karen’s birthday. Backstory … I was hanging up birthday decorations last night when I hear voices out on the lanai and it turns out to be Steve and Linda. They decided back in August to come to Maui to help celebrate Karen’s birthday and retirement. Funny thing is that neither Karen or I knew about it. Needless to say I was shocked and surprised.
Karen wanted to start her day by seeing sunrise at Haleakal? National Park. That means leaving the condo at around 3:30am. The drive was long and made even more complicated because you are driving up a dormant volcano (lots of switchbacks) in the dark.
We got to the parking lot at around 5:45am with a temperature in the lower 40°F. We had about an hour before sunrise, so we all had a nap. It was just starting to get light out, so we bundled up and headed outside.
The sunrise was spectacular. What was different about it from times in the past was the clouds that were swirling inside the volcano. After taking tons of photos, we started the trip back down the volcano.
We stopped in Makawao to have breakfast at Casanova Italian Restaurant and Deli and to do some shopping at Komodo Store and Bakery and Sherri Reeve Gallery and Gifts. Before heading back to the condo, we stopped at Costco to pick up Hawaiian Gifts and gas.
We did not have much time to relax at the condo before we headed back to Lahaina to take a 4:30pm sunset cruise. We booked the tour with Scotch Mist Sailing Charters ($73.94 USD / person including taxes) who we have done quite a few sunset cruises with.
While we were checking in, they mentioned that there was a Captain’s Advisory regarding the weather and you could back out of the tour if you wished. They said things like getting wet, boat heaving to one side and gusty winds. I popped another Bonine tablet and proceeded to board the boat.
It was a really nice trip. The boat did lean a couple fo times from one side to another and therefore I just stayed put at the back of the boat. In one day, Karen was able to see the sun rise and set in the same day.
For Karen’s birthday dinner, we went to Kobe Japanese Steak House. It is a teppanyaki restaurant where chefs cook your food right at your table on a hot grill. We had a blast and the food was awesome. There was even enough to take home leftovers for tomorrow.
The night ended with cake and presents.
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