Makawo and the Komoda Bakery

After we made our way down from Mt. Haleakala, Rebecca had told me about this little cowboy town.  A cowboy town in Maui?  So, we made our way over to Makawo.  There wasn't a whole lot to see but if you are on that side of the island it is worth a stop.  2 places stood out:  Hot Island Glass and Komoda Bakery!  If you find yourself in Makawo definitely be sure to visit those 2 places.  We actually saw 2 gentlemen crossing the street that were pickled pink and got to talking.  One thing led to another and we ended up getting some baked goods from Komoda Bakery - phenomenal.  We had a doughnut stick, the cream puffs, which came highly recommended, and a guava filled doughnut.  Pretty tasty.  

We then made our way down to Paia, the hippie town, at least according to Rebecca, walked around a bit, and found ourselves on a beach.  It was a nice relaxing morning after making our way up Mt. Haleakala.  

(Here's the main street of Makawo)

(I guess from the architecture there is kind of a western feel)

(This was a 'cowboy' store which sold all sorts of goods)

(The cow in front had on a hat and boots!)

(We stopped for a bit and chit chatted with the gentlemen making glass.  Extremely friendly.  Told them once I have a few more bucks in the bank I'll come back and get some work.)

(The Jellyfish paper weights looked amazing!)

(This was my favorite one)

(An interesting piece of work hanging from the ceiling)

(Octopus...)

(Seahorse... like I said, some very interesting pieces)

(We made our way down this path - notice the coffee in hand.  Never have I drank so much coffee than hanging with Rebecca.)

(I went to go greet the wild chickens and roosters.  You can find them all over the island.)

(Here are a few of them)

(Eyelashes on a car?  Sweet!)

(Sign for Komoda store and bakery)

(A quick view inside the shop)

(Me stuffing my face with a cream puff)

(These were the gentleman we ran into who recommended the bakery.  We later passed them in Paia and thanked them for the advice.  Although I think we both had a bit of sugar overload afterwards...)

(LIARS!  There were no mermaids to be found inside...)

(Sugar plant, perhaps...)

(I ended up with Mahi Mahi and Rebecca had a grilled portabella mushroom)

(Rebecca at the grill.  Side note - We were cooking on the grill a few days earlier and this family came down.  We started chatting and before I knew it I was chasing the 2 little kids around the lawn.  Rebecca ended up grilling that night as well.  The dad told her we should definitely have children...)

(We ate a little late as you can see Rebecca is the only person at the grill)

(Pyahhhhhhhhhhhh - delicious!)

Random Hawaii Photos

A few final shots from Hawaii.  These are all the photos that didn't fit anywhere else...

(We ended up on Makena beach, quite possibly my favorite, with some hummus, triscuits, and a few drinks)

(Here I am stuffing my face with something)

(A panoramic view of Makena Beach)

(Rebecca made pineapple pancakes the one morning and we ended up putting coconut syrup on top... Delicious!)

(Another panoramic shot of one of the beaches)

(Although I may have just had my 30th birthday, I am still a big kid at heart!  Rebecca was kind enough to make it appear as though I was being eaten by a fish...)

(Rebecca had a special message for me after I got uncovered - 'I <3 cheese="" p="" you="">

(Rebecca took this amazing shot of the inside of a flower)

(This flower is called a 'Bird of Paradise')

(As we were driving along one day we saw a rainbow)

(Rebecca was doing a magic trick... Actually, I can't quite remember what she was doing...)

(We stopped at a restaurant in the airport and had a few cocktails as we recapped our trip!  Another amazing adventure!)

Mt. Haleakala for Sunrise

We woke up bright and early the one morning to try and catch the sunrise atop Mt. Haleakala.  When I came over for my grandparents anniversary I did the bike tour down and it was amazing.  Rebecca said she had never seen it so we decided to give it a go.  This involved waking up around 4 am and probably should have been a bit earlier.  Unfortunately for us, there wasn't much of a view.  Fortunately for us, neither one of us threw up on the way to the top which was a good thing.  It's a bit windy and I don't do so well with curves.  Anyway, here are a few of our photos from the top of the mountain...

(It's that high up...)

(Rebecca doing a jump shot as we made our way to the top.  You can kinda sense how foggy it was at the top.)

(Woah, they even have it in meters for us non-Americans)

(This might just possibly be the highest jump shot of my life...)

(There's a secret hidden message on the glass)

(And here was the reason we woke up so early in the morning...  Our wonderful view at sunrise.  There were probably about 20 other people hoping to catch a glimpse as well but they all left after about 10 minutes.)

(A boot to add to our random clothing collection...)

(As we started to make our way down the cloud cover cleared up a bit.  However, the top was pretty socked in still)

(Rebecca making her way to the edge to check out the view)

(A bit of vegetation at the top.  I liked the colors...)

(An impromptu dance party broke out as we began taking photos)

(Rebecca was really getting into it)

(So, we decided to take a nice photo together)

(However, another impromptu dance party took place...)

(And this time I started to get into it)

(Again, a bit of the view.  If you are able to see that building in the picture that was our next stop...)

(There was a green house at the visitor center)

(Do Not Feed Nene - 'Oh no no...')

(More interesting plant life)

(There's a bird in the picture - see if you can spot it.  Rebecca hopped out of the car to get a good photo and then I blew the horn and it took off and she followed right behind it...)

(The rangers at the building we stopped in recommended the hike and also told us of a red bird that is native to this particular part of the world and only lives in this certain region.  I'm not much of a birder but we went to try and find some.  While we were able to get a few pictures, the birds weren't in any of them.  The hike was nice.)

(Danger... GO BACK!)

(There was a sweet little place to hike)

(Rebecca and I)

(There may have been worms in this water which I just had to see...)

(It's going down, I'm yellin' timber, you better move, you better dance...  Although I think it had been down for quite some time.)

(A nice little waterfall)

(If I remember correctly, I believe one of the birds is supposedly in this shot, at least according to Rebecca...)

(Still working on the jump shot timing)

(Often times it takes a few attempts)

(But we usually end up getting at least 1 good shot...)