Maui, Hawaii {Day 4 – Kapalua Coastal Trail & Haleakala Sunset}

Today was the first morning we did not set an alarm so it was nice to enjoy a laid back morning. We started our morning by driving out to the Kapalua coastal trail and hiked along the beautiful coastline for about an hour and a half. We started at Onelia Beach and went out to Kapalua Beach and back. We had perfect temperatures and a slight sea breeze. 

Then we drove to Lahaina for breakfast at 808 Grindz Cafe - a dingy little restaurant in a strip mall that we’d read had fantastic breakfast especially their egg benedicts.  We had a bit of a wait for a table but it was worth it.  My favorite eggs benedict is still at Chow in Bend, Oregon.  We also ordered a side of pancakes with their famous mac-nilla sauce which basically made it a dessert.

We drove around trying to find a parking spot so we could check out the snorkeling around Blackrock but didn’t have any luck.  We went back to our resort.  I decided to hang out there in the sun while Justin ran (literally) down to Blackrock with his snorkel gear.  Bummer for him that it wasn’t very good, but that made me feel better that I hadn’t missed out on anything.

We weren’t able to get tickets to drive up to Haleakala for the sunrise – they now limit the number of people they let up to the summit each morning – so instead we decided to go for the sunset.  I’ve been pregnant on all four of our previous trips to Maui so this was my first opportunity to go up to the top of Haleakala.  I was the lucky (not) driver there and we hit some serious traffic making our way to the other side of the island to head up the mountain.  It was cloudy a lot of the way up but it was clear once we got above the clouds toward to top.  It was SO cold and windy.  And there is SNOW in Hawaii!

Really it was one of the coldest experiences of my life!

We set Justin’s phone in the rocks to take a time-lapse video of the sunset

Most people left right after the sun set, but the best colors came later!

We also scored with a full moon.  Driving down the mountain by the light of the full moon was awesome.

We stopped in Kahului for dinner at Da Kitchen.  The portion sizes were huge but we weren’t overly impressed with the food.  Justin also thought the fish and chips were a little too greasy.

I can’t imagine the sunrise being any more magically than the sunset tonight.  So worth it!