Hitch Hiking our way around the Island

(Jason)

After all we had been through in Hawaii it's hard to believe that we are back in Washington. Our days in Maui were some of the most epic days of our lives. While most of our friends were back at home working, we were in Maui cliff jumping, swimming with turtles, eating fresh mango, making our way through underground taverns and deep black pools of water on the most dangerous hike on Maui, sleeping in tree's, hitch hiking our way around the island, and meeting some of the coolest people in one of the most majestic tropical paradises in the world.

I'll start with our hitch hiking adventure. The morning began with the Hammock Brothers healing up from our battle wounds from the day before; Jon with some crazy bug bite on his back, Justin with cuts on his arms from rock climbing on the beach, and my neck was tweaked from landing wrong on the highest cliff jump at the Commando hike. My family decided they wanted to drive the road to Hana, so we headed out with the morning sun beaming down on us. The road to Hana hugs the North Eastern coast of Maui navigating through the least populated and most dense part of the island. Along the way we walked through a bamboo forest, stopped at a botanical garden, and enjoyed the black sand beach in the state park. After driving slowly through through Hana, we arrived at the Haleakala National Park which boast the Seven Sacred Pools (a series of tranquil waterfalls that flow into calming pools of water each leading to the next fall eventually making its way to the ocean. Leaving the pools, Justin, Jon, and I made our decision to stay behind and spend the night camping at the park as the rest of my family drove back to Kihei. Our annual national parks pass we purchased for the road trip across the US proved helpful; our entrance and camping fees waived.

We weren't the most prepared for being dropped off that far away from Kihei without a ride back. Our rations were: a little bit of left over chicken, three beers, some nuts, two sandwiches, and a little bit of water to hold us until we were able to hitchhike back (or walk the 45 miles through the most desolate stretch of the island). We would soon determine we would be much better off if I would've brought a sleeping bag and Jon would've brought his tarp.

We embraced the fact that it was time to fend for ourselves without the comforts of the condo, and enjoyed the true Maui and all her grandeur. The evening was very peaceful at the park as we hung out with our neighbors Rahul and Andre from Brazil and ate our left over chicken for dinner.  The tree we chose for shelter from the rain had a roof so thick it looked as if it had been thatched and would have held up in Washington's rain - however Hawaii is a tropical island for a reason... It's not a pleasant feeling waking up to rain drops landing on my face, but after we built a fire to warm us up and did some hammock adjusting we found the best shelter the tree could provide and we managed to work our way back to sleep for a few more hours. Although this may not sound that fun - these memories stand out the most and reaffirms our appreciation of the simple things in life; like staying dry when sleeping.

We awoke and executed our exit strategy... thumbing a ride back. On the road we found plenty of towering mango trees with fresh mangoes falling to the ground. (AKA a delicious free breakfast) After about a mile on the road we found a place called Cafe Attitude, which we found out is frequented by people such as Jason Mraz and other stars. This place is amazing, they grow all their own produce, organic coffee, and even generate power for their blender from a bicycle converted into a generator. After hanging out for a while we found ourselves back on the road with our thumbs out again, except now it was raining. This part of the island is the windward side and it catches all the storms that come in. Many cars were passing with shrugged shoulders but our first taste of success was a guy who stopped and didn't have room for us but offered us cold beers for the road! Now we were having the times of our lives! After all we're in Hawaii, on a back country road, eating fresh mango's, drinking free beers, and sharing the thrill of not knowing how we'd get home.

Before we could even finish our beers more cars stopped and talked with us. I even began to joke about how cool it would be to be picked up by a nice new Jeep. Next thing we knew my dreams were answered when Rich and Becky stopped and offered us a ride in a spacious hard top Jeep! We were elated for the ride and our glowing faces soon spread to Rich and Becky. We kept them laughing the whole way - and even when I joked about getting picked up in a Jeep I didn't imagine it would have an ice chest full of beer and a driver insistent on sharing for the hour and a half drive. The Jeep was instrumental in navigating the slightly treacherous dirt road clinging to the side of the mountain. 

In Maui, it is legal and widely accepted to hitch hike, and as you've read our experience was about as ideal as it gets!

 Maui was everything we wanted it to be plus more; we just wish we had more time in this American paradise. It is impossible to do and see everything in Maui in a week, but even if you can only make it there for a week we would highly suggest it. Direct flights to Maui are surprisingly cheap, and if you are open to sleeping on the beach accommodations can be free. We are thinking about going back in September for another month or so because it's just to cool to pass up.

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