The Road to Hana

After Conservative Hubby and I donned our Maui Jims and finished our breakfast at Cheeseburger, there was only one thing left to do: explore.

The only problem was deciding where to go.


Conservative Hubby isn't one for scenic drives. He's one for driving to a destination. And getting there in a hurry. But because we were in Hawaii (also known as paradise) and because we had a convertible to cruise around in, he said he was game for a morning drive.

As long as it wasn't the Road to Hana.


We'd heard and read great things about this curving, narrow road that winds its way along the coast, past rainforest and waterfalls and magnificent beaches galore. But we'd also heard plenty of reasons not to make the drive--it takes all day, for one. And it's exhausting. And slow. And did I mention it takes all day?

So we agreed we wouldn't do the entire drive. But I really really really wanted to see a bit of the road, particularly a waterfall or two.

No way, Conservative Hubby said. Not a chance.


And then he found out Jaws was on Hana Road. Jaws is the big, famous surf area where the really serious surfers go and catch waves you can't even imagine ... the type of waves that either land them on the cover of a surfing magazine or in intensive care at the hospital.


Fortunately, Conservative Hubby didn't want to do surf Jaws. But he did want to see it. And so once he found out we'd be halfway to the first waterfall on the Road to Hana once we reached Jaws, he was ready to compromise. And we had a plan.

The problem is, getting to Jaws isn't for everyone--and certainly not for every vehicle. It's hidden back off the main road, accessible only by an exceptionally bumpy dirt track. We tried to make it down there but let me tell you: a Mustang convertible does not ride high enough off the ground for the terrain en route to Jaws. After a few minutes of bouncing along and cringing every time we were sure we lost half the car, we gave up and turned around. No Jaws on this trip.

The drive to that point was scenic itself, and that was even before the real scenery began. Past Jaws, the road got narrower and the views more spectacular.


And the drive got slower--much slower. In fact, what started out as a quick cruise took hours to get round-trip--and we only made it the first 11 miles on the Road to Hana.

But oh, the scenery. It was spectacular. I tried to snap as many photos as I could from the car, but I knew better than to ask Conservative Hubby to pull over at the many scenic outlooks along the way so I could snap pictures. He would've left me on the side of the road or thrown me over said scenic outlooks had I done that.


And so I was content with snapping photos as we crept along in the convertible, oohing and aahing as quietly as possible since a certain someone didn't really get to enjoy the view. He was too busy paying attention to the traffic in front of us and the parts of the road where only one car fit at a time.


Oh, and the construction. Because of course we had construction on our drive.


And then--finally!--we made it to the first waterfall. It was lovely. It made me want to go to the three more waterfalls within a mile and a half of this one.


(And later, when I looked at this photo, it made me realize that one should never head straight from a 2-hour drive in the convertible to a photo op. Just so you know.)

Driving to those next couple of waterfalls would've added another hour to the trip. And I knew better than to press my luck. Conservative Hubby was about at the end of his scenic driving rope.


And so once we got back to the car after the first waterfall, we very carefully turned around and headed back toward the waterfalls Conservative Hubby prefers--the manufactured kind at the resort pool.