Adventures in
Serendipity

It was a year of travel to new and old places, the year I started my dissertation, the year I hiked eight miles and up volcanic sands while pregnant, the year we bought a wagon to take Argos on adventures again, and most importantly, the year that I become a mom.

By far one of the most famous activities to do on Maui is to drive the Road to Hana, a 64-mile stretch of highway along the coast, connecting Kahului to Hana. While the drive technically only takes three hours, what’s special about it is the number of roadside stops to see waterfalls, buy fresh banana bread, and take dips in the ocean. so plan on spending much more than a few hours on this excursion. While ideally you would stay the night in Hana to maximize your time for pit stops, it is possible to hit some of the highlights in a single day.

Today was our big hiking day on Maui and one of the days I was most excited for on Maui. Haleakalā National Park is named for the dormant volcano that last erupted between 1480 and 1600 and rises 10,023 feet above sea level. Haleakalā means “house of the sun” in Hawaiian, and this name is derived from the legend that says the demigod Maui imprisoned the sun here in order to lengthen the day to provide people more time to dry cloth and grow food.

As of writing this post, the Maui wildfires are still ongoing after starting around the beginning of August 2023. We stayed near Lahaina, which is where the deadliest fire burned an estimated 2,170 acres and completely destroyed the historic town. About 2,200 buildings were fully or partially burned, about 86% of which are residential, and the death toll is at 115, though 850 people are still listed as missing. Part of the reason for the severity of this fire is underinvestment in local infrastructure (this wildfire had been predicted many time) and instead a focus on tourism that is damaging Hawai’i in myriad ways, from housing costs to clean water access. If you do intend on visiting Hawai’i, make sure you do so with an investment in the local economy and culture in mind, as well as consideration for the health of the local residents (COVID being brought by tourists to areas without sufficient hospital infrastructure is a huge issue).