At the beginning of February, Kendrick and I found a very very rare block of free time. Wanting to take advantage of it, we booked a last minute trip to Hawaii! We spent most of our time on the trails and in their spectacular mountains… mixed in with just a little bit of beach time. We visited Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. It was so very difficult to narrow the video down to just 4 minutes out of 2 weeks, but I did it! Enjoy!
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Maui:
Home to what many believe are some of the best beaches in the world; Maui feels like paradise. We enjoyed a few sunrises and sunsets from these beautiful beaches. The winter months are prime time for taking a whale watching boat ride. The Road to Hana has amazing views around every corner and leads to the eastern side of the island, which feels more like a rainforest. The 10,000+ foot summit of Haleakala provides excellent views of the surrounding islands, as well as a perfect spot for astrophotography and shooting sunrise.
Kauai:
Two things were in abundance on Kauai: jaw-dropping scenery and RAIN! We explored quite a few of the rugged hiking trails around Waimea Canyon (Grand Canyon of the Pacific!) and they always left us covered in mud with smiles on our faces. All of the rain meant waterfalls were everywhere, which made taking a “doors off” helicopter tour of the island a perfect idea! We couldn’t get permits for hiking the Kalalau Trail, so the helicopter tour was our only way to see the Napali Coast. The views from the sky are probably pretty hard to beat.
The Big Island:
This island is called the Big Island for a reason–it’s larger than all of the other Hawaiian islands combined! There’s not too many places where you can go from soaking up sun on perfect white sand beaches to freezing your butt off at nearly 14k feet elevation in a little over an hour! We hiked up the 13,796 foot tall summit of Mauna Kea to tick off our 24th state high point in our quest to summit all 50 state high points plus DC!
