Depending on the type of person you are, you either think adventure or relaxing on the beach when talking about Hawaii. We like to do both. On day eight of our trip, we literally did nothing but stay at our cottage and play in the yard. We turned on the water hose and played for hours while the warm sun kept us energized.
On Day 9 however, we continued our exploring and headed to Twin Falls. But first we celebrated Makena’s birthday. We grabbed some vegan chocolate cake from Mana Health Food Store for this very special occasion. Mana Health Food Stores is located in Paia, and they are largely organic, local produce with a deli & bakery filled with vegan options. In our opinion they are the best “health food store” in all of Maui. Oh, and the prices are great!
After we ate Makena’s celebratory cake and played in the yard, we headed to get an adjustment at the local chiropractor. We visited Dr. Kourtney Knox at Studio Chiropractic located in Haiku, Maui. Dr. Kourtney Knox’s approach to health care is holistic, which is one of the reasons why we chose her to adjust Makena. We hoped by giving Makena an adjustment it would help her acclimate to the time difference and align her body to optimize her functions. Being off her normal schedule and constantly being in the car can be frustrating for a very active kid. You can tell in the video that the adjustment really helped.
We wrapped up at the chiropractor and headed to our next stop, Paia. In Paia, we stopped to get some colloidal silver which helps support the immune system. Maken as well as Kari and I helped ourselves to some drops of colloidal silver.
After our morning activities, we headed to Twin Falls. Located just off the main highway on “the Road to Hana” Twin Falls is a popular destination for tourists. Locals call Twin Falls, ‘Hoolawa Falls’ and what majestically falls they are, two in fact, hence the name ‘Twin.’
Though we didn’t continue on “The Road to Hana,” we have heard great things about it. Randon, Melissa and Lukas went about half-way thru “The Road to Hana” and really recommended it to us. We opted out of that experience due to my motion-sickness tendencies and Makena really not liking extended car rides. The complete trip in and out of “The Road to Hana” is about 8-10 hours (or give hours one way) and is pretty much windy roads the entire time.
While on our visit to “Twin Falls,” Randon Guerpo, one of best friends and local Hawaiian enlightened us on how the USA had acquired the Hawaii Islands. It was called, “The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii.” When the Hawaiian islands were formally annexed by the United States in 1898, the event marked the end of a lengthy internal struggle between native Hawaiians and the white American’s for control of the Hawaiian government. In 1893 the last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani, was overthrown by the United States who then imposed a provisional government from right underneath her rule. When they threw Queen Lili’uokalani under ‘house arrest’ and once she passed away, the United States Congress moved to annex the Hawaiian island by Joint Resolution, a process requiring only a simple majority in both houses of Congress. Officially on July 12, 1898, the Joint Resolution passed and the Hawaiian islands where officially annexed by the United States. Randon, has a great knowledge about the Islands and it’s so interesting to hear about the controversial history.*
We wrapped up the day with another visit to Ho’okipa Beach where we found ourselves in the world of paradise. Definitely a ‘must see’ on the road to Hana. Why? The fantastic waves, reef system, better winds and the sea turtles! Which we were easily able to find as they swim in the shallows of Ho’okipa Beach before they land on shore to take a much needed rest. Fun Fact: in Hawaii you must keep at least 10 feet away from the Sea Turtles. If you’re caught harassing, touching, feeding or disrupting their habitat, you will be fined as this is an illegal act. I can’t even begin to count the times I’ve had to tell a tourist not to touch the turtles while snorkeling, diving, etc. I’m always shocked at the irreverence some people have towards the animals and nature. So remember next time to leave the animals alone. Mahalo!
We truly love being on this island in Hawaii and the sunsets makes it just as beautiful as ever. Aloha!
* Silva, Noenoe K. Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism.. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004, pages 123-163., The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii. https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hawaii-petition