Kahekili Highway in north Maui

Driving Kahekili Highway around the north tip of Maui was an amazing trip. I started in Ka'anapali and ended in Waihe'e, near the airport. The landscape is incredible varying from lush hillsides to blood red cliffs dropping vertically into the bright blue ocean. The landscape, while breathtaking, wasn't much of a surprise. The big surprise was the road. WOW! At one point I thought I had taken a wrong turn and ended up on someone's driveway but I soon realized that I was still on the road and it had narrowed to just enough space for one car. The hairpin turns kept my speed at no more than 15 mph, but mostly 10. This speed ensured I stayed between the steep upward cliffs dropping rocks to my right and the sheer drop into a deep valley on my left. Although rare, when I encountered an oncoming vehicle someone needed to back up and find a small turnout so the other car could pass. For the record I could not stomach the back up on this road, so I always pushed forward. It was like nothing I've ever seen and am certain that luck is the only thing that stopped me from encountering an oncoming vehicle with my front bumper on one of those curves.

Outside of the incredible views and adrenaline rush the driving provided, the highlights were:

- The sign that said "Slow down. Not AMERICA."

- The town of Kahakuloa which had a bright green steeple church, broken down school bus and the friendly guy selling fresh pineapples. He will politely stop you and try to sell you pineapples and/or just chat and make sure you were OK and knew how to get out of the mess of a road. I thought this was sweet until he told me I had 35 more minutes of road-hell before I go tout.

- The bridge that looked like it was put together by kids with backyard scraps. I actually think it might have been a school project, but a good one as I made it over.

The whole trip took a little over an hour and a half and upon completion I celebrated having my life by feasting on Hawaiian cuisine, which included a 'spam sampler.' I was surprised to find I kind of enjoyed it. I ended my day with a short trip to kite beach in Paia where there must have been 20 kite boarders in a small cove. It was fun to watch and I can't wait to do it again someday.