Bike Haleakala - Jan 8th and Jan 11th, 2007

I was a wimp. I almost fainted on the day we biked the volcano. Haleakala is the only national park on the island of Maui. The summit is 10,023 feet, the highest point on Maui. The trip to Maui would be incomplete without biking down the volcano. Thousands of downhill biking enthusiasts have experienced this adventure since the industry began in 1982. Biajee and I biked down from 6,500 feet on Jan. 8th when I nearly passed out half way. We took the van down to the winery for lunch. It was extremely cold at the peak of the mountain. I didn't choose a very good bike company at all. If we were to go again, I'd book with Haleakala Bike Company. They are cheaper and they offer a deluxe biking tour starting from the summit of the mountain. The reason we went with our little group is because they can take Arnold in the van downhill.

Jan. 8th was the day we booked our outdoor activities. We were blessed with cold, cloudy and nearly rainy weather as usual. I would suggest wind breakers and long pants as outfit for the biking.

Since we didn't start from the peak of the mountain, we had to drive back to the National Park on Jan. 11th for all the fun things we missed.

Haleakala Crater, literally "House of the Sun," is the largest dormant volcano in the world and provides incredible hiking trails across the crater floor. The east-facing chasm swallows sunrises like a giant glass of orange juice. Haleakala is 3,000 feet deep and has a circumference of 21 miles. Atop the clouds, we were rewarded with views of all of Maui's neighboring islands. Rust-colored cindercones of all sizes rise from the volcano's belly.

There are astronomy institutes built next to the summit. Biajee said University of Hawaii hosts one of the best astrology departments in the United States. I still don't want Arnold to go the U.H. We are saving money for the Ivy League colleges as his undergrad choices at the moment.