First stop, Hawaii!

What better way to celebrate the end of our assignment in Korea, than a trip to Hawaii?!

Right after we touched down in beautiful Maui, we decided to take a sunrise bike tour the following day. This meant, we would wake up at 1:00 A.M. in order to leave by 2:00, and be at the bike company by 3:00. We were driven, on a bus, to the top of Mt Haleakala. We watched a beautiful sunrise despite it being freezing cold! Then, we were bussed halfway down the mountain, given our bikes, and on down the mountain we went. We were informed we would very rarely have to pedal. This was true. It was also true that our brakes would be smoking when we got done. Despite the sail-like poncho I was sporting, I'm pretty sure my average coasting speed was 67 mph. Once we completed our beautiful decent, we returned our gear and headed to Hana. We had researched the 'road to Hana' and it was supposed to be a beautiful drive around the island. The road TO Hana was beautiful black sand beaches, waterfalls, and exotic gardens. We should have turned around at Hana, and gone back the way we came. Instead, we continued on that road, around the rest of the island. There is a reason you don't ever hear about the road OUT of Hana. It's awful. The road is narrow, bumpy, and almost non-existent in some places. The backdrop is barren desert, and the only sign of life is the islanders that nearly run you off the road as they honk and curse at you for being a tourist. Quite the contrast to the amazing ride to the town of Hana.

Another fun adventure was the helicopter ride we took. It was called the 'hidden Oahu' tour, and we flew over Waikiki Beach, Hanauma Bay, Makapuu Point and lighthouse, “Jurassic Park” valley, Pearl Harbor, and Sacred Falls, a 1,000-foot cascade. The weather was perfect, and it was so cool to see all these places from that vantage point. The only thing that dampened the mood was the girl that was puking in the helicopter. I was just happy it wasn't ME puking, so I breathed through my mouth as I took in all the sites.

The rest of our trip was spent at the beach, discussing the events of the coming months. We have a ton of things to get accomplished before rolling to Georgia...

- OVER-caffeinated

-->Almost thawed, and ready to bike down the mountain

-->Despite the smell of hot brakes, the scenery was beautiful!

-->Rainbow eucalyptus tree on the road to Hana

-->Road OUT of Hana. BOOOOOOO!

-->THE best fish tacos!
-->Eating lunch outside at Duke's