Cloud 9

Robbie and Cat arrived safe and sound from California.  Ryan was scheduled for his first solo serving shift at Freds last night; so Robbie, Cat and I had ourselves a nice, leasurly, healthy dinner on our lanai. 

This morning Robbie and Ryan decided to take us girls to the Iao Valley.  The ʻĪao Needle (shown in picture) is a famous landmark in the state park.  Lush vegetation covers the lava remnant and rises 1,200 feet from the valley floor.  The needle is surrounded by the green dense cliffs of the West Maui Mountains, an extinct volcano.  

There is so much history on this island. The stories begin to sound like legends; however it is simply Maui's journey. The 'Iao Valley is the site of one of the most famous battles that occurred in 1790 and changed Hawaii history forever.  King Kamehameha I destroyed the Maui army in an effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands.  The battle was said to be so bloody that dead bodies blocked ʻĪao Stream, and the battle site was named Kepaniwai ("the damming of the waters"). 

Appropriately ʻĪao in Hawaiian means "cloud supreme".  As you can see we were literally wandering in the clouds!  We had already seen the valley from our helicopter tour but once again the journey on foot was a must experience and completely different view.