Watching the sunrise from atop Mount Haleakala is universally described as an absolute must-do when visiting Maui, and I’ve read and heard several times that going there your very first morning on the island is a good idea because you’ll naturally wake up early anyway, thanks to jet lag. Well, I think I just found another reason to follow that advice, thanks to SpaceWeather.com:
The first meteor shower of 2006, the Quadrantids, peaks on Jan. 3rd at 18:20 Universal Time. The timing favors Japan and, to a lesser extent, Hawaii where dark-sky observers should see 40+ faint meteors per hour just before dawn (Tuesday morning in Hawaii, Wednesday morning in Japan).
This site puts the estimated meteor count for Hawaii at “up to fifty Quadrantids per hour and perhaps more.” Still, such a relatively moderate meteor shower alone wouldn’t be worth the cold, dark, very early trip — but stargazing, meteor-watching and the apparently near-religious experience of the mountaintop sunrise sound like a thoroughly worthwhile combination. Now I just have to convince Becky to get up even earlier for Haleakala than she was planning on… :)
I enjoyed the drive on the North side of Maui, which has like 300 turns over a couple of hours. There is a black sand beach toward the end, but if you feel really adventourous you can go all the way around to Lindberg’s burial place.
I’d actually recommend a Jeep instead of whatever rental car you are getting. You can usually upgrade to a Jeep for a few dollars extra per day. But even with that, you are not suppose to drive on some roads on Maui.
January 2nd, 2006 at 3:33:08 am
FYI my dad knows where the big USC bar is on Maui. I’ll make sure to get that info to you in due time….
January 2nd, 2006 at 7:57:55 am
I enjoyed the drive on the North side of Maui, which has like 300 turns over a couple of hours. There is a black sand beach toward the end, but if you feel really adventourous you can go all the way around to Lindberg’s burial place.
I’d actually recommend a Jeep instead of whatever rental car you are getting. You can usually upgrade to a Jeep for a few dollars extra per day. But even with that, you are not suppose to drive on some roads on Maui.
January 3rd, 2006 at 2:21:52 am
Hmmm - somehow I don’t see this as giving a meteoric rise in your popularity with your Better Half !