We are having a great time vacationing with family in Maui. One day this week we did the Road to Hana. It was an adventure for sure. The Road to Hana is around 38 miles that take about 5 hours to drive on the east side of the island. It is very curvy and offers amazing views. At the end is a 2 mile hike to Waimoku falls. (That’s 4 miles round trip) Upon advise from friends we drove almost straight through to the hike and then stopped leisurely on our way back to see the black sand beaches at Wainapanapa State Park.
Along the way we also stopped at the Halfway to Hana point and had some banana bread. It was super yummy but maybe two slices was too much for little Anabel. She was already feeling a little car sick and the curviest part comes right after the half way point. Sitting in the back of the mini van didn’t help much and our next stop was trying to get her out of the car while she puked all over. We were all scrambling to get out of her way. The day before I had given her a brown paper bag and some crayons to make a make puppet to keep her entertained on another drive. As we passed this bag back to use for a barf bag we noticed there was hole in the bag but thought we wouldn’t really need it. Well, that came back to haunt us.
Anabel started complaining again after a few curves. She refused the very helpful ginger drops and the peppermint gum determined to be miserable. I looked back and saw that look on her face and said “Someone grab the bag, Mike pull over!” In a flash, Mike had pulled over, Emily jumped out and the other girls were quick to follow. Anthony got stuck by the mini van door that wouldn’t open. While he and I battled the safety door, Mike was helping Anabel as she barfed in the van and some in the bag. But as mike grabbed the bag and tried to get it and her out the door the bottom fell out and vomit went everywhere. Anabel got out and felt much better. Mike cleaned out the van with some help from Uncle Anthony while everyone else tried not to get sick just seeing it or smelling it. We moved her up to the second row and kept the windows rolled down the rest of the trip.
This quick summary doesn’t quiet give the story justice compared to our memories. We have laughed and laughed about how it all happened and thankfully even Anabel has laughed. We now affectionally call the van the barf mobile. After a couple of trips down to clean it out and a couple of days I think we have got most of the smell out. Thank you baking soda!
Once she was moved and cleaned up we were back on the road. The rest of the day she was such a trooper. We made it to the hike and ended up walking 5 miles. On the hike to the water falls there is an amazing bamboo forest. The bamboo is at least 50 to 60 feet tall. To keep Anabel from complaining or asking how much longer we asked to her to tell us a story. Following is one of her stories. Remember this is a 6 year old. I have tried to keep her wording as close as possible.
Bamboo the Panda
There once was a panda bear who lived in a tall bamboo forest. His name was Bamboo. He was black and white. He lived in the forest with his panda family and friends. He loved playing with his friend Block, she was black and white too. One day while they were swinging from the bamboo and eating all they could they saw some people with guns. Bamboo hurried back to find his family but they had all been shot by the hunters. He then went to find his friend Block. She too was safe but no other pandas survived the hunters that day. When Bamboo and Block heard the hunters coming they hided in their hiding spot. They were there for two years. They had bamboo to eat and they had a jug of water they had taken from the people. The people cut down all the bamboo trees and other normal trees starting growing. Then after a long time the people cut down all those trees and the bamboo grew back again. While Bamboo and Block were hiding there they got married and had Block Jr and Bamboo Jr.
Later on Block Jr met a red and black panda named Red Head. They got married and had a purple and black panda and named him Purple Head. And they lived happily ever after in the new bamboo forest. The End.
