Maui. Day 2.

Last night was a relatively restful night.  Our room is a little warm but not stifling.  The desk clerk last night wasn't the greatest at enforcing quiet hours and he was actually making the most noise it seemed.  Different person tonight and he seems quiet so I expect to be sleeping sooner.
Anyway, we awoke at about 6:30 this morning and headed out about an hour later.  We decided to tour the northwest corner of Maui today.  Our plan had been to first go see the hanging bridges in Waihe'e Canyon north of Wailuku, but the access to that didn't open until 9 and we got there at 8.  Instead, we did what was probably a better hike and hiked the Waihe'e Ridge Trail, which overlooks the area we had originally planned to visit.  The trail was a little shy of 2.5 miles and climbed about 1,500 ft.  We took our time and reached the top in about 1.5 hours.  When we started there were hardly any clouds in the sky but when we reached the end of the trail, Lani-lili hill, it was socked in with fog with a few glimpses of the coast and mountains now and then.  Luckily there were some great views going up, including Makamaka'ole Falls, so it was definitely a worthwhile effort.
After returning to the car we continued north along a winding, and sometimes very narrow, road.  The area we passed through was very lush with occasional villages, each with a collection of fruit stands.  One hour and 11 miles down the road we reached the parking area for the Olivine Pools.  After a quick lunch of PBJ sandwiches and fresh pineapple we headed down for a swim.  The ocean was very turbulent here but in these collection of pools, that are fed by occasional waves washing over the protective lava walls, the water was calm and clear.  We spent about an hour swimming in the pools and then headed back to the car and our next destination.
A couple miles up the road we stopped for a quick 1.2 mile hike on the Ohai Trail.  Not the most impressive hike but some good views of the coastline and Moloka'i to the north.  This trail did have a surprise as there was a humpback whale about 100 yards off shore that would occasionally surface and slam it's tail up and down.  Impressive!  I had never seen a whale from from so close before!
After returning to the car we continued north with a brief stop to see Nakalele Blowhole (not impressive at low tide) along with a couple other overlooks.  In the last 'pure' Hawaiian village we passed through there was a series of unattended pineapple stands selling the fruit for $3 so we picked one up.  It made the car smell really good the rest of the drive.
By this time it was getting to be late afternoon and we were feeling tired so we completed the north island loop, passing through resort choked Lahaina without making any more stops.
It was a great 1st full day of the trip and we are looking forward to getting in some snorkeling tomorrow.  I have added to the collection of trip pictures here.