The
Alisandra Photography Blog

As most of you know, Chad and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in Maui this past October. It is our favorite place on earth. And when I think about Maui, I think of this amazing road and the blessing it has been to me and Chad. I think some of the best days of our marriage have been spent here. For reasons beyond, “It’s beautiful and fun.” We love the Road to Hana because it reminds us to slow down, connect, admire God and the intricacies of His work, and of course, be adventurers. We weave around the hair pin turns and loose cell service and radio signal. Sometimes Chad and I talk, and sometimes we just enjoy the fresh air and painterly scenes.

I brought my film camera on our trip so that my documenting wouldn’t become work, but another way to slow down. Of course I thought about 100 times, “I’d love to photograph a couple here!” However, I’m so glad Chad and I got to celebrate our anniversary with no thought of work in this place that is so special to us!

Below are the first days of our trip, spent on the Road to Hana.

We started our trip to Maui at the Paia Inn. Paia [Pah-E-ah] is a little town where everyone suggests you start your journey with breakfast! We were in a hotel that had a continental breakfast, so we opted to save our money for the banana bread… The Paia Inn was the warmest surprise! There are just a few rooms, but the service is that of a 4 star hotel.

We skipped the first couple of miles and drove down to Ke’anae to walk around this church. The funny part is that I wanted to badly to visit the Coral Miracle Church [google that story when you have a chance] but we found out later that we went to the wrong one! We’ll just have to go back… Either way, it was pretty and fun to see this structure tucked so far back into God’s creation!

Chad’s favorite beach. In life. Waianapanapa State Park is full of adventures. There are underground pools and caves, hikes, caverns to explore, and of course this black sand beach!

When we landed in Hana, we stayed a night at the Hana Kai. This is when my mind was racing about how we could try to afford to live here. In that hotel. I’d be ok waking up to Hawaiian sunrises like the one below everyday.

Once we left Hana, we drove the back side of Maui to visit a few more falls and experience a side of the island we’d never seen. Haleakala, the volcano, is most always in cloud coverage. It was pretty surreal to see the cloud above, and the sun shining on the land below. Our drive to Hana was so good, and it get’s better and better with each trip!