Holiday season

The year that started moving at a snail's pace now seems to be rushing headlong into 2022. 

It was a very strange year, starting with continuing fear of COVID, which eventually morphed into little bits of hope with the vaccine. I started off wary of the new mRNA technology then couldn't wait until I was eligible.

As the weather warmed, it started to seem like things could slowly open up, and we could slowly all start getting together again. Ballet classes continued with masks, first in small groups and only outside or in the large back studio. Eventually, classes all moved indoors, got bigger and expanded into all of the studios. 

I found myself talking to my fellow students more, including people I'd been in classes with for years and never bothered to say hi. A few of us started going to coffee after class, first at Blueys and then when they became too busy, at Cafe Ruisseau. 

It started to feel safer to meet people for meals, first outside, then slowly indoors. I am so grateful for the creativity it took for my neighbourhood restaurants to stay open. 

I got back on a plane in May to spend the weekend with Mei. We didn't do much but it was mostly about spending time together after over a year of Zoom only. June brought a welcome invitation from Mei to join them on Maui. Again, not a trip full of ticking off things to do, but we were all grateful for time together, eating good food (although super early) and basking in the HI sun. The stress of testing to go there was totally worth it.

My ballet friends and I went to Napa for a Roberto Bolle & Friends performance thanks to Kelly's initiative, driving up together. Another dance focused trip followed to Vail in August. These opportunities to see live dance really felt so special. While the weather in Vail was not great, we rejoiced in being back in a place we all love. 

We were supposed to be going back into the office in September, but Delta put a stop to that. We could choose to go back if we want but we had to be vaccinated to do so. I went back a few times but it was rarely worth the commute and only to see colleagues.

Thanksgiving was a return to the Bay area but without the large family gathering due to a non-vaccinated family member. Most of us got together for an easy outdoor hike followed by tacos, which was a great way to see everyone safely. 

Just when we thought this would be the first 'normal-ish' holiday, along comes Omicron. With all of the stress of worrying about what's happening, I am looking forward to finally seeing Ma and D's family in person. 

I also did some holiday baking for gifts. Since one of my ballet teachers is vegan, I set a challenge to find recipes with those limitations but which were just as tasty. The first one I tried was from LA Times recipe writer Ben Mims. His cherry-walnut fudge looked really good. However I used an old candy thermometer which caused the fudge to not set. After an informative Insta message exchange, I redid it and it worked like a charm! Super delicious, too! Definitely worth doing again, although expensive with Luxardo cherries. The second recipe I found was for lemon sugar cookies. I had a bunch of lemons left from various HelloFresh meals so wanted to use them up. The recipe called for vegan butter and silken tofu, which didn't feel like too much of a stretch (since I love tofu). These turned out so delicious! The texture is light but flavourful and definitely better than regular sugar cookies. I love that these experiments led to two new recipes to add to my collection.

Thanksgiving Returns

After last year's Thanksgiving forcibly spent alone (well, with neighbours who had plans cancelled), I spent the week up at Mei's and seeing family. It's been the first time seeing the cousins in a couple of years.

Mei, the kids and I had dinner with the 3's at Hong Kong restaurant in Palo Alto on Monday night. Delicious sticky rice chicken, crab and a bunch of other dishes. 

We also were able to check out Shu Shu's new electric Mustang SUV. Fancy! 

On Tuesday, Gugu picked me up for ballet class at Western Ballet. The teacher was Andre Reyes, who apparently danced at SFB with Mark Lopez (who teaches at Westside). The class was Intermediate/Advanced but I feel like after Chasen's Wed evening class, I'm better at picking up complicated choreography. Still stepped out of grand allegro though. After, we had lunch at a little strip mall place called Chef Zhao Kitchen. Food was pretty good, with XLB, shen jiang bao and walnut shrimp. We talked quite a bit about various and sundry things, which was nice to have that opportunity.

Later I started a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies. I use Tara O'Brady's basic great chocolate chip cookies recipe. We found Guittard chips for the nut-free version for the family and Valrhona bars for our family. Neve helped with making the dough and we let them sit in the fridge before baking up. 

Tuesday night was Mason's birthday dinner. Mei made prime rib, new potatoes and bok choy, and his cake was a vanilla strawberry cream cake.

Wednesday we went to check out a new place in Sunnyvale that made souffle pancakes. We were told it would take an hour to be ready so we left to grab lunch at Dishdash, on a walk street. By the time we got back, the pancakes were just about ready. They are quite puffy, with a choice of whip cream, chocolate sauce or matcha (we got whip cream and chocolate). They are mostly air and took us all of 5 minutes to eat. Not bad and worth trying once, but very expensive and I don't need to go back.

On Thanksgiving, we did the local Turkey Trot 5k, walking the whole way. It was a cold but sunny morning and they adjusted the route to be a full lap instead of repeating a 1k lap as in the past. It made for a nice start to the day.

The rest of the day was making the dinner (small turkey, roast potatoes, air fried Brussels sprouts with bacon, cranberry sauce with orange, sourdough bread, kale onion stuffing, cheesecake bars) interspersed with playing Scrabble. Dinner was delicious. The cranberry, stuffing and cheesecake bar recipes were particularly good.

On Friday, I had arranged for the family to meet for a hike. Sandy suggested Stulsaft park so the dogs could join. Almost everyone was able to make it, including Foster from LA and Hunter visiting from college. Again, a beautiful morning, everyone could be outside, we got a nice family picture and then Shu shu treated us to fish tacos at Sancho's. I brought the nut-free cookies. Some people had one before the hike, some after lunch, some both times. 

In the afternoon, we visited Boba Pup, which is known for their corgi mason jar cups. Their selection turned out to be Totoro Xmas themed but I got a corgi one for extra. I wanted to give it to Kelly who is a huge corgi fan and has been so generous with her post-ballet treats all year. 

Neve drove us everywhere all day and did pretty well as a new driver. 

Then it was time to head to the airport for home. It was a great visit but I'm always happy to return home. 

Inspiration weekend

I started a coaching course this week to help me work through some issues I'm struggling with regarding work (but really regarding life post COVID).

I really like the coach, she's very insightful and has a nice way of asking questions to help me vocalize things I otherwise might try and think my way around.

The homework this week was to help open up and be receptive to intuition. I've been feeling like I haven't been all that successful with it, some very small things at the beginning of the week but nothing really stood out.

Then I thought of my weekend. I had a scheduled volunteer session at the cat shelter. I was not looking forward to it, feeling in a funk, didn't particularly want to drag myself into the shelter, etc 

Once I got there it was nice to realize there were quite a few volunteers working (it's not as fun when you're on your own). I first went through and fed all the cats in the Gen Pop room. Lots of new kitties since I was here last. Another volunteer was doing litter box cleaning so I started going around and hanging with the cats. There was a kitty who was very hissy, I stayed outside the cage but near him to see if he'd get more comfy with me there. Another cat kept meowing as I walked by so I visited her. I was only going to do a few quick pets so I stood bent over but she reached up and I realized I needed to sit down. She immediately crawled into my lap and stayed there while I pet her for a good 30/45 min. 

Today, in class a bunch of us hung out at the coffee shop after and a few people mentioned that I flowed really well and seemed really on my legs. I agreed that I did feel pretty solid-pirouettes landing, mostly staying on balance, everything feeling pulled up and turned out (to the extent my body does that).

Afterwards, I thought about the two things-cat and ballet. I realized the connection is in being in the moment and quieting my active voice. Cats are the epitome of being in the moment. They know what they want and the either go for it, ask for it, or figure out how to get it. If they can't get it, they do something else (often sleeping 😸). 

In ballet, analyzing is one thing, but overthinking doesn't help you. You need the active left brain to stay quiet and let the right brain do its thing. 

By taking the example I inadvertently picked up from the cats, I achieved better results in ballet class than if I'd tried to analyze it to death. 

It's not something I'm particularly good at but perhaps there's something in there about practicing the unused skill of learning to be in the moment that I need right now.

I'll see what my coach has to say about it but I'm already looking forward to the discussion.

Dimple & Cream have found their home

It seemed odd to me that Dimple and Cream would have no interested adopters, given their unique colouration.

A few weeks ago, I ran into my upstairs neighbour, Araceli, at the recycling bin. I asked about her cat and told her about my latest fosters. I asked her to let me know if she knows anyone who might be interested in adopting them. I texted her a picture and almost immediately she gave me the name of someone.

I forwarded the info to the rescue and waited. After hearing nothing, I started to get concerned that the kittens would end up back at the shelter when I went away for Thanksgiving. I reached out to my contact and asked her to look into it. Apparently Caitlin had put that they would might allow the cats outside and so immediately disqualified them without an interview. 🤨

I asked them to interview Caitlin, that she may just need to be educated. Turns out they loved Caitlin and we immediately arranged for a face-to-face so she could meet the kittens.

Well the meeting couldn't have gone better. Caitlin and David are real cat people, he showed me his former boys (two orange tabby brothers!) and the kittens were actually more interested in them both than other visitors I've had. 

David is a skilled carpenter/handyman and talked of putting up cat shelves. I was so pleased that the babies were going to such a good home. 

I miss them already, but it's nice to get my home back again.

Have a great life babies!

Dimple & Cream still in residence

Dimple and Cream are still in residence at the CatBnB. They've been spayed and are waiting to be adopted but at almost 4 mos, they are starting to look more like mini adults. They're eyes turned green and their bodies are proportioned like adults. They're still small and have a ways to grow yet. 

Dimple is a lover. She just wants to be on my lap at all times. She starts purring at the slightest provocation. She's also the feisty one, she's going to make sure you know she's in charge.

Cream prefers to keep a safe distance right up until she sees a clear lap that she doesn't have to fight her sister for. She's fine being close but not that close. She still loves a good chin scratch.

They're both the sweetest, but I'm ready to get my spare room back and see them off to a good home themselves.

Ricardo Zarate dinner at Kustaa

Kustaa hosted fantastic Peruvian chef for a special dinner and Pam, Chris and I jumped at the chance even before we had seen the menu. We loved his food at Picca, Paiche and Rosaline. 

We knew the setting would be a nice one because Kustaa has a patio out back. 

The inspiration for the menu is Zarate's new restaurant, Causita, in Silver Lake, opening in a couple of months. It is a fusion of the Japanese and Peruvian cuisines that Zarate grew up with in his home land.

The food was a delicious series of small bite, with mini arepas to start, followed by a series of tiraditos and causes that are Peruvian interpretation of sushi.

The main course was a delicious lamb skewer dish. 

 As always, his flavours are creative, unique and exciting.

Kustaa offered a pre-dessert cheese plate which we immediately accepted because their cheese is amazing.

And dessert was a yummy light matcha cheesecake with maracuya (passion fruit).

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening, it gave us back the feeling of how life was before COVID.

A tiny earthquake mid-dinnee barely stopped the flow of the evening.

Dimple & Cream

I've got some new kittens at the CatBnB. They've been here almost 2 weeks and have another week and a half or so before they are scheduled for spay/neuter surgery. 

Dimple is a female Tortie and Cream is a female orange tabby (unusual as most orange tabbies are male). They're about 8 weeks old and absolutely adorable! Dimple was super skinny and much smaller than Cream when they first arrived but she was much braver and would purr on contact. Her ears are huge compared to her tiny head. 

Cream was much more cautious and tended to stay outside of reach. When I was able to give her a little scritch on the chin, she immediately loved it but she didn't purr for awhile.

As with most of the kittens I've had, they got some loose stools about a week into their stay so I had to medicate them, which can be a life threatening task for the medicator! Kittens have sharp claws! They both love Churu treats and playing on top of my legs.

International Nights

Friday and Saturday are the International Nights performances. This year, on Saturday they scheduled two shows and we are going to the early show. Originally this was designed to allow a bigger audience assuming the need for spacing due to COVID. They didn't end up needing to do that as the local authorities allowed for full capacity and no masks. In fact, despite all the talk of the delta variant in the news, there was not much evidence of people taking precautions at all. We saw handfuls of people in mask, sometimes families with kids masked but the adults not. Public transport was fully masked but that was due to federal orders. Luckily Vail is a very outdoors oriented town, but it's confusing trying to figure out what is the right thing to do for yourself.

On Friday morning, I joined Suzanne and Ben for a hike up the mountain and over to Lionshead. I got off to a bad start by forgetting my water. They had mapped out a hike with the help of the local maps and guides starting at the gondola in Vail Village. Luckily the trail was dry after all the rain we had. I went about 20 minutes with them and decided I wouldn't do well the whole way so turned back while they kept going. Once I got back to the village, I joined Joel and Joyce at the pool. For lunch we checked out Joe's Deli for sandwiches and ice cream. Their sandwiches were huge and delicious and they had some great ice cream flavours.

Dinner tonight is at El Segundo. They have a variety of tacos, bowls and burritos. My boss hog taco was delicious along with a side of black beans. Dessert was strawberries with a cream/yogurt mix and their churro donuts were perfect.

This year's International Nights are a little less star-filled, a little less action packed than before. I'm sure the planning and programming must have been a challenge, trying to book dancers and repertoire in ever changing circumstances. The highlight of the first night was the performance of Who Cares, dedicated to Jacque d'Amboise. Many dancers from both ABT and NYCB performed in the roles and many of them were debuts. This was a fun way to end the evening.

On Saturday, we started with breakfast at Ludwig's in the Sonnenalp. Joyce, Joel and I had gone their our first year and we loved the glass dining room. This time, there is no buffet and our bigger table was inside but the food was just as good as we remembered. After breakfast, Suzanne and I walked to the amphitheatre to watch rehearsal. This was definitely a highlight of the trip-the dancers did a combination of marking and dancing full out for their pieces, some in parts of their costumes, so in their regular dance clothes. 

The Int'l Night performance was at 5p so we went early to grab a bite at the amphitheatre. We saw several pieces that were created for the dance festival in previous years, some previews of pieces that will be performed on Monday and Calvin & Unity performed the pas de deux from After The Rain, one of my all time favourites. 

While the festival may not have been able to be as full programmed as in past years, we were all very grateful for the fact that we had live dance, new partnerships and new pieces. The audience was super appreciative, as almost every piece got standing ovations from a good chunk of the crowd.

Dancer interviews and creekside walk

In the middle of the week, we have a couple of non-performance days. On Wednesday morning I met Suzanne and Ben at Manor Vail Lodge to listen in on an interview for the podcast Conversations on Dance with Herman Cornejo and Tiler Peck. The room and audience were very small and so we saw Tiler and Herman beforehand, just hanging out. The interviewers for the podcast are former Miami City Ballet dancers. It was really special to be able to see the dancers in this setting, talking about how the pandemic affected them and other aspects of their careers. We were able to say a few words to them after the interview.

 After the interview, I joined Joel and Joyce at the pool. I sat and read while they bounced from jacuzzi to pool. For lunch, we got a table at Fall Line and I had a delicious tomato and goat cheese salad.

We had a later dinner tonight at La Tour, a French restaurant that we've never been to but had eyed the menu before. The restaurant was able to completely open their front wall so that there was a nice feeling of outdoor dining even inside. I had a delicious duck breast and we admired their desserts.

On Thursday, we went for a walk by Gore Creek. There is a nature center and the trails leading from there are marked with a written guide to explain some elements of the ecosystem. 

Tonight, we are heading to Lionshead for a jazz performance. Dinner is at Tavern on the Square. They have a huge outdoor patio with umbrellas which was perfect for today's sunny early dinner. I didn't end up loving the performance. However, after jazz night we always go to Rimini for gelato. 

BalletX and Matsuhisa

The last couple of days have been quiet ones. The rainy weather has not helped. Really the only things we could do involved walking around town and shopping when the rain would occasionally let up.

Yesterday morning, Suzanne generously led us through a workout class consisting of some stretches and some pilates. It felt good to move a little like that. 

The rest of the day I just took it easy in my room. I was super tired from not sleeping well the night before so this was about all the energy I had. 

Our late lunch/early dinner was at Up The Creek, which is right next to my hotel and right off Gore creek. I had shrimp and scallops which were nicely done and delicious. The food overall was quite good although Ben's trout was not to his liking but they replaced it. We had a nice view of the creek.

For this evening, the dance performance will be Ballet X's Sunset 0639 hours. It was previously performed at Vail shortly after premiering in Philadelphia. The piece describes the story of the first mail flight between New Zealand and Hawaii and the tragic explosion that killed the crew on their return. 

We decided, given the rain, to take the bus to the theatre. I discovered that there was an express bus directly to the auditorium. It turned out to be super easy and not at all crowded. The performance was amazing! At the beginning, I wasn't sure what to make of it. The movements were sometimes quite classical and other times very modern. The company were all extraordinarily talented. As the piece progressed I came to appreciate the extremely creative use of sound (invented sounds, bird calls, recited letters as well as mechanical noises and music) to fill in where movement couldn't go. And the costumes while simple really began to help place us in the different settings of the story. By the end of the piece I was choked up near tears. The nearly full house gave an extended standing ovation.

Today was even more rain! I met Joyce and Suzanne at their hotel and played a card game called Spite and Malice. It's a fun game using two decks of cards, a little bit of strategizing and luck. About mid day, I ordered a veggie pizza from Pazzo for the group, with Ben and Joel joining us. We just needed a light meal to tide us over until dinner at Matsuhisa.

In the afternoon, the rain had let up so we strolled through the upper part of the village. I then spent a couple of hours back at the hotel before meeting the gang to walk to dinner.

We have gone to Matsuhisa every time we are in Vail. We love the food and the service. This time was no exception. Our waiter was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The support staff made sure we had water, fresh plates and cleared off service items almost instantaneously. We always have edamame, the black cod, a couple of sushi rolls (the seaweed is so good) and tempura veggies and the shaved ice dessert. This time we added shishito peppers, sea bass with a black bean sauce, and a miso chocolate bar dessert. I had the passion fruit Matsutini cocktail (shared with Joyce). Every single thing was out of this world. 

After dinner we went for a short walk towards the residential area and then turned around to head back.

Vail Dance Festival

A week after returning from Napa for our first live dance performance in 1.5 yrs, Joyce, Suzanne and I, along with their partners Joel and Ben, headed to LAX very early for our flight to Denver and a shuttle to Vail in pouring rain. 

By the time we got to Vail the rain was reduced to light sprinkles. The others are staying at Austria Haus Hotel, but because I joined them late, I am at a different lodging- Hotel Gasthof-Gramshammer. It's quite a complex with a sporting goods store and restaurant attached. The room is comfortable and quaint although a little noisier than Austria Haus due to the location.

Our first dinner was at La Bottega. I had prosciutto and melon and lobster ravioli. We all shared two wonderful desserts (of course one of them was tiramisu).

Our very first performance was the same day we arrived. NYCB Moves is the touring arm of the company. They performed 3 pieces, all of which were new to me:

In the Night (Robbins)

Sonatine (Sonatine)

Pictures at an Exhibition (Ratmansky)

I loved all of the pieces and I thought the dancers (combination of principals, soloists and corps) performed better than I've seen them in awhile. There was a feeling of joy that really made the night special.

After a good night's sleep, I picked up some breakfast from my hotel (hard boiled egg and some pastries with mediocre coffee), then met the others at theirs. Today is a large farmer's market so we spent the mornings checking out the stalls. I picked up a beautiful banana leaf hat.

Tonight's performance is early so we had a late lunch/early dinner at Sweet Basil, recommended by the Austria Haus concierge. It was so good! I had an amazing snow crab pasta but everyone raved about their food. After, we had ice cream at a new place called Sundae. Their chocolate orange tasted exactly like the treats that Mei and Stephen put into Xmas stockings every year.

The performance tonight is an UpClose highlighting Calvin Royal III who is the Artist-In-Residence this year. They discuss different aspects of his career and his experiences at Vail. He performed pieces with Isabella Boylston, Mira Mason, Unity Phelan, and worked on new pieces with Tyler Peck and Jamar Roberts. This series is such a special part of the Vail program and even more so with such a special dancer as Calvin is. We also ran into Boise, who used to take Joan's ballet class! He now lives in NYC and was there with his partner and his mom. 

Napa day trip

I went on a 'day trip' to Napa to attend a ballet performance with friends Suzanne, Joyce and Kelly. 

The goal was to see Roberto Bolle and Friends performance at Festival Napa. This would be the first paid ballet performance we've all been to. Joining Roberto were Skylar Brandt, Aran Bell (subbing for Osiel Gouneo), Melissa Hamilton, Misa Kuranaga, Angelo Greco. 

I took the day off on Thursday and we all drove up in Suzanne's car early in the morning. We made a few stops along the way, having lunch at Taqueria Jalos just outside Tracy (not bad) and made good time arriving at Hotel Indigo by mid afternoon.

We made reservations for dinner later at CIA at Copia and decided to head downtown to explore. As with many downtowns after 2020, there were empty storefronts, not many people wore masks, and a few interesting little shops. We ended up at Oxbow Public Market which was quiet due to many closed shops. We did find Bar Lucia and I got a froze (slushy rose) and we relaxed on their deck until it was fine to walk over to Copia.

The Copia complex seemed quite large. Not sure what else is in their aside from the restaurant and a store. The kitchen is staffed with Culinary Institute of America graduates. The meal was outstanding! Delicious flavours and beautiful plating. We ate outside under olive trees.

The following day, I had to work so my friends headed out to explore. They got back mid afternoon in time for us to drive the half hour to St Helena for dinner and then to Charles Krug Winery where the performance would he held.

I found Cook St Helena on the Michelin list for Napa Valley. It was a reasonably priced Italian place and close to where we had to go for the performance. We loved the small size, clean decor and delicious food. 

We made it to Charles Krug just in time for the gate opening at 5:30p. The stage was set up on an area of lawn next to the vineyard. Folding chairs were arrayed around the stage but the crowd is very small. We got great seats just to the left of center behind the reserved seats.

The performance was short, lasting just over an hour, but included Don Quixote PDD, Le Corsaire PDD, and some more modern pieces including one by Roberto on his own. The performances were all wonderful and with such a small crowd, it felt very exclusive and special. They did perform to taped music, however and I will very much enjoy seeing dance to live music soon. 

Back at the hotel, we had a nice debrief over snacks before turning in. The next day we got up early to hit the road. With a stop for breakfast in Tracy (mediocre), late lunch at Panda Express (dependable), we made it back to LA by mid-afternoon.

Next weekend, Joyce, Suzanne and I are heading to Vail for their dance festival. I felt like this was a nice taste of what's to come. 

Adult ballet intensive

My ballet studio did an afternoon intensive for adults this past week. It was about 3 hours in the afternoon Monday through Friday, a different teacher each day. The schedule was supposed to be technique class first followed by a specialty workshop (petit allegro, grand allegro, adagio, etc) and then closing with a stretch/cool down. The teachers all sort of interpreted the schedule differently each day. James followed the plan most closely as well as giving us 15 minute breaks. Charlie talked a lot but did focus on pirouettes (he gives great imagery and explanations) and minimal stretch. Chasen basically did his regular class but longer (so everything from petit allegro, grand allegro and adagio). He ended with some of his own choreography but did an amazing stretch/cool down. Johnny focused on turns of all kinds, including traveling, ending with a variation from Giselle but no cool down. Mark, thankfully, took it easy on us by talking a bit at the beginning about a day in the life of a dancer. His technique class included a lot of routines that were taught to him by his own teachers (many of whom were illustrious dancers in their own right). His center work was simpler but very focused and added some character at the end. Finally he showed us his portfolio of his own career photos. 

Allegra and Martine gave us all a t-shirt with 'Adult Intensive 2021' on the back and a goody bag. 

My body was so sore by the end. I'm glad to have done this, because it's likely the last time I will be able to. I learned a lot from each teacher and was able to take class from some who I'm not able to take regularly. 

So grateful for this studio.

Upcountry

On our last full day on Maui, Mei, the kids and I headed upcountry to Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm. We didn't know quite what to expect but figured an excursion away from the beach on our last full day wouldn't be all bad. 

As we headed up the slopes of Haleakala, the temperature drops and the skies turn grey as we get closer to the permanent cloud that sits on the mountain. It starts to remind us of Scotland or Ireland as it's greener up here too. 

The view up here is spectacular. This is the northern coast of Maui. The lavender field itself is unimpressive and quite small. However there is a flower garden with some unusual and gorgeous plants. A meandering path takes you down the hill past ferns, jacaranda trees, bromeliads and so many different proteas. 

We picked up some lavender souvenirs and a couple of lavender scones on our way out. 

Down the road a bit from the lavender farm is the historic town of Makawao. We stopped on their main shopping street for a look-see. This is a rustic street with a slightly hippy vibe. The stores tend to be local artists or mom-and-pops. There are chickens everywhere including on top of cars.

I bought a t-shirt from a watercolour artist and we snacked from a food truck in between meandering through the various unusual stores. I quite enjoyed seeing this different side of Maui.

After a brief rest, Mei, Stephen and I headed to Whaler's Village to hunt down a dinner reservation. We lucked out at Leilani's. Their calamari appetizer and parmesan crusted mahi mahi were quite good. We didn't partake of a third hula pie since we were saving up for one last shave ice.

And one last sunset.

Last beach day

Today we stayed close to home base. Stephen rented an umbrella and chairs at the beach outside the resort and we basically hung out there all day. It was a really hot day. I spent the morning people watching- families getting their gear and bickering about where to sit, friends heading to the beach in their stylish swimsuits. The outrigger canoe groups were going gangbusters with several boats heading out full of people. 

A trio of three young men came down laden with snorkel gear but also with gloves, wetsuits and spears. They headed out into the water with their red buoy, going deeper and deeper. 

I took a break mid-day to go back to the room, heat up leftover fish taco for lunch and get a break from the mid-day heat.

In the afternoon, back at the beach and the spear fishing guys were still out there. New families replaced the morning group. The water got rougher but a large cloud lingered overhead to cool us down a bit.

There were a lot of mynas out and they seemed to know who had food and who didn't. This one seemed to be giving me the side-eye.

I went out with Mei for a short snorkel. The usual assortment of colourful fish, joined by a black and white striped one and school of smaller silvery yellow fish. We didn't stay out for long as the rough surf made us a little motion sick. 

After a quick shower back at the room and a short rest, Mei made a delicious fish dinner with Opah and Ling from Costco, with broccoli and potatoes on the side. It was nice to have a lighter meal. 

The evenings entertainment was The Iron Giant, which none of us had seen. 

Napili beach and extraordinary pancakes

Today we headed up to Napili Beach for some different scenery. It's a short drive north from Ka'anapali. Parking is just in the neighbourhood and a short walk to a beach access path. This beach is gorgeous and I realized once I got there that I've been here every time I've visited Maui.

The surf is quite a bit rougher which was fun for the kids to boogie board. We went out for some snorkeling and saw a variety of different fish: another view of the super long named fish which is the state fish, some different triggerfish and butterfly fish, and the reef here is more alive with different anemone. 

When we were ready for lunch we decided to stop at The Gazebo, which my neighbours the Gorens told me about. It's a shack in back of a condo complex. They don't take reservations and they have an insanely good mac nut pancake. Mei, the kids and I waited in line, but Stephen wasn't interested. It took maybe 45 min to get an outside table under some big umbrellas looking out over the water. Mei and I got the combo banana and white chocolate mac nut pancakes. The kids got a club sandwich and an omelette. All of the food was really good. The pancakes though, were out of this world!

They are topped with a butterscotch and maple syrup cream and served with coconut syrup. The pancakes themselves were big and fluffy. Super delicious and totally worth the wait! Plus service was great. 

We took a rest on the afternoon before heading to Whaler's Village to get on the wait list for Hula Grill. The food there is decent but service was terrific. I was full from lunch still so had half of a fish taco meal and saved the rest for tomorrow.

Of course we had to have another Hula pie! We finished dinner in time to catch the sunset, along with practically everyone else at the mall. 😎