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. 😎 

Massage and blowhole excursion

This morning the adults all had massage appointments. Mei and I did a short walk first. We were a little later than previous walks and it was quite crowded! We made it to Black Rock and turned around.

I chose a therepeutic massage and the masseuse was quite good although talkative. He really worked on some of my super tight spots but suggested some options that I should look into continuing at home-Rolfing and theragun type devices. 

In the afternoon we drove up to Kapalua to find Nakalele blowhole that Mei had heard about. It was along a twisty narrow road. Lots of people were parked along various parts of the road to access who knows what-beaches? trails?

When we finally reached the blowhole, we almost missed the parking. The blowhole itself is visible by a short rocky trail but you could also hike down to be right next to it. I wasn't prepared for this and had worn my maxi dress but my Jambu shoes ended up having some pretty good traction and while there were challenging sections, it was not difficult. Very cool to see close up (but not too close as the warning signs attest).

When we got back, we were hungry and exhausted and snacked and rested a bit. Late afternoon, we drove into Lahaina to find early dinner. Tonight ended up being at Cheeseburger In Paradise. It was a long wait but we got a nice table by the water.

Another tiring but fun day!

Snorkeling and eating

We took our newly acquired snorkel gear down to the beach. After getting used to the water and the gear, we spent almost an hour in the water. We saw the famous Hawaiian fish with the super long name, plus a bunch of yellow tangs and some trigger fish. They were not plentiful however it was great to be able to walk right out from the hotel and see them. 

Lunch was homemade turkey sandwiches, Hawaiian style chips, grapes and more Mac nuts. 

After a rest back in our rooms, we headed to Whaler's Village to see if we could get a table at Monkeypod for early dinner. Mei had heard about this place, which is farm-to-table restaurant that only does walk-ins. We lucked out in our timing. We had 45 minutes to walk around but were seated by 4:30 and the food was fantastic! I shared a delicious Mac nut mahi mahi with Neve, we had a great pizza, Mei and Stephen enjoyed the fish sandwich. We shared a strawberry cheesecake pie which was so good! Like whipped cheesecake! 

Back at the hotel, we watched In The Heights before bed.

Hitting the beach

On our first full day, the adults got up quite early so we headed out for a walk along the boardwalk and back. We then did a quick grocery store run to fill in the gaps from Costco. Mei had a Pilates class mid-day so the rest of us headed to the beach while she took class. It was really warm out and the water was quite cool. The kids spent most of the time in the water. I dunked myself in for a bit but spent most of my time on the sand.

Lunch was at the hotel's outdoor grill. Later in the afternoon we drove into Lahaina for shave ice at Ululani's, our favourite! The line was long, and in fact everything is quite crowded with people right now! I got guava, blueberry and melona (honeydew). 

We noticed quite a few empty store fronts on the main street. On the way back to the car we stopped at Honolulu Cookie Company to pick up some souvenirs and stopped at Boss Frog's to get snorkel and other water gear.

Dinner was grilled steak, corn, fries from the hotel grill restaurant. It was a delicious meal. 

Maui! Finally!

This was a long time coming! My first post-pandemic vacation and it's to Maui, joining Mei's family. 

Hawaii still has some strict testing rules to get here which made it super stressful leading up to the trip (due to confusing language, uninformed staff and overall lack of coordination). Luckily I found a FB group devoted to helping people understand and get the process. 

Once I arrived on the island and was dropped off at Mei's timeshares complex (lots of traffic!), we immediately walked over to Duke's to join the rest of her family who had snagged a table for an early dinner. It's been hard to get reservations and this seems to be what we will have to do to eat out. Starting off the trip with a daiquiri and a Hula pie ain't bad.

We watched the sun go down for a bit, then headed back to the rooms so I could settle in.