We actually kept our word today and didn't drive much at all. We started the day with coffee and breakfast on the lanai. Amazingly I took no photographs today, but you'll see where we were if you click on the links below. Pat did some guidebook reading and found that the least crowded beach recommendation, Kahekili Beach Park, is very near us. It took some wrong turns and backtracking to find it, but it was worth the search. It is literally right next to some of the priciest hotels on Ka'anapali Coast. The beaches right in front of the hotels are crowded. Walk a little south on the beach and you find wide open spaces and nice shade trees overhanging the sand. There is an endless parade of walkers, snorkelers, joggers, and families. And sand crabs. We were there before ten and stayed till one. Most of the time we half dozed in the shade or sat and watched people. We ventured in the water together once, and I went alone the second time. We waited till we were ready to leave, which was a mistake. The tide was coming in and the waves were bigger. I got caught both times and ended up off balance with Pat having to pull me to my feet. I'm pretty sure I brought a pound of sand back in my swimsuit in spite of showering off after swimming.
We showered and left again, heading to Whaler's Village for a late lunch at Hula Grill. We got seats in the shade right next to the paved path (Ka'anapali Beach Walk) that runs for over a mile along the ocean, past all the resorts. We drank mai tais (the best so far, made from scratch with fresh fruit and very good rum), had lunch, shared dessert, and drank coffee. We mostly had dessert to prolong our stay in a perfect location. We left at 4:30, strolled along the beach and stopped at a couple of stores.
We went to mass at 5:30 at Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina, and came home for the night.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Day Four, Maui
Today we decided to relax more and drive less. We had mango and banana breads for breakfast, along with pineapple, papaya and mango. We walked to the farmer's market two blocks away and bought more fruit, including Hawaii strawberries that I can't wait to try.
Mid-morning we headed to Iao State Park to see "the needle." It's a tall rock structure covered with plants that towers above a stream which cascades down from Pu'u Kukui, Maui's western volcano. We saw more water rushing down this stream than we did in all the waterfalls on the road to Hana. The state park, curiously, charges $5 for parking. It's tiny, with three short paths, a bridge over the stream, and a small garden. The needle is interesting, and the view up the valley is gorgeous. But the most fun thing about this park is the chickens! Roosters crow regularly, and we saw several hens leading their broods in the search for food. I'm pretty sure I took more pictures of the chickens than of the mountains.
It was almost noon when we left Iao, and we decided to go back to Pa'ia for lunch at Mama's Fish House. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, and the food was wonderful. We had dessert mostly so we could stay a little longer at our oceanside corner table. After lunch I bought a tablecloth like the ones they use on all the tables, and we strolled the beach, sat on benches, and enjoyed the sunshine. It was cloudy in Honokowai where we're staying, and threatening rain at Iao. It was a nice surprise to find sunshine on the north shore!
From Mama's, we went to Kanaha Beach Park to watch kiteboarding and wind surfing. There were three outfitters giving kiteboarding lessons. It looks like a blast, but I'm sure it requires a higher level of fitness than we have. We watched at two different locations for half an hour or so. Our next stop was Tom's Mini Mart for shave ice. This tiny neighborhood store off the beaten path is our guidebook's pick for the best shave ice on Maui, and we thought it was wonderful. We drove a little west to a beach park and watched the waves rolling in while we indulged.
We spent the evening at home, tired from several packed days in a row.
Mid-morning we headed to Iao State Park to see "the needle." It's a tall rock structure covered with plants that towers above a stream which cascades down from Pu'u Kukui, Maui's western volcano. We saw more water rushing down this stream than we did in all the waterfalls on the road to Hana. The state park, curiously, charges $5 for parking. It's tiny, with three short paths, a bridge over the stream, and a small garden. The needle is interesting, and the view up the valley is gorgeous. But the most fun thing about this park is the chickens! Roosters crow regularly, and we saw several hens leading their broods in the search for food. I'm pretty sure I took more pictures of the chickens than of the mountains.
It was almost noon when we left Iao, and we decided to go back to Pa'ia for lunch at Mama's Fish House. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, and the food was wonderful. We had dessert mostly so we could stay a little longer at our oceanside corner table. After lunch I bought a tablecloth like the ones they use on all the tables, and we strolled the beach, sat on benches, and enjoyed the sunshine. It was cloudy in Honokowai where we're staying, and threatening rain at Iao. It was a nice surprise to find sunshine on the north shore!
From Mama's, we went to Kanaha Beach Park to watch kiteboarding and wind surfing. There were three outfitters giving kiteboarding lessons. It looks like a blast, but I'm sure it requires a higher level of fitness than we have. We watched at two different locations for half an hour or so. Our next stop was Tom's Mini Mart for shave ice. This tiny neighborhood store off the beaten path is our guidebook's pick for the best shave ice on Maui, and we thought it was wonderful. We drove a little west to a beach park and watched the waves rolling in while we indulged.
We spent the evening at home, tired from several packed days in a row.
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| Mom and her brood. Someone had thrown some food i the parking lot. |
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| Strutting his stuff! |
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| The needle. Notice how low the clouds are. |
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| My oho with carmelized onions, avocado, stir fried vegetables and jasmine rice. |
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| Pat's uhu with capers, stir fried rice and veggies. |
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| Kite boarding at Kanaha Beach |
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| Kites ready for use. |
Friday, April 29, 2011
Day Three, Maui. The Road to Hana
Every guidebook, and everyone I know who's been to Maui, lists the road to Hana as a must see. As with so many things in life, the journey is more important than the destination. Not that Hana isn't a funky little town and a representation of old Hawaii. It's just tiny, with not too much to do. But the road to Hana is lovely, mystical, and full of worthwhile stops. We spoke with several people and got all kinds of recommendations on the best way to see this twisty, challenging road. We had lunch at the Ulupalakuua Ranch Store with a couple from Calgary who had taken the trip the day before. They opted for a very pricey van tour followed by a helicopter ride back. We didn't think we wanted to spend $600!
We'd read about a Shell station that sells a CD narrated by a local man, complete with a DVD and a map, for $20. We left at 6:30 this morning and headed for the Shell station, which is at the intersection of Highway 380 and the Hana Road. The same guidebook, which hasn't steered us wrong yet, suggested that we have breakfast at Anthony's in Pa'ia. We stopped for Kona coffee and mango scones, and also ordered a picnic lunch (sandwiches, chips, cookies, and orange passion fruit soda). Fortified, we pointed the Jeep toward Hana.
As we drove out of Pa'ia, we turned on the CD. It's very informative, giving some Hawaiian history and telling us the best places to stop. We relied on it and our guide book, Maui in the Lonely Planet series. We walked tthe Waikomoi Ridge Trail, stopped at the Kaumahina State Wayside Park, and walked the Ke'anae Arboretum Trail up into a valley. The plant life was spectacular. We drove the half mile road down to the Ke'anae Peninsula, one of the most beautiful spots we stopped at. Along this short road we bought mango bread from a woman selling from her garage, and warm banana bread at Aunty Sandy's food stand. We sat at a picnic and sampled the banana bread. Not usually one of my favorites, but this one was great.
Further down the road, we stopped at Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park to check out the two waterfalls. Like every other waterfall we could have seen, these were barely running after a dry spell. By now it was one o'clock, and we stopped to eat lunch at Waianapanapa State Park (a mouthful - don't try!). The black lava rock beaches here, as in many other spots along this north shore of Maui, is spectacular. We were lucky to have a bright sunny day for the Hana part of the day. The white foam, black rock and blue, blue ocean was amazing. After lunch we walked part of a trail that leads all the way to Hana, stopped to admire a native Hawaiian cemetery, and finally got back in the car to finish our journey to Hana.
Hana is eclectic, native, and has an interesting history. Hana Bay is nondescript, and we didn't stay there very long. We opted to continue driving east past Hana. We stopped at the Pools of Ohe'o, inside the Haleakala National Park at Kipahulu. We walked the mile loop trail that overlooks the first two pools and waterfalls. It was scenic, and several people were diving off the rock ledges into the pools. We had brought our bathing suits but decided against swimming.
At Kipahulu, a major choice faced us. Most people opt to go back west, through Hana, and retrace their steps back to the starting point at Kahului. Our CD guide warned us that the road west would narrow to one lane, and include several miles of gravel road along steep cliffs. My hero, Pat the intrepid, opted to take the road less traveled. We found that, while there were a few stretches of gravel, most of the road was heavily patched asphalt. A noisy but wonderfully wild, isolated, and beautiful drive that we wouldn't have missed for anything. We saw grassy plains, high cliffs, many lava rock formations, high cliffs, and vast lava fields that I can't find words to describe (but see pictures below).
It was 6:45 p.m. when we stopped back by the Shell station to return the cooler we borrowed and collect our $7 deposit. We were feeling tired and in need of showers, and decided to carry in dinner from a tiny restaurant near our apartment, simply called Mixed Plate. It specializes in Chinese. We both ordered a combo plate that featured two entrees, two scoops of jasmine rice, and macaroni salad. It was very good washed down with pineapple wine!
Thanks to my friend Nancy, who pronounced my flawed photos "artsy" and encouraged me to just use the camera anyway. I did that today, and so have some really wonderful shots to share if you overlook the black crescent on the lower right side. Ultimately I'll use picasa to edit the photos, but for now here are a few in their original state. For some reason, the photos are in a different order from the chronological sequence on the camera, so they're out of order. There are over two hundred more from today on our picasa website.
We completely understand the urge to let someone else do the driving on the road to Hana. But for us, the drive was worth it. And the added bonus was the back country drive back to Highway 36. We're used to traveling the wilderness in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and have also driven some scary roads in Colorado, Utah and Ontario. The road to Hana, while challenging because of all the turns and one lane bridges, was an easy drive. The more rustic road back reminded us of H58 in Alger County, Michigan before it was paved. We thoroughly enjoyed the day!
We'd read about a Shell station that sells a CD narrated by a local man, complete with a DVD and a map, for $20. We left at 6:30 this morning and headed for the Shell station, which is at the intersection of Highway 380 and the Hana Road. The same guidebook, which hasn't steered us wrong yet, suggested that we have breakfast at Anthony's in Pa'ia. We stopped for Kona coffee and mango scones, and also ordered a picnic lunch (sandwiches, chips, cookies, and orange passion fruit soda). Fortified, we pointed the Jeep toward Hana.
As we drove out of Pa'ia, we turned on the CD. It's very informative, giving some Hawaiian history and telling us the best places to stop. We relied on it and our guide book, Maui in the Lonely Planet series. We walked tthe Waikomoi Ridge Trail, stopped at the Kaumahina State Wayside Park, and walked the Ke'anae Arboretum Trail up into a valley. The plant life was spectacular. We drove the half mile road down to the Ke'anae Peninsula, one of the most beautiful spots we stopped at. Along this short road we bought mango bread from a woman selling from her garage, and warm banana bread at Aunty Sandy's food stand. We sat at a picnic and sampled the banana bread. Not usually one of my favorites, but this one was great.
Further down the road, we stopped at Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park to check out the two waterfalls. Like every other waterfall we could have seen, these were barely running after a dry spell. By now it was one o'clock, and we stopped to eat lunch at Waianapanapa State Park (a mouthful - don't try!). The black lava rock beaches here, as in many other spots along this north shore of Maui, is spectacular. We were lucky to have a bright sunny day for the Hana part of the day. The white foam, black rock and blue, blue ocean was amazing. After lunch we walked part of a trail that leads all the way to Hana, stopped to admire a native Hawaiian cemetery, and finally got back in the car to finish our journey to Hana.
Hana is eclectic, native, and has an interesting history. Hana Bay is nondescript, and we didn't stay there very long. We opted to continue driving east past Hana. We stopped at the Pools of Ohe'o, inside the Haleakala National Park at Kipahulu. We walked the mile loop trail that overlooks the first two pools and waterfalls. It was scenic, and several people were diving off the rock ledges into the pools. We had brought our bathing suits but decided against swimming.
At Kipahulu, a major choice faced us. Most people opt to go back west, through Hana, and retrace their steps back to the starting point at Kahului. Our CD guide warned us that the road west would narrow to one lane, and include several miles of gravel road along steep cliffs. My hero, Pat the intrepid, opted to take the road less traveled. We found that, while there were a few stretches of gravel, most of the road was heavily patched asphalt. A noisy but wonderfully wild, isolated, and beautiful drive that we wouldn't have missed for anything. We saw grassy plains, high cliffs, many lava rock formations, high cliffs, and vast lava fields that I can't find words to describe (but see pictures below).
It was 6:45 p.m. when we stopped back by the Shell station to return the cooler we borrowed and collect our $7 deposit. We were feeling tired and in need of showers, and decided to carry in dinner from a tiny restaurant near our apartment, simply called Mixed Plate. It specializes in Chinese. We both ordered a combo plate that featured two entrees, two scoops of jasmine rice, and macaroni salad. It was very good washed down with pineapple wine!
Thanks to my friend Nancy, who pronounced my flawed photos "artsy" and encouraged me to just use the camera anyway. I did that today, and so have some really wonderful shots to share if you overlook the black crescent on the lower right side. Ultimately I'll use picasa to edit the photos, but for now here are a few in their original state. For some reason, the photos are in a different order from the chronological sequence on the camera, so they're out of order. There are over two hundred more from today on our picasa website.
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| The beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park |
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| A view of Haleakala from the back country on the road east from Kipahulu |
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| A view from a random stop along the road. Many cliffs along this shoreline. |
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| The road to Hana from a roadside stop, with a backdrop of ocean and clouds |
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| Another cliff - from a back country stop. |
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| Our rental Jeep at the side of the gravel road. |
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| Another shot of Haleakala. |
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| The gravel road over the hood of the Jeep |
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| Clouds moving in over Haleakala. Most of the land east of Kipahulu belongs to Hana Ranch |
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| Pat heading out to inspect a currently dry blow hole at Wai'anapanapa State Park |
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| More black lava rock - gorgeous! |
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| Our banana bread haven on Ke'anae Bay |
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| Wild surf at Ke'anae |
We completely understand the urge to let someone else do the driving on the road to Hana. But for us, the drive was worth it. And the added bonus was the back country drive back to Highway 36. We're used to traveling the wilderness in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and have also driven some scary roads in Colorado, Utah and Ontario. The road to Hana, while challenging because of all the turns and one lane bridges, was an easy drive. The more rustic road back reminded us of H58 in Alger County, Michigan before it was paved. We thoroughly enjoyed the day!
Day Two, Maui.
We packed in a lot on day 2. I don't have time to do narrative between individual photos, but here's a summary and some highlights.
We had a leisurely breakfast of pineapple, papaya and mango on the lanai, with Kona coffee. I discovered the camera malfunction, called a camera dealer. We had expected to feel sluggish, but both of us had lots of energy. We headed up country, taking highway 30 to 36 to 37 going north. We decided to head first to the farthest point for the day, Tedeschi Winery and the Ulupalakulua Ranch Store. The store has kitschy souvenirs and a lunch grill. We had ranch raised beef burgers on the wide porch with a mix of locals and tourists. We then walked across the street to the winery tasting room and tasted some mostly medoicre wine. We did like the Maui Blanc and brought a bottle back to the apartment. On the way home, we spent a pleasant hour at the Alii Kula Lavender Farm.
After a brief respite back home, we headed to the Old Lahaina Luau. We were early, and had some time to people watch. We were close to the front of the line, so had mai tais in hand by the time we were seated. We opted to sit rather than wandering the grounds. We had seats in the back, but could see very well. Unfortunately my backup camera doesn't do night well at all, so my photos are limited. The food was plentiful and pretty good. The show was authentic and enchanting. Lots of chant and drums and hula. The chanter was excellent and so were the dancers. At the end, those of us celebrating an anniversary or a honeymoon ended up dancing on the sand. A great end to a wonderful day!
I'll caption the photos below so you know what they are.
We had a leisurely breakfast of pineapple, papaya and mango on the lanai, with Kona coffee. I discovered the camera malfunction, called a camera dealer. We had expected to feel sluggish, but both of us had lots of energy. We headed up country, taking highway 30 to 36 to 37 going north. We decided to head first to the farthest point for the day, Tedeschi Winery and the Ulupalakulua Ranch Store. The store has kitschy souvenirs and a lunch grill. We had ranch raised beef burgers on the wide porch with a mix of locals and tourists. We then walked across the street to the winery tasting room and tasted some mostly medoicre wine. We did like the Maui Blanc and brought a bottle back to the apartment. On the way home, we spent a pleasant hour at the Alii Kula Lavender Farm.
After a brief respite back home, we headed to the Old Lahaina Luau. We were early, and had some time to people watch. We were close to the front of the line, so had mai tais in hand by the time we were seated. We opted to sit rather than wandering the grounds. We had seats in the back, but could see very well. Unfortunately my backup camera doesn't do night well at all, so my photos are limited. The food was plentiful and pretty good. The show was authentic and enchanting. Lots of chant and drums and hula. The chanter was excellent and so were the dancers. At the end, those of us celebrating an anniversary or a honeymoon ended up dancing on the sand. A great end to a wonderful day!
I'll caption the photos below so you know what they are.
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| Pat in front of our Jeep Wrangler. A great choice, though we didn't realize it yet. |
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| The porch of the Ulupalakua General Store. Only one of these people is real.... |
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| The Tedeschi Winery Tasting Room. Owned by the Ulupalakua Ranch. |
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Alii Kula Lavender Farm  |
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Day One, Continued
Clearly I have more to learn about using the blogger editor. Which is quite basic and not too friendly! After our arrival at Hale Maui, our apartment hotel, we unpacked quickly and headed to the tiny beach, which looks like this:
See the black curve in the lower right? Lens problem with the camera. It's still under warranty, but the paperwork is at home, so I have to wait till I get there to send in the camera. Luckily, I brought the older, smaller, less functional Canon Power Shot, which is still working perfectly at 3 years of age.
We had dinner at Leilani's at Whaler's Village. It was a beautiful if subdued sunset. Clouds on the horizon meant no spectacular drop of a molten ball into the sea, but it was close to a perfect evening anyway. After dinner we walked along the ocean past the pricey condo hotels, then returned to our nest with a view of the ocean from the bedroom, and a peekaboo view from one end of the lanai.
By the time we returned "home" it was about nine (3 a.m. at home). We tried hard to stay up for a couple more hours, but gave up at 9:30.
See the black curve in the lower right? Lens problem with the camera. It's still under warranty, but the paperwork is at home, so I have to wait till I get there to send in the camera. Luckily, I brought the older, smaller, less functional Canon Power Shot, which is still working perfectly at 3 years of age.
We had dinner at Leilani's at Whaler's Village. It was a beautiful if subdued sunset. Clouds on the horizon meant no spectacular drop of a molten ball into the sea, but it was close to a perfect evening anyway. After dinner we walked along the ocean past the pricey condo hotels, then returned to our nest with a view of the ocean from the bedroom, and a peekaboo view from one end of the lanai.
By the time we returned "home" it was about nine (3 a.m. at home). We tried hard to stay up for a couple more hours, but gave up at 9:30.
Day One in Lovely Maui
What a long day we had yesterday! Our car service picked us up at home at 5:15 a.m., and hour after we arose. By 6:15 we were through security at the new North Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport. Neither Pat or I had flown since we retired,a nd we were expecting an annoying time getting to our gate. I was particularly nervous about the metal detector now that I have a titanium hip to go with the stainless steel plate in my ankle. I just informed the TSA person, who sent me to the new body scanner (NOT traumatic, since you asked), which did not pick up the hip but thought there might be something in my left pocket. Our flights were uneventful, and we arrived at Kapalua Airport at two p.m. Hawaiian time (eight p.m. at home).
The Ford Fusion we had prepaid at Budget wasn"t available, so we ended up with a great deal on a Jeep Wrangler. Four wheel drive, removable top, lots of bells and whistles. And sits up high enough to see over fences and guard rails. So I could take photos like this:
The Ford Fusion we had prepaid at Budget wasn"t available, so we ended up with a great deal on a Jeep Wrangler. Four wheel drive, removable top, lots of bells and whistles. And sits up high enough to see over fences and guard rails. So I could take photos like this:
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| From the car window |
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| Highway 30 leading to Lahaina |
Monday, April 25, 2011
Almost on the plane
It's nine p.m. in Michigan. We have a car coming at 5:15 tomorrow morning to take us to the airport for our 7:35 flight to Phoenix. All we did today was pack (and that's not quite finished, since I'm using the Dell mini that will travel with us). Nothing exciting to report, except that in 24 hours we'll be in paradise on earth! Also known as Maui. Phoenix is okay, but it's just a quick stop to change planes.
Really the only point of this post is to add photos, so that when I actually have something cool to share I'll know how. I can already tell that typing on this small keyboard will be a challenge, so please forgive typos. Probably the half bottle of Simply White didn't help the typing.... (What, you never heard of it? St. Julian Winery's white table wine, available at my local market, Market Fresh, for $6.50. It's very nice, a little sweetness, light, not overpowering.)
Pat is supposed to be printing boarding passes, but I hear music coming from his computer room. He can probably print and listen to music at the same time. Back to my task at hand. I'm enclosing a photo from our picasa web site, the link to which I'll also include on the main blog page. I uploaded five photos from the Sunday we met Katie's family. Katie and Josh had been engaged for a week at that point.
I'm hoping this link works for you the same way it worked for me. If not, drop me a comment and I'll fix it for the next post, which should be coming from Maui.
Really the only point of this post is to add photos, so that when I actually have something cool to share I'll know how. I can already tell that typing on this small keyboard will be a challenge, so please forgive typos. Probably the half bottle of Simply White didn't help the typing.... (What, you never heard of it? St. Julian Winery's white table wine, available at my local market, Market Fresh, for $6.50. It's very nice, a little sweetness, light, not overpowering.)
Pat is supposed to be printing boarding passes, but I hear music coming from his computer room. He can probably print and listen to music at the same time. Back to my task at hand. I'm enclosing a photo from our picasa web site, the link to which I'll also include on the main blog page. I uploaded five photos from the Sunday we met Katie's family. Katie and Josh had been engaged for a week at that point.
I'm hoping this link works for you the same way it worked for me. If not, drop me a comment and I'll fix it for the next post, which should be coming from Maui.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Lead up to a great adventure
Five days from right now, Pat and I should be pulling our rental car (hopefully the Ford Fusion we reserved and paid for in advance) into Hale Maui, a family-run apartment hotel. It's 10:30 p.m. in Michigan, 4:30 p.m. in Lahaina. This beginning post is just to start to learn how to use Blogger so that I can keep family and friends up to date on our travels, and also have a record of our trip. This one is a big deal for us. We're celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary (actually July 18th) a couple of months early. We like to be in Grand Marais, Michigan in July, and usually spend our anniversary week and a second week there.
So, off to Hawaii! I haven't been there for 35 years, and Pat has yet to discover this tropical paradise. We plan to spend eight nights each on Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai (the only island I've visited other than Oahu, which we're skipping on this trip). We leave April 26th, and arrive home May 21st. Almost a month is paradise. And the first time in our 30 years together that we've flown anywhere alone on vacation! Yes, we're excited!!
So, off to Hawaii! I haven't been there for 35 years, and Pat has yet to discover this tropical paradise. We plan to spend eight nights each on Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai (the only island I've visited other than Oahu, which we're skipping on this trip). We leave April 26th, and arrive home May 21st. Almost a month is paradise. And the first time in our 30 years together that we've flown anywhere alone on vacation! Yes, we're excited!!
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