Our trip to Hawaii
By jenandtreTre and I had a great time in Maui. We were there from Sunday through Friday and did many, many things, but came no where close to doing everything. It was absolutely beautiful and we were amazed with how accessible the beaches are and how they haven’t been commercialized. Of course there are sections of the beach that have resorts built up on them, but more than not they are wide open and just off the road’s edge. Below is a day by day “journal” of what we did. We hope you enjoy it.
Sunday – October 7, 2007
Tre and I sprung (ha ha) out of bed at 5:00am, climbed into a cab by 6:00am and headed to the airport for our 8:30am flight. The cab was one of the stinkiest cabs I have ever been in. The BO smell was so bad that I chose to take deep breaths through my sweatshirt. Uffda! We got to the airport only to find that there was no one working the counter. We were about 10th in line and everyone was wondering what was going on. People sure get freakishly weird in airports!! We finally got checked in, through security and on our plane. We were all alone in the two seats that made up our row, so that was awesome. We landed in Kahului, Maui at 10:30am and we thought it was going to be 11:30, so we were a little earlier than planned, not to mention a little confused. 
)
No biggie, though, we headed towards the baggage claim where were were greeted by a young Hawaiian gal that gave each of us a lei. As we waited for our bags we noticed how windy it was outside…later we would find out that this is the windy season. This time of year is when the Tradewinds blow, but it was 85, so it didn’t really matter. After we got our bags, we headed to the car rental pick up where we were greeted again, only this time it was by a couple of local roosters! They were just hanging out in the parking lot like they were supposed to be there.
We called the Kapalua Villas to find out if we could check in early to our villa, but they weren’t sure, so we decided to head down the Hana Highway. We stopped in Paia for something to drink, a couple of Hawaiian Suns (Hawaii’s fruit juices) and then stopped at one of the first attractions on The Road to Hana, Twin Falls. We did a short hike up into the lush, green surroundings to the two falls. I took my camera out to take a picture of Tre, only to find out that the focus had gone haywire somehow in the previous hour. We missed a picture of our first waterfall in Hawaii, but luckily there were many more to see and take pictures of.
After the falls, we headed back to Kahului, passing Hookipa Bay where there were multiple wind surfers out on the water. Once we got back into town, we were very pleased to find a Costco. Thanks to Tre’s mom and her “early Christmas gift”, we were able to take pictures of all of the remaining beauty we experienced over the next 4 days. After Costco, we hit Safeway where we bought food for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Since we both like spam, we had to buy some of it since we were in Hawaii, plus it was really cheap.
As we drove towards our villa, we passed through Lahaina and Kaanapali with the ocean pretty much right outside of the car. Once we arrived at our villa, we unpacked clothes and groceries and then headed down to Napili Bay. It was getting cool as the sun was setting, but we HAD to get in the water. It took a few minutes to adjust to the water but it was awesome. The blue/green, unbelievably clear water was all I imagined it would be. We headed back to the villa to make dinner, watch some tv (Desperate Housewives – ha ha) and crashed out. It was a long 1st day.
Monday – October 8th, 2007
At 8:30 we wandered over to the Kapalua Visitor’s Center for an orientation on Maui. They served us a continental breakfast of muffins, bagels, Hawaiian Sun, fresh pineapple and papaya and donuts. We learned a little about the island and what there was to do. After that we changed into tennis clothes and went over to meet with the concierge about activities before we went the tennis center. We signed up for a luau for that evening and got some information on making the trip to Hana, snorkeling spots, the sunrise from Haleakala summit as well as pamphlets on horseback riding. Then we headed over to the tennis center just as it started to rain. A guy there told us it was probably going to last for 1/2 hour, so we took his advice and drove down to Lahaina to play on a public court. When we arrived, there was a flannel shirt draped over the net, so I moved it, only to find out a little bit later that I must have disturbed a local bum’s laundry. He wasn’t unpleasant toward us, but he was clearly upset. Oops… Oh well, the tennis continued and after Tre and I knocked some rust off our tennis skills, we managed to get in a couple of good volleys before we headed home to change for the beach.
We ventured north to try and find a blowhole, but we were not successful. The Hawaiians have done a very good job of keeping things hidden and private. Signs are not something you can count on, but it was not a wasted trip as we got to see a field of stacked rocks and breathtaking views. We headed south toward our villa and stopped at Honolua Bay to get our first taste of snorkeling in Hawaii. There were a lot of fish to see just off the shore, some colorful, some big and some that didn’t look very friendly. Then it was back to the villa to get ready for the luau.
The luau was in Kaanapali at the Hyatt, it was called the Drums of the Pacific. They served everyone a Mai Tai or a fruit punch as you entered the seating area. Once we were seated, we enjoyed the views and the 4 man Hawaiian band that was playing. The bar was open and Mai Tai’s and mixed cocktails were flowing. Tre and I enjoyed our fruit punches – the best I have ever had. :o) As the emcee started the show, the Kahula pig was carried in ceremoniously by 2 Hawaiian men and then the feast began. The food was wonderful and neverending. There was green salad, noodle salad, pickled Maui onions, Ahi poke, Kahlua pig, Teriaki steak and chicken, rolls, Mahi Mahi w/ butter sauce and pineapple salsa (to die for!), fresh pineapple and papaya and fried rice. Let’s not forget dessert which consisted of, coconut pudding, bread pudding, pineapple cake, and chocolate macadamia nut pie. Just as I was getting ready to indulge in my dessert, it started to rain and we were immediately given ponchos. I was not going to let my dessert go to waste, though, so I covered it with my napkin and snuck bites in between raindrops. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes and once the stage was dried off, the show began. They did a quick hula lesson for anyone that wanted to get up on stage (Tre and I sat this one out), then the real show began. We saw exquisite outfits and dancing by both men and women. We saw a fire dancer and still can’t imagine how hot he must get spinning those blazing sticks spinning around himself. After the luau, we grabbed a hammock on the beach and while the valet parking line died down, we closed our eyes and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. It was so peaceful. When we got the the car I was surprised to see that it was only 8:45 as it felt much later. We were tired…
Tuesday – October 9th, 2007
Tre got up a little earlier than me and made us an egg and spam breakfast. We were supposed to have hashbrowns, too, but Tre learned really fast how beneficial oil would have been (we forgot to get that at the store). The darn things didn’t want to be baked and they only wanted to stick to the pan and burn. One smoky villa later, we had our spam and eggs with a Passion Orange Hawaiian Sun and then headed to the Plantation Golf course for our 8:20 tee time. We dropped our bags off, checked in, each received a free Kapalua bag tag with our name on it and then hit the driving range to get a few warmup swings in. We got paired with a man and his wife, but his wife wasn’t playing, just along for the ride. They were celebrating their 25th anniversary. The views were spectacular and it was a very enjoyable morning of golf.
As I was attempting to stay on my 1/2 marathon training schedule, after golf, Tre and I headed to the walking trials that are actually the cart paths of the old golf course near our villa in Kapalua. I thought it would be perfect until right off the bat we headed straight up a hill. West Maui (and East Maui) is very hilly. Had I realized that these trails really are meant for walking, we would have found somewhere else to jog, but it turned out ok and we did about 3 miles in the blazing sun and called it good. As we were walking back to the car, we got caught in one of the many sporadic showers that happen in Maui. It was awesome…a perfect cool down. After that we headed down to Kapalua Bay for some snorkeling. While we were there, there was a wedding ceremony right on the beach – it was beautiful. We snorkeled for about an hour and then headed back to the villa before heading to dinner at Pizza Hut. I know, I know. Pizza Hut?? When you are in Hawaii? I can’t tell you how excited we both were when we drove by a “sit down” Pizza Hut in Lahaina. And even better that when we got there it was buffet night. We were both very happy campers! Tre even made an exception to his “no fruit on pizza” rule and ate Hawaiian (canadian bacon and pineapple) pizza.
On our way home we stopped at Longs and bought a styrofoam cooler so we could pack a lunch for the next day. We did some preparing (packed lunch, gathered snacks and got our clothes together) and forced ourselves to go to bed so we could get up at 2:20am in order to go see the sunrise from the summit on Haleakala Mountain.
Wednesday – October 17th, 2007
We were out the door by 2:45am. The concierge had told us that we should allot 3 hrs and since the sunrise was at 5:45, that’s what we had to do. We stopped at the gas station (gas in Hawaii was $3.58/gal) to fill up and there were at least 15 cats hanging around. Tre and I decided that the lady running the place has to be a crazy cat lady. With a full tank of gas, we started on our journey up the mountain to the 10,000ft summit. We drove a very winding road, with many, many cutbacks in the pitch blackness of early morning. We weren’t sure if the drop off on alternating sides of the road was something to be nervous about or not. When we go to the summit there were only 3 spots left in the parking lot of about 30. We felt pretty good about getting a spot. There was a lot a little lower on the mountain that had more parking but we were glad to be at the very top. Tre took a short nap during the 15 minutes we had to spare and then we walked up to the viewing ara. It was quite cold…I don’t know the temp, but we had on pants, shoes, socks, a tshirt, a sweatshirt and a jacket. I was also wrapped in a blanket that we “borrowed” from our villa. At the summit we were above the clouds and we watched the sun work it’s way up, giving a magnificant light show in the process. The colors (gold, pink, yellow, blue, orange) were incredible. After it finally broke through we headed back down the mountain.
We stopped to see the Silversword – a small, silver plant that is only found on the Haleakala Mountain. We passed up several places for breakfast as we headed down the mountain. We had out sights set on the small town of Paia in order eat at Charlie’s. Our Hawaii for Dummies book told us this was a great place for breakfast – and it was. Tre and I split bisquits and gravy and a macadamia nut pancake. It was definitely worth the wait. The coconut syrup that was so yummy. After breakfast, we changed out of our long sleeves and pants and into our swimsuits and shorts and headed off on The Road to Hana adventure.
The concierge’s advice, Hawaii for Dummies and a “Road to Hana” CD guided us through the winding, 52 mile road with 34 one-lane bridges. The “right way” to do this his trip is to stop along the way and see all of the things to see. We saw waterfalls, natural swimming pools, bamboo forests, Rainbow Eucalyptus (which we saw again later on The Bay Golf course), breathtaking views, lava cliffs, a nude beach where there were two nude males, one topless female and several clothed tourists, hiked on muddy trails into the rainforest, got eaten alive by mosquitos and had a picnic at a gorgeous park called Wai’anapanapa State Park. We even had homemade banana bread that we bought from one of the many vendors along the road for dessert. We saw several mongoose at the State Park – the first wildlife aside from birds and fish that we had seen. As weird as it sounds, there are no snakes in Hawaii, we were very glad to hear that.
Our furthest landmark and turnaround point was the Seven Pools in Haleakala National Park. Tourists and locals can usually swim in these natural pools, but the current was too strong and swimming had been banned while we were there. That was disappointing, but it was still very cool to see.
Thursday – October 18th, 2007
This time I got up and made breakfast…and I didn’t do much better with the hashbrowns – ha ha! After breakfast we headed over to The Bay Course for our 8:20 tee time. Only the front 9 holes were open as they were replacing the greens on the back 9, so we were set up to play the front 9 twice. However, we shot extra balls and did some practicing all along the way since it was just the 2 of us and when we were done with the 1st 9, we decided it was time to do something else.
After that we once again tried to make it to Mama’s Fish House. They stop serving lunch at 2:00 and we didn’t have a reservation, but we slipped in there at about 1:50 and even managed to be seated right by a window with an amazing view of the beach, waves, lava rock and windsurfers. Tre and I shared an appetizer and a salad to start off the meal. The appetizer was a lime and coconut Ono (sashimi) and the salad was an Ahi sashimi salad with wasabi bluecheese. Tre ordered the special which was a macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi and I had the Ono, Mahi Mahi, and Ahi panang curry. The food was FANTASTIC and Tre said it was the most expensive lunch he has every paid for, but it was totally, totally worth it. We both pretty much licked our plates clean.
After stuffing ourselves with the amazingly good food, we set off for Black Rock in Kaanapali. We laid out on the beach until we could no longer tolerate the sand blowing in our face and sticking to our suntan oil. We headed for the water with our snorkel gear on. We saw a lot of the same fish we had seen already, but the really cool thing was that we got to see turtles for the first time. I followed one for quite some time as it swam along the bottom of the ocean and stopped to eat goodies along the way. It was really neat and very peaceful.
) We played under the lights on a perfect evening. We even had 1/2 dozen frogs come out to watch us. We think they came out for the bugs that zapped themselves on the lights, but it was crazy as they would come right out onto the court and not really bother to get out of your way if you were coming near them.After tennis we tried to clean out the fridge, we actually did a really good job of buying just enough food without having to leave too much behind. We watched some tv and were asleep once again.
Friday – October 19th, 2007
Boo hoo our last day. We got up around 7:00, packed up our stuff, ate some cereal for breakfast (neither of us had to cook this time although Tre poured my cereal for me – ha ha). We checked out and then headed down to Lahaina to do some souvenir shopping. After that, we headed to the aiport in Kahului where we dropped off the rental car and got on our flight back to San Diego.
What a wonderful trip! If we ever find ourselves in Maui again, there is so much more to do, like explore the West Maui Mountains, go horseback riding, take the Ferryboat to the island of Lanai, visit South Maui (where the celebrities go), the list goes on and on.
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