Maui

Becky and I were able to travel to Maui last week. The doctor has been out of town last week and this week. It's been scheduled for some time and she'd been trying to take one of those weeks off. He finally agreed to it about 3 weeks ago and I started looking at available timeshares so we could use our points with WorldMark. I found a week in Kona, HI, and 6 days in either Kihei or Kahana on Maui. Since I worked the pineapple fields on Maui, we went to Kahana (Valley Isle) on Maui. We left Monday April 20 and returned Sunday April 26 (actual arrival in Boise was Monday afternoon). I haven't been back to Maui in 29 years and it was interesting to see the changes.
We arrived Monday evening 6pm local time (10pm Boise time). We picked up our rental car and it started pouring rain just before loading our luggage. I got soaked! We then went to Costco to buy supplies. Our rental was supposed to be a Dodge Charger, but we ended up with a 300. It was comfortable to drive but, as cool as they look, I wouldn't buy one after spending a week driving it.
I had heard that groceries are expensive on Maui but it was weird. Some things were terribly expensive and others were very close to, or cheaper, than here. For example I saw Oreo cookies for $5.39 and Milano cookies for $2.94. Pringles ranged from $1.89 to $2.89. We shopped at Safeway in Lahaina on Wednesday and I felt like I gave my left ___ (you fill in the blank!) for the supplies we purchased! $3.99 for a dozen eggs (we actually saw them priced at $3.99 for 6 earlier that day!). So, I am only posting these for an idea of the expense for eating in Hawaii (it was worth it!).
We took our initial grocery purchase to the time share and went to bed. Our unit was right in front of the elevator. That worked to our advantage as the week went on. I had read reviews of the unit before going and some people didn't like the location. If we had slept in the 2nd room, we probably wouldn't have liked the noise from the elevator, but it didn't bother us much. People also complained about the lack of A/C but that wasn't a factor for us. I had read that if you opened the windows in the 2nd room and the doors in the other rooms it would create a breeze that cooled the unit in the evening. That worked very well. The unit is spacious and as well equiped and comfortable as the other time shares we have been to.
Tuesday we met up with Jeff and Kirsten West from our Ward and her sister Kim and husband Ben for the drive to Hana. We found out the week before we left that they would be on Maui for the first couple of days we were there and we decided to make the drive together. It rained most of the day but it was like a heavy mist and was so warm, it didn't matter too much. It just meant I couldn't use my DSLR and the lens that was loaned to me. I had to take photos with our WP Pentax, I'm glad we had it. We followed the book Maui Revealed and stopped at almost every location recommended in the book for this drive.
We met at the first fruit stand at about 10am and tried the "excellent" banana bread recommended by the book. It was very good, but better was to come! We stopped at and took pictures of the waterfalls along the way. The drive to Hana is 55 miles long and is a narrow, winding road with many one lane bridges and sections of road. Approximately 1500-2000 cars drive it each day. We were fortunate because it rained so hard in the beginning, and continued raining along the way that many people must have decided to not make the trip, there were only a few spots where it was congested. I won't list all of the places we stopped but we did see many spectacular waterfalls, a red sand beach, a black sand beach (created by a tremendous volcanic eruption that they speculate created the sand instantly), fresh water pools in underground caves, and the Seven Sacred Pools (there aren't seven and they aren't sacred--you'll have to read about them). We tried the banana bread at Halfway to Hana and it was amazing! We also stopped at Nahiku Market and had their Kalua Pig Tacos. Wow! They were absolutely delicious! Becky bought some Wasabi peanuts w/ Mochi balls (Japanese style peanut cracker) which are fairly good. As the package says they are "interesting road food."
At the black sand beach in Wai'anapanapa State park we decided to only stop at the red sand beach at Hana Bay and then continue straight to 'Ohe'o Gulch. It was getting late and we wanted to be there before the sun set (around 6:30pm on Maui). AND Jeff was determined to swim in each of the seven pools (he hadn't read the book). I suggested he read the story of the pools and how they got their name as we traveled to them. He was disappointed because that was one of the reasons they went to Maui! We arrived at the pools about 5:30pm and the water was low enough that there were pockets of water in addition to the 2 main pools. Jeff swam in as many as he could, so he could say he swam in all 7 pools :) We left about 7pm and drove straight back. Now, Becky gets car sick on winding roads. She took Dramamine before we started up to Hana, and we stopped frequently enough that she had no problem going to Hana. The drive back was not so good for her. She didn't get sick, but she was uncomfortable. I drove pretty slow because she not seeing the road makes it worse for her. It was dark and difficult to see ahead. We did stop a couple of times but it was still pretty unpleasant for her. We made it back to Kahului by about 9:30pm and stopped at WalMart to take a break. We got something to eat at McD's inside and walked around a bit to stretch our legs. By the time we got back to our timeshare it was 11pm and we had been gone for 15 hours! We were very glad our unit was in front of the elevators! We slept very soundly that night.
A few days after the trip I read an article by someone who has lived on the island for around 16 years. He had heard how fabulous the trip to Hana was and he took his wife and 1 year old child and jumped in the car to make the drive. They didn't stop along the way and made it in about 2 hours. When they got into Hana he asked, "Where's Hana?" He got a blank stare and was told he was there. He was told about the "Seven Sacred Pools" and drove there. They ate their lunch by the side of the road, had an argument and drove home. He didn't go back until this last year. This time he and his co-worker stopped at every spot along the road and took 5.5 hours to get there. He said it was one of the best trips he had ever made and when he told a women in Hana about it and how long they took, she told him she had never heard of someone taking that long to get there. Well, we beat that by 2 hours. It took us 7.5 hours to get to Hana. It would have taken longer but we realized that if we wanted to see the Seven Sacred Pools or 'Ohe'o Gulch, we would have to skip some sights to get there before sundown.

Wednesday we slept in and we then went to visit Becky's great-aunt Jeanette. She has lived on Maui since 1973 and she, her husband Eldon, and their sons Jim and Randy started Trilogy Family Excursions. When I told her that I had worked on Lana'i for 2 months in the pineapple fields, she asked if we'd like to take one of their excursions there. Her son Randy showed up and he booked for the next day on a Sunset Cruise. After visiting with her we went into Lahaina and walked around for a little bit. We ate at Cool Cat's and had a great meal. We then went to Safeway to shop for groceries so it wouldn't cost us so much to eat. I would say that it was a toss up but it really was cheaper to make meals at the time share. Lunch at Cool Cat's cost us $30 for a burger, sandwich and an order of "Frings" (1/2 fries and 1/2 onion rings). I had the Don Ho burger which was delicious and Becky had the Chantilly Lace sandwich, also delicious. We shared the frings. That evening we took Aunt Jeanette to Pacific'O for dinner. This restaurant claims to have been voted best in Maui by the Maui News. It was way overpriced and the food was not very good. Aunt Jeanette had the Beef Satay appetizer for her meal. She was disappointed at how few there were and I noticed that they were way over cooked, almost burned. When I mentioned it to her she said she was glad or she might not have eaten them. I think they should never have been served. Becky had the Bling Bling which was a lobster tail and a petit filet mignon with mashed potatoes and tempura asparagus. The lobster was inedible, the steak was more like a petite sirloin than a filet mignon, the potatoes were ok and she liked the asparagus. I had the "Hapa/Hapa" Tempura. That day it was half Ahi and half Ono. It is billed as an "Award winning dish--Best Seafood--Taste of Lahaina. I figure it was the only seafood dish entered or the others were very bad. The fish tasted ok, the miso and wasabi sauces were minimal and the basil lime sauce had no flavor. There was some kind of seagrass salad that was interesting, not bad but not especially good and my rice was hard a crusty. We decided to try a dessert that was recommended by the guide book, Banana Pineapple Lumpia, the only time we were steered wrong by the book. He did make the caveat that it is hard to recommend a restaurant because it is so subjective and you never know who's cooking, etc. The dessert was greasy and overpowered by the tasted of overused oil. Overall you can probably tell that I was not impressed and would not recommend this restaurant. I was also disappointed because we wanted to do something nice for Aunt Jeanette and the food was subpar. We did enjoy her company and the view was good while we watched the sunset.
Thursday we got up late and met the Trilogy crew at Lahaina Harbor at 10am. We sailed across the channel to Lana'i on Trilogy VI. It took a couple of hours and about halfway over they opened the sails which sped us across the channel. The crew was fun and attentive. They served us fresh cinnamon rolls after a few minutes, later they came around with fresh slice fruit, after that they came around and served our choice of turkey, chicken salad, or tuna salad wraps. There was unlimited cola drinks, juice and water.
We arrived on Lana'i and took a van tour of the town it was weird to see the pineapple fields all overgrown and out of production. Castle & Cook (Dole) removed pineapple production a few years ago to lower costs. Now there are 2 Four Season Resorts on the island and that is the main industry for the island. Bill Gates was married here in 1999 (?). Our tour driver was very knowledgeable and took an interest in me when she learned that I had worked in the fields back in 1980. After the tour we went back to Hulopo'e Bay beach to swim and/or snorkel. I was interested in seeing how the resort affected our beautiful beach and was pleasantly surprised to see that they did not affect the beauty of the beach. Becky went snorkeling while I hiked up to Shark Fin Cove to take pictures. I returned to the beach and tried snorkeling, but it's unnerving to stick my face in water and try to breathe. We only had about 20 minutes left when I started, so I decided to wait until another day to attempt snorkeling.
We left the beach and went to the pavilion to eat dinner prepared by the crew. They served chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce and coated with a honey-mustard sauce grilled over mesquite, with Japanese style noodles, and peas. After dinner they packed the boat and we set sail for Maui. On the way we still had strong winds, they unfurled the sails and we sailed into the wind. As we neared Maui we saw a blue whale breach and went to check it out. This is late in the season to whale watch, most of them have already left for Alaska. We watched for a little while and then continued to the harbor while the sun set between Lana'i and Moloka'i. It was a great day. Thank you Aunt Jeanette, Jim, Randy, Captain Owen, Captain Lawrence, and Jill, it was a fabulous trip.
Friday we slept in and got a late start for the day. We decided to drive around the other side of the island from Kahana to Wailuku so I could show Becky the pineapple fields; where I used to live, and the Nakalele blowhole. We stopped at Slaughterhouse Beach. This unusually named beach used to be a hidden beach with a treacherous path from the highway. We swam there alot in 1980. Now there are concrete stairs, a hand rail and a nice parking area! As I walked down to the beach Becky wasn't feeling well and drove back to Kapalua Bay to use the facilities. After she came back we continued on our way. We saw the overgrown pineapple fields but could not find any working fields for her to see. We did find a harvest boom. As we traveled Becky became ill again and we had to turn around for a few minutes. She then felt better and we continued to the blowhole. We determined that if her stomach had not settled, we would not drive completely around the West side. We watched the blowhole for a while and she felt better so we continued around the island. The highway follows the coast line and we were treated to some beautiful views. At one point on the road the author of our guide book suggest stopping a breathing deeply. He points out that this is probably to cleanest air we've ever breathed because it has come thousands of miles across the Pacific without crossing any land. At one point, for several miles the road is one lane with few turnouts. We were climbing one hill and almost to the top when another couple of cars appeared. It looked like there was space for them to wait so we could get by, but the first driver waved us back and started down the hill. There was no where for us to go! We were stopped and he stopped in front of us and waited. I had to get out of the car and tell him to back up to the wide spot in the road so we could end the impasse. He told me that I didn't see the big picture, that there was a whole line of cars behind him. The second car was waiting at the top of the hill and had moved over. The driver of the first car finally backed up and after he was at the top, we followed and moved over into the wide spot. When we got up there we found only 2 cars with no more to be seen. We continued on our way until we came to Julia's. Julia's claim to fame is that she has "The Best Banana Bread on the Planet". Unfortunately, she was sold out! We can order it at JuliasBananaBread.com for $5 a loaf ($25 min. order) aand $10.35 flat rate shipping. We finished our drive in Wailuku after several hours of driving. We were going to go to the Iao Valley but it looked obscured by rain clouds, so we continued on to Lahaina.
While driving to Lahaina we received a call from Katie. Apparently Darius had been crying for his Grandma, so she called to give him the opportunity to talk to Grandma. As soon as he got on the phone he asked to talk to Grandpa! As I talked with him, he told me he wanted to come to my house and watch a movie. I told him I wasn't home and would be for a few days. He asked where I was and I told him that I was in Hawaii. He said, "What's that mean?" I wasn't sure how to answer and as I thought about it Becky said, "Tell him we're on a trip." He repeated his question as I told him we were on a trip and got there on a plane. He then asked if we had crashed! I told him, "No" and that I would see him in a few days. CJ then wanted to talk to me. As soon as he got on the phone he said, "I want to talk to Grandma." It was too funny.
We arrived in Lahaina and stopped to eat at the Aloha Mixed Plate. This was recommended by almost everything I had read regarding dining in Lahaina. They specialize in what's known as a "plate lunch" in Hawaii. Typically a meat dish with 2 scoop rice and mac or 2 scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. Becky and I each had the Alii plate which had kalua pork, and pork lau lau. The plate also had the rice and mac salad, along with lomi lomi salmon and haupia (a coconut based dessert, kind of like a really thick coconut pudding). The food was amazing! The kalua pork and the lau lau were very flavorful, the rice was perfectly cooked, the mac salad was good, I even liked the haupia (even though I'm not big into coconut). The only thing I didn't care for was the lomi lomi salmon, but I don't care for raw tomatoes or salmon. I tried it and it wasn't bad, just not my thing.
Becky was still hungry and wanted something more. The coconut shrimp looked really good and when she asked our waitress about them she was told that they were. Becky tried to decide between that or a dessert, she decided on dessert, some triple chocolate thing. Our server returned to tell us that they didn't have that dessert and started talking about their banana lumpia. Our experience with lumpia a couple of days earlier made us less than enthusiastic about trying it again. She assured us that it was good, and often ordered. We bravely decided to try it. It was a totally different experience than our previous. This lumpia had good flavor, with a light crust, and was not greasy in any way. It also cost about half what we previously paid, with twice the amount of dessert. The whole meal cost us less than one person's meal at Pacific'O and was a better meal. More pedestrian, but better flavor and value with as good a view at sunset.
Saturday we found out that the dorms I used to live in had been converted to a school. We went to look at them and found them behind gates, they were open but it didn't look like we could just drive in. I stopped at the plantation office to ask if we could drive in so I could show my wife where I lived when working in the fields. Sean told me that he couldn't give me permission but that he had room for the tour he would make in an hour and invited us along. We visited some shops at Napili Market and bought some souvenirs while we waited for the tour, then drove to Kapalua Bay to meet him for the tour. We couldn't really see the dorms but we went up to the pineapple fields. Becky got to see the fields and hear how pineapple is planted and picked. It is all done by hand. We stopped and Sean cut three pineapples of varying ripeness for everyone to taste. He then allowed each of us to pick our own pineapple, encouraging us to pick the biggest we could find. He also allowed us to pick 2 more for $10. He boxed them up for everyone (2 per box) and informed us that we could carry them on the plane in addition to our other allowed carry-ons. We had remarks and smiles our whole trip home.
After the tour we went back to Napili Market and ate lunch at Mama's Ribs & Rotisserie. I had read a small article in one of the tourist mags and we decided to try it. Becky had the ribs and I had the pot roast. We each had the rice, with Becky getting coleslaw while I had the mac. My pot roast was the best I've ever had. Becky's ribs were delicious. While we ate we were serenaded from the kitchen. We can truly recommend this place!
After lunch we went shopping in Lahaina. We wanted to get souvenirs for the kids. As we walked down Front St. we stopped by the Pearl Factory. While in Hawaii in 1980 I would stop in and select oysters to get my pearl. I enjoyed it and wanted that experience again. For 14.95 I selected my oyster and the operator opened it. Out popped a large white pearl. We looked at settings for it and settled on one in the shape of the island. He placed the pearl on it and it looked lovely. When we learned the price of the setting we both were startled. We thought about it and decided that she gets a nice piece of jewelry each trip we make and this would have to be the one for this trip. We had the pearl set in the pendant and will find a chain for it at home. Because we purchased the pendant, he let us select another pearl to see if we would get a different color. Becky selected an oyster and this one had a smaller cream colored pearl that will look good in a gold setting, later. We shopped some more and went to visit Aunt Jeanette again. After visiting with her we went home and cooked the best meal of our trip: grilled NY steak, baked potatoes, Maui Sweet corn, and salad.
Sunday we went to church. As we arrived, we noticed that the parking lot was empty. Several others pulled in at the same time we did. When we got up to the door we saw a sign stating that they had Stake Conference in Kahului (30 min. away) and it had started an hour earlier. We went back our unit, changed and went down to the beach for an hour before we had to check out. The beach in front of our building was good for sun bathing or walking, but not swimming. It has too steep of a drop and the sand is very deep. The surf looked kind of odd so I didn't venture out. After laying on the beach for an hour, we finished packing and checked out. We went to Aunt Jeanette's with sandwich fixings we had purchased a few days earlier and made lunch and visited with her some more. We gave her hugs goodbye and started toward the airport. We had 5.5 hours before we needed to return the car and check in for our flight, so we stopped at the Maui Ocean Center and toured it. It was worth the stop. We then went to the Iao Valley to see the Iao Needle. We ate dinner at a food court in Kahului next to the Borders Bookstore. Once again we had a plate lunch and it was delicious: kalua pork, 2 scoop rice and scoop mac.
Check in at the airport was strange. We had to go through an Agricultural inspection, check in for our flight, take our checked luggage to another location to drop off, go through the "normal" security screening, take our carry-ons through a different ag inspection, and then wait to board. The whole process took nearly 1.5 hours. Our flight home was only 11 hours with layovers vs 15 going over. All in all it was a great trip! Photos are coming, I just have too many to sort through and fix. I'll post them on Flickr.