maui vacation - days 6 & 7

DAY 6: Saturday, April 30

The dreaded last day! We wanted to enjoy every last minute of our luxurious hotel. We slept in. We went down to the pool one last time for a swim. We laid on the lounge chairs one more wonderful time. We hesitated to leave the poolside, knowing, however, that it was time to say goodbye. We packed our suitcases. I teared up a little, feeling like I wasn’t ready to go just yet.

Yet we actually had the whole day still ahead of us. We checked out at noon and our flight wasn’t until 10:46pm – much later than we had stayed up any night we were there. We saved The Drive to Hana especially for this last day, knowing we’d want to stay out of the water after checking out of the hotel. Also knowing that the roundtrip drive was supposed to take five to six hours with stops, it was the perfect afternoon adventure that we needed.


Not in a rush, we took a chance to turn into the local LDS church, since it was right off the highway. The building wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The view from the front door, however, was one to be envied by any saint:

Next, we ate lunch at Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina. We knew where it was this time, and it had been recommended to me, so it felt like a good choice for one of our last meals. They serve “tasty dishes from the varied ethnic groups that call Hawaii home.” What’s not to love? Lunch hit the spot and we were ready to hit the road, after a quick stop at Long’s Drug for eye drops and postcards.

The Road to Hana starts just west of the airport, once you hit the cute little town of Paia, though I think officially it starts when highway 36 turns into highway 360, starting with mile marker 1. I started keeping track once we got to Paia. It was 2:30. Our goal was to be back to Paia before the sun completely set so that we wouldn’t be navigating the winding road in pitch-black. (There aren’t any lights on the road if you were driving in the dark, but I did notice that much of the road is marked with reflector poles for anyone unfortunate enough to have to drive through there in the dark.) A lot of people had suggested starting early to avoid heavy traffic on the road. However, starting later than usual it seemed that we avoided the heavy traffic headed to Hana. There were other people on the road, but it wasn’t crowded, and we only got stuck in a “train” of cars a couple of times.

The 52-mile two-lane road is winding, with sharp turns, surrounded by amazing vegetation, and offers stunning views of the ocean and the lush mountainside. The speed limit is fifteen miles per hour most of the way, and sometimes you have to go much slower than that to navigate the narrow roads and the 46 one-lane bridges. There are occasional places where you can pull off the road to enjoy the scenic views, but not nearly as many as I had envisioned. There are hidden waterfalls and hiking adventures if you’re interested in parking and wandering off into the jungle. We didn’t feel like we had enough time for that, but did make a few stops to check out waterfalls and take pictures. We took turns driving, switching drivers each time we stopped.

We almost turned around before we made it all the way to Hana. But at that point we were so close; we figured we might as well go all the way. We read that the destination wasn’t as rewarding as the journey, and we found out for ourselves that was true. The road leads you to Hana Beach Park, a nice park with a pretty beach, but nothing to get too excited about. Jeff had really wanted to stay on the Hana Highway, heading to the south part of the island, then going north again. However, the map in our magazine from Hertz marked about twenty miles of the road with this warning “DO NOT DRIVE BETWEEN THESE POINTS. DRIVING ON UNAUTHORIZED ROADS VIOLATES CAR RENTAL CONTRACT.” We read that part of the road was unpaved, so that’s probably why they didn’t want us to drive on that part. (Looking at the map, about twenty miles of the road we drove on the north side of the island was also marked with the same warning. Oops!) So, to play it safe we decided not to drive south and to head back the way we came. Maybe next time, when we rent a different vehicle and don’t have a plane to catch, we’ll be more adventurous and take the south route.

We turned around at 5:00. It had taken 2.5 hours to get there. With hardly anyone else on the road behind us or coming from the other direction, we could drive faster. It was so fun. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky. We drove with the windows down. It felt like we were driving the road for the first time, because the views on the way back were different than the way there. It only took us 1.5 hours to get back to Paia – perfect timing to eat dinner before having to go to the airport.

We tried a cute place in Paia called Flatbread Company, who boasts their “all natural” (all organic) wood-oven baked pizza. The tables were full and the restaurant was bustling with beach-bum and surfer types hanging out and running pizza to the tables. We were seated right in front of their warm wood burning earthen oven. We had front-row seats to the kitchen too, allowing us to view all of the pizza-making action. One wall had a huge hand-drawn mural, obviously crafted by a child artist. Another wall had a chalkboard listing all of the organic, locally produced ingredients and their farms of origin. The place was laid-back and charming – a perfect place to enjoy our last meal in Maui. The pizza was great. I’d definitely like eat there again.

The rest of the trip was pretty boring and I didn't even take any more pictures! We got gas in the car, returned it to Hertz, and rode the bus to the airport. We put our bags on the belt to be scanned for produce. We stood in line to check our bags. The computer didn’t print our boarding passes so we waited a while for the agent to re-print them. We went through security. We bought a couple final souvenirs for the girls. We ate chocolate-covered macadamia nuts as we sat by the gate, waiting for the boarding call. We boarded the plane around 10:20. The plane took off at 10:46, right on schedule. We were exhausted and were lucky to get maybe four-and-a-half hours of uncomfortable, interrupted sleep.

DAY 7: Sunday, May 1

We landed in LAX at 7am PST, way too early, with not nearly enough sleep. We had a half-hour layover – a perfect amount of time to switch planes and not have to sit around long. Except that the half-hour turned into an hour and a half. The plane came in late. We were invited to start boarding, so we made our way down the jet-way, until they announced that had to go back. Then they said there was something wrong with the plane. They had to take the plan to the hangar to work on the brakes. Finally, the plane was fixed and back. I just wanted to get home and see my girls. We were so tired!

We landed in Salt Lake at 12:15 pm. It felt like we had been awake since Saturday morning. We got our bags off the carousel and met my mom at passenger pick-up. Ruby and Ellie were so excited to see us! We exchanged lots of hugs and kisses, and I got to sit in the back-seat between the girls on the ride home. I felt pretty out of it that whole day. That night we were about to go to bed early when President Obama made the announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. We stayed up a while longer watching the news coverage. The next day we had Ellie’s 15-month check-up in the morning. Then my mom’s flight was in the afternoon.


At first, it was strange to be home. My heart was still in Maui, longing for a couple more days in paradise. I definitely think next time we go we need to stay at least seven days! I have dreamt of Hawaii every night that we have been home. Going to Maui was easily the best vacation I’ve ever had and can’t wait to go back again someday! (Happy Anniversary, babe!)

Next Maui trip TO DO List:

·       Drive to Puu Ulaula volcano

·       Snorkel at Honolua Bay

·       Surf lessons

·       Horseback riding

·       Drive highway 360 past Hana to the south side of the island

maui vacation - day 5

DAY 5: Friday, April 29

We slept in until 6:00 Hawaii time! THE Royal Wedding had happened overnight and we woke up to the wedding media coverage. It was a great morning to be lazy and stay in bed, watching TV until we were ready to do something fun. We were both pretty beat from the past two days of ultimate fun, so it was nice that we didn’t have to run off to be somewhere immediately. Plus, having lived in England for six years of my childhood, I have a fondness for England and its royal festivities. Congratulations to Britain and the Royal Family!

We had designated Friday to be our hiking and snorkel day. Several people had recommended snorkeling at Honolua Bay, the second bay up the road from Kapalua. However, we were still tired from being in the water so much the day before, so we both agreed that snorkeling that morning wasn’t that appealing. Hiking it was. We headed up the highway again, looking for an adventure.

Our first stop was Slaughterhouse beach – the first bay up the road. We walked down the long concrete staircase to the beach and had a look around. It was rocky but pretty. We drove past Honolua Bay, having decided that we’d search for “the blowhole” that our guidebook had talked about. We sort of knew where it was. We stopped at the next bay, thinking that was the spot to park and hike. It didn’t seem right, but we walked around on the rocks to see if we could find anything. Nothing. As we walked back to the car we stopped at a little snack stand that had just opened to get some drinks. We asked the owner if he knew where the blowhole was; he said just up the road another mile or two.

We drove and found the spot that we thought we had been looking for. It felt right. We got out of the car, hiked down a little, and saw where the big rock formations jut out into the sea. There wasn’t a clear path to get down there. We wandered around a little and found a path that seemed promising. We hiked down the lava rock and Jeff said, “My intuition says this way,” pointing to the right. It did seem counterintuitive, but I followed his lead. Not more than fifty feet later – there it was!

There’s a hole in the rock with the sea just beneath it. When the sea crashes against the rocks, water sprays up through the hole. Most times it’s just a small spray. If you stay there long enough, you can see sprays up to fifteen feet or more. Jeff was feeling adventurous and climbed down to be right next to the hole. He said that standing that close, the sound of the water spraying out is so much more intense. I took his word for it. He stood just on the side of the hole where when the water came out it would get blown away from him, allowing him to be close but not get soaked. It was fun to watch.

On our drive back to town we parked by Honolua Bay and walked in. If you park at the bottom of the hill there’s this huge forest of very tall trees that you walk through on your way to the beach. That was my favorite part! The trees were magnificent! They had large-leafed plants winding up their trunks and vines hanging down from the branches. The bay itself was pretty, but crowded. The water did look perfect for snorkeling. We’ve added that to our list of places to snorkel for our next trip to Maui!

It was lunchtime; we drove into Lahaina to grab a bite. I thought I knew where the Aloha Mixed Plate was, but we parked, walked around, didn’t find it, then looked at the map again and found it was a couple miles down the road. We had just paid for parking and didn’t want to walk two more miles for lunch. We looked at the menu for Kimo’s, and a man walking out gave a shining recommendation. Like most restaurants on Front Street, it sits right on the edge of the water, with ideal views of the ocean. I loved my coconut-crusted mahi-mahi with pineapple salsa. Jeff wasn’t as impressed with his gigantic fish taco.

We got back to the hotel and got in our swimsuits to go down to the beach. We walked down to DT Flemming beach to play in the ocean. I was surprised how few people were at the beach. We had a whole big piece of the beach just to ourselves. Jeff just started body surfing. He looked like he was having fun catching waves so I joined him. The water was so warm and the waves were perfect for jumping in.

On our way back to the room we hopped in the pool and the hot tub, and laid down on those awesome chairs by the pool. At the Ritz, when you pick up your towels, they also give you white terrycloth chair covers. It’s probably to protect the chairs, but it sure makes for a comfortable place to lie down and take a nap! The sun was hot. I loved lying under the palm trees, feeling the sun dry my swimsuit; I drifted off to sleep and had a peaceful nap. Jeff slept, too. No cares in the world, I took a nap in the sunshine. It doesn’t get better than that!

In our research for awesome places to eat, Jeff discovered a small and extremely popular sushi restaurant in south Maui, called Kioso. There are only ten seats at the sushi bar, and being in such high demand, you have to call days in advance to get a reservation. We called on Tuesday. He had a big party coming on Thursday night, so we made our reservation for Friday evening at 7:30.

We were so excited as we drove south to find this culinary gem. We got there fifteen minutes early, despite having the GPS take us to the wrong location, and then not being able to find the restaurant because it’s tucked in the corner of a strip mall, with a sign that is not visible from the parking lot. The restaurant was packed with Japanese people. We poked our heads in to say that we were there, and the waitress told us to wait outside and they’d call us. We waited, watching other couples (some obviously newly-weds) sitting on the patio, enjoying their meals from the Indian and Mexican restaurants next door. Their food looked good, but I was pumped for some awesome sushi and thought they must not know what they’re missing.

We were summoned and seated at the bar right in front of the chef. We looked at the small menu hanging on the wall. There were about five sushi rolls, which we were familiar with. Then there were a few types of sashimi platters listed. (We’ve never ordered sashimi and didn’t think we’d order any.) The rest of the menu was labeled “sushi,” which we figured was nigiri – fish/seafood with a little wasabi, on top of a palm of rice. We usually stick to sushi rolls, because they are easier to eat and the flavors are more complex and so yummy, but this time, it seemed that nigiri was the way to go. We ordered two ahi, one uni (sea urchin), one lobster nigiri, and one roll. He made us two ahi, two uni, two scallop, and something that was supposed to pass as a roll.

It was the most disappointing sushi experience. We have had bad sushi before, but this was bad in a different way. The fish was fresh. All of the ingredients were there to make a delicious meal. But the sushi was just gross. Jeff was so brave and choked down both of the uni nigiri. I tried a bite and about gagged. We’ve had cooked uni before and adored it. We decided that it was like the difference between raw chicken and cooked chicken: raw chicken is disgusting, yet cooked chicken can be so good. I guess part of our problem was that we are used to Western sushi and this was ultra-authentic. And the other part was that it just wasn’t good. If we could take back one thing about the trip, it would be choosing to eat at Kioso.

To remedy our disappointing dinner experience, we vowed to have a killer dessert. We picked the Banyan Tree restaurant next to the pool at the Ritz, since it was convenient and we could walk to our room when we were done. The restaurant was about to close. We were seated next to a table with two couples, all decked out in luau-wedding attire, with a lovely floral centerpiece on their table. We overheard that they were celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary, and it appeared as though they had done a renewing of vows. (Twenty years is awesome, but something about it reminded me of how Jon and Kate [you know – “Jon & Kate Plus 8?] went to Maui to renew their vows and that lasted all of what – three years maybe? I like the idea, but for some people it’s just not enough.) I did think how I would love to return for our twentieth anniversary in ten years. I am quite fond of that idea.

Anyway, onto dessert! We agreed upon sharing the chocolate trio dessert that ended up being a chocolate quad, because we had four chocolaty morsels delivered on our plate. We ate a taste of dark fudge cake, a mini milk chocolate molten cake, and a tiny scoop of chocolate-vanilla sorbet. I don’t even remember what the fourth mystery dessert was, but it was good.

maui vacation - day 4

DAY 4: Thursday, April 28

Snorkel morning! (Jeff got up super early and went to the workout room for an early workout. I thought he was totally crazy. He said it felt great.) We had to check in at skiff 72 at Ma’alea Harbor (about a 30 minute drive) at 7:15. We were up early and on the road early. We were the first ones to check in. The captain greeted us and we waited for the rest of our shipmates to arrive.

We chose to sail to Molokini Crater for snorkeling on the Paragon catamaran. It’s an older ship, but smaller, so there are less people that can fit on the boat. There were 18 of us, plus a crew of three – a nice size group for the catamaran. We boarded the ship, helped ourselves to some stale bagels and fresh fruit, and listened to a briefing from the captain. Then we were off! They pulled out of the harbor, cut the engine, raised the sails, and we started cruising toward the moon-shaped crater off in the distance.

We sat on the port side of the boat and relaxed. The ride wasn’t bumpy at all. It might be the smoothest sailing I remember experiencing. It took a long time to get to the crater. I kept thinking, “We’re almost there,” and “It looks like we’re getting closer,” but we kept on going. In fact, as we got closer, they kicked on the engine to help us in the rest of the way. By the time we got to the crater there were a handful of other boats tethered to their designated buoys. They told us that we could go anywhere we wanted, that the coral and the best fish are closest to the crater, and if you go to the edge, you can see the drop-off, but be careful not to get picked up by the current.

We waited for our turn to get in the water and we were off! Jeff wanted to head straight for the drop-off to check it out. He was speeding on ahead of me and I tried to keep up. Nobody was out that way. The water got a bit wavy and a couple times I lost track of Jeff. We were pretty far away from the boats by then and I was ready to see it and turn around. Jeff made it out there before me. It looked like a drop-off – not really that interesting. So we turned around and headed to where there were more fish.

The water was calm and crystal clear. The fish were gorgeous. The coral was brightly-colored. It was great snorkeling and it was so much fun. We had been out for a while and I started feeling a little seasick. Jeff said he was ready to go back to the boat for a break, too, so we headed back to eat some lunch. I figured we’d be one of the first people back to the boat, but when we got there, everyone was already there, eating lunch and hanging out. We ate some lunch and right about when we were done they said it was time to leave. I was surprised that the time had gone by so fast, but we were ready to be done, so we didn’t mind. [I haven't gotten my waterproof camera film developed yet, so I don't have any snorkeling pictures to share yet!]

The ride back to the harbor was glorious. We sat on the small trampoline on the back of the catamaran, watching the crater as we sailed further away. There was just enough room for the two of us and another couple on the other end, where we could all sit comfortably and not feel squished. We could sit with our backs to the ship and our feet at the edge of the boat. It was incredibly relaxing, and we both fell asleep. Probably half-way there I woke up, thinking “we must be almost there,” but I looked around and saw that we still had a ways to go. I went back to sleep and enjoyed another short nap on that sweet boat. It was truly one of the highlights of our whole trip! I can close my eyes and still remember exactly what it felt like.

We left the boat and crew and made the drive back to Kapalua. We stopped at Kapalua Village to try a couple scoops of Maui’s own Roselani ice cream. When we got there, the lady behind the counter had us sample almost all of the flavors she had in the freezer. It was a tough decision, but we got the Mango & Cream and the Haupia – coconut flavor. The Haupia was amazing! Oh how I’d love to have another scoop right now!

Back at the room we felt like we wanted to stay out of the sun and water after being out all morning, so we stayed in the room, taking advantage of the opportunity to just relax. But before long we were ready to head out for more adventures. We stopped at Napili Market down the road to pick up macadamia souvenirs. Then we drove to Lahaina Cannery Mall for more souvenirs. They have a cute shop called Banana Wind where we found gifts for our moms and a Honolua Wahine clothing shop where we found souvenir shirts for ourselves. What I found for myself was actually a Honolua hoodie, so I talked myself out of it because I didn’t think I’d be able to wear it until next winter. Jeff convinced me that it was too cute not to buy, so I got the hoodie and Jeff got a cute tee. Souvenirs – check!

We had planned to eat dinner at Sansei – a sushi place in Kapalua, right next to the resort. We were hungry early but found that the restaurant didn’t open until 5:30. We went back to the hotel to wait for the restaurant to open and we each took a mini-nap! Two naps in one day – that was spectacular!

We showed up at Sansei right at 5:30 and the place was already full. Apparently it did actually open earlier than 5:30. We still got seated right away. We had heard raving reviews about their “award winning” Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi roll (with arugula & spinach), so we ordered that. Another noted award winner was their Mango Crab Salad roll, so we ordered that, too. Both were honestly disappointing. The Ahi roll was fine but nothing to rave about and the mango crab roll was more like a spring roll appetizer – it was yummy but definitely not sushi. We ordered a couple more, since the first two had been really small, and they were fine but nothing extraordinary. We left feeling unsatisfied and a little disappointed. We decided – we’ll get yummy dessert later to make up for the sub-par dinner!

We took a drive on the highway going north again, to see if I could get a picture of the amazing red cliffs we had seen on the drive the night before, but hadn’t had a chance to pull off. The sun was setting and the light just wasn’t the same so the red cliffs didn’t look as brilliant as they had the night previous. There were storm-clouds in the sky and it was pretty windy. We turned around and headed back.

Dessert time again! Back at the room we perused the room service menu and found two tasty-sounding desserts. In our (almost) ten years of marriage and many hotel stays, we’ve never ordered room service, for obvious reasons. (You know, it’s expensive and probably not worth the cost, right?) But this time it seemed like we had a good chance of getting good food. I ordered the pineapple cheesecake with strawberry ice cream and Jeff ordered the strawberry shortcake (on a coconut scone with mascarpone!). Room service was sweet! Eating dessert in a comfy king bed – YES thank you! I look forward to doing that again someday.

maui vacation - day 3

DAY 3: Wednesday, April 27

We were up early, still adjusting to the four-hour time difference. Wednesday was the day for our zip-line tour! We had to check in at Kapalua Adventures, just down the road from the hotel, at 7:30 am. We were the first ones there. An older couple (maybe in their 60’s?) showed up after us, then a family of four (parents and two boys) came. We had to wait around a little while and then it was time to get geared up. Our guide instructed us to tie a rain jacket around our waists and put on our helmets. He helped us put on our harnesses, gave us carabineers with water bottles attached, and told us to board the Unimog – an awesome all-terrain vehicle. We waited a few minutes for the final couple to show up. I was a little annoyed that we all had to wait for the people who couldn’t bother to show up on time. But then the cutest 80-year-old couple climbed in and the man said, “Looks like this one’s for the young people!” and we couldn’t be mad at them for holding us up.

We had a very bumpy 15-minute ride up the mountains of the Pu’u Kukui Preserve. Our tour guide, Nui, entertained us with jokes and spouted fun facts about the land and Hawaii’s vegetation. The land we were driving through is owned by Maui Gold, the pineapple company. They are working on turning all of the land into organic farming land, in the effort to make the island more sustainable. We learned about cook pines, which were brought over by Captain Cook, though that’s not what they’re named after. We learned that this was the fourth wettest location on the planet.

We got to the “base,” where they have the longest and highest suspension bridge in Hawaii, crossing the valley. We crossed the bridge and crammed in another, smaller all-terrain vehicle to continue up the mountain a bit more to reach our starting-point. At the top we were given our trolleys – the equipment that goes over the line and hooks to your harness. They’re about fifteen pounds, and slung over your shoulder they’re easy to carry around. We had a short hike uphill to the first zip-line. It was kind of steep but not difficult for us anyway. Our elderly friend Donna had a little trouble and Jeff ended up carrying her trolley up for her.

All of the zip-lines are set up with two lines, parallel to each other so that two riders can go down at the same time. The boys wanted to go first, so they hooked up and zoomed away. Next went their parents, then Donna and Robert. It was so cute to see those 80-year-olds all strapped in and zipping down the line! We were next. I thought I’d be nervous once it was my turn. I’m usually afraid of heights, but this wasn’t scary at all; I was just excited to go. Jeff and I took off and it was awesome, flying over the valley below. We waited for the last couple to come down, then our guide, and we hiked up to the next line. The second line was a little shorter but steeper, so it went fast. That was fun!

After that line we started a conversation with the elderly couple. They were in Hawaii celebrating his 80^th birthday. We asked where they were from and learned they are from Olympia, Washington, where my parents live. He told us they used to live in Tanglewilde neighborhood, which is where my parents live, and where I lived during high school. He said they lived in one of the houses across the street from the park and that he was “the park guy” who maintained it. I was a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool for a few summers and I don’t remember him but he certainly looked familiar. It’s so funny that I would be on a zip-line tour in Maui with an 80-year old man who used to live only a block away from my parent’s house!

The third line was the longest one, running down the valley 3,200 feet. I was most excited for this one; I knew the view was going to be amazing. We hiked up to a bridge that ascended to the platform. Only two people could go at a time, and another couple could wait on the bridge for their turn. We kept the same order – the boys went first, then their parents. It was very windy. After the parents went down, Jeff and I were standing on the bridge, waiting for our turn. The guide at the bottom of the line, Kelsea, radioed up to Nui and said the line was running too fast because of the strong wind. The last guy had hit so hard at the bottom that he pulled a muscle in his chest. She recommended that the rest of us should not run the line, and to hike down to more zips further down the mountain.

I was super disappointed but knew they had to keep safety as their first priority. We hiked with our guide and the two other couples down the mountain to meet up with the other half of our group. They got to take one extra zip to meet up with us, and then we all rode a line down to the base camp. At that point, the guides decided to have us take a lunch break before doing the final two lines. They served egg sandwiches, fresh-sliced fruit, and sweet bread. It was extremely windy, but the view was gorgeous and it was nice to have a little lunch.

We did two more lines. The first one was short, but crossed the valley just below the suspension bridge, giving you a gorgeous aerial view of the bright-green bamboo forest below. The last line was the second-longest – over 2,000 feet long. It was beautiful, and a perfect end to the tour. When we were done, we unloaded our gear, and climbed back in the Unimog for a relaxing, bumpy ride back down the mountain. We got back to Kapalua Adventures, picked up our things, and went back to the hotel to change.

We walked down to Oneloa Bay (Ironwoods Beach), just south of our resort. The beach was pretty empty, with just a few people. We played in the waves, and sat on the sand, letting the waves crash over our legs. It’s one of my favorite things to do at the beach. After that we walked back up to our pool to take a dip and lay out on in the sun. I don’t remember if I actually took a nap that time, but I’m certain that I laid on that chair and thoroughly savored the relaxation.

We had a 6:15 dinner reservation at Mama’s Fish House on the north side of the island, in Paia. Looking at the map, we decided that we would drive on “highway” 340 around the north side to get there, just for fun. It looks like it would take less time to get there, since the distance is shorter, but we knew the road was slower, so we allowed ourselves about two hours to get there. The road starts out as a two-lane road, winding down hills, around a bay or valley, then up-hill again. The views are breathtaking and the vegetation is simply exotic. There are lots of little places to pull off on the side of the road. We passed many cars, pulled off, with their passengers standing on the side, taking pictures and admiring the rocky oceanfront landscape. We made a few stops ourselves, when it was feasible. I was loving it.

UNTIL the state highway ended and the two-lanes turned into a one-lane, extremely narrow, severely perilous game of chance. This remote part of the island doesn’t have much traffic, but we had passed dozens of cars, and at any given moment, you have another car passing you. Jeff was driving and he didn’t seem too nervous. As the passenger, it was nerve-wracking to take a blind corner and not know if there would be another car on the other side. We had to go extremely slow. Luckily, we had a Hyundai SUV ahead of us that sort of led the way. They would spot any cars coming from the other direction and either yield to the other car, and we would follow suit, or they would keep going, with other cars yielding to the Hyundai and then us.

Even still, I was quite nervous. What would happen if we collided with another car? What if we were going uphill and another car came bounding down the hill and there was no way for us to pass each other, and the nearest place that one of us could pull over was a half-mile away – what would we do? Jeff assured me that the etiquette was for the uphill car to yield to the down-hill car. So in that situation, the uphill car would have to drive, in reverse, uphill, until they got to a spot where we could pass each other, not knowing if there was another car behind them. The whole range of possibilities for unsafe and scary situations was unnerving to me. I stopped enjoying the grand views and prayed that we could just get to the two-lane road as fast as possible.

We got lucky. Somehow it worked out every time there was a car that we had to pass. None of them happened to be at a particularly awkward or perilous piece of the road. We had been driving for a while, and looking at the GPS, we still had a long way to go. I told Jeff there was no way we were going to make our dinner reservation. We kept driving and I finally decided to call Mama’s to let them know we were going to be late. Finally, the state highway started again, it became two lanes again, and we could drive a little faster. We had stop-lights and varying speed limits, but once we were back to civilization, it didn’t take much longer to get there. We pulled into Mama’s Fish House parking lot at 6:22 – only seven minutes past our reservation time! I was so relieved that we made it!

So, if you’ve been to Maui, you’ve surely heard of Mama’s Fish House, and have probably eaten there. The girls’ pediatrician had told me that we had to go there, and our guide books gave the same raving reviews. It is a quaint restaurant, set right on the beach, open to the ocean air. The grounds are beautiful and the restaurant is inviting and comfortable. We weren’t seated at the best table, but we were thrilled to be there. We ordered the Wasabi Crusted Calamari with Kula vegetables and edamame appetizer; it was the most unconventional and delicious calamari I have ever had. Jeff ordered the macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi, stuffed with lobster and crab, with a gorgeous prawn on top. It came with the most delicious corn (boiled in coconut milk!), asparagus, and rice. I ordered the “upcountry” style ono (fish) with Asian vegetables, caramelized Maui onions, avocado, and rice. We couldn’t resist ordering a couple of their famous desserts. Jeff ordered the Black Pearl – a “pearl” of chocolate mousse sitting inside a pastry shell, and I ordered the pineapple-macadamia cheesecake with pineapple sorbet. Yummy yum-yum!

All of the food was amazing (expensive but delicious)! Our only complaint was the service. Our server was very nice, but was either too busy to be responsive or was too laid back and just didn’t care. We hardly ever saw him, so it was hard to tell. The servers at the tables around us were awesome, so it seemed that we got the only dud in the house. We’ll hope for better luck next time.

One thing that made the waiting entertaining was watching a little girl seated at a table behind us. She looked a little like Ruby and she reminded me of her. It was fun to watch her talk with her dad and tell him stories. At one point, her mom had to get up and tell the server that the girl had changed her mind, and wanted something else for dinner. She was probably four or five, so a little older than Ruby, but seeing her reminded us of Ruby. We do really want to take the girls to Hawaii someday, but probably not until they’re much older.

It was about 8:30 by the time we left the restaurant, and we still had an hour drive back to the resort. We stopped at Walgreens on the way “home” to get Dramamine for the morning’s sailing adventure, then got back to the hotel and crashed. That was such a fun day!

maui vacation - day 2

DAY 2: Tuesday, April 26

It was great not having to get up and go anywhere right away; I was so glad we had rescheduled the snorkel trip! Jeff woke up early because his clock is always set and he was still set to Utah time. I had no problem sleeping! I woke up around 7:00 and wanted to call home right away. I got to talk to Ruby and hear her sweet voice. She asked when we were coming home. My mom said she would make her a calendar so they could count down the days. I knew it was going to be a long week for both of them.

At some point, when I was looking in my suitcase, I realized that my running shoes weren’t there. I packed my new (purchased in January) Pumas in the top of my suitcase and they were not there. I thought maybe Ruby had taken them out and I didn’t realize it. Or I packed them but took them out to put something else in and forgot to put them back. But I was very sure that I had packed them at one point. My mom said she hadn’t seen my shoes around the house, so it looks like my shoes were stolen.

We walked down to the beach and around the resort to check things out, then headed out to grab some groceries and find breakfast. We hit up Times Market for soda, snacks, and breakfast food to keep in the room. We neglected to pack any sunscreen, so we had to buy a bottle of that, too. (I knew things were more expensive in Hawaii but I’ll admit I was a little shocked at how high the prices were!) After that, we ended up at Whaler’s Village, a cute outdoor shopping mall, where most of the stores were still closed and there weren’t any good options for breakfast. We passed by McDonald’s and headed back to the resort where we had seen some people eating earlier. The Honolua Store is right next to the Ritz; it’s a cute little convenience store / souvenir shop / coffee shop / café. We ordered breakfast and ate on the porch.

We got back to the room and decided it was time to hit the pool. I didn’t realize how much I would love hanging out by the pool! We got in the pool, swam around a bit, then hopped in the hot tub to soak for a while, and then laid on the lounge chairs. It was heavenly – lying under the palm trees, feeling the warm sun beat down on me, with the ocean breeze blowing softly. That was complete relaxation and I loved every second of it.

That afternoon we drove down to check out Lahaina, a cute little town right on the edge of the water, with fun restaurants and cute shops. I needed to buy some more running shoes, since they were required footwear for the next morning’s zip-line adventure tour. Before we hit Front Street, we stopped at the Foot Locker. Nothing good there. Lucky for me there was another shoe store just a couple shops down. They had a cute pair of grey Tevas with green stitching, but didn’t have them in my size! I settled for the same shoe with purple stitching.

We parked a couple blocks from Front Street and started our search for lunch. Hard Rock Café? No, thank you. Some little bistro-looking place? I’ll pass. Bubba Gump’s? Sounds good! It wasn’t one of our planned meal destinations but the shrimp lived up to the hype and made our tummies happy. We got to sit at a table right next to the railing, where the waves crashed up against the wall by our feet. The view was amazing.

We walked up and down Lahaina’s main street, stopping in a couple stores to buy postcards, and taking pictures. When my feet couldn’t walk any longer in my uncomfortable flip-flops, we went back to the car. On our way out of the parking lot, we asked the attendant to tell us how to pronounce Lahaina. I was pretty sure that it was pronounced “La-hi-nuh,” but Jeff kept pronouncing it “La-hayena,” which confused me, because I didn’t know what he was talking about, or it made me think I was saying it wrong. So Jeff asked her, “What town is this?” and she said, “Lahaina” (pronouncing it “La-hi-nuh”) and looked at us like we were crazy. So there you go and now we know! After that we drove by a Radio Shack and went in to grab an auxiliary power cord so that we could hook my iPhone & the iPod to the car stereo! Hooray for being able to listen to good music in the car!


We decided to drive down to Wailea. Wailea is where a couple resorts are located that we had considered at staying at, so we wanted to check it out to see if we were missing anything. It’s on the more south-west side of the island, but doesn’t take too long to drive there. We found the Grand Wailea and the Four Seasons, then found a parking lot with public beach access and went for a walk. The small piece of beach shared by the resorts was small, but pretty. We walked south along the boardwalk, taking in the gorgeous views.

We made it back to our room to have a little rest and change before it was time to go to Roy’s for our dinner reservation. Roy’s is a short drive down the highway, in a small strip mall, with a fabulous view of McDonald’s. The location is not impressive, but the interior was, and the food was delightful. We enjoyed their special tasting menu, which included a succulent appetizer, delicious braised short-ribs, macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi, and hot chocolate soufflés with ice cream for dessert. I ate way too much and loved every bite!