Aloha Maui
Aloha! Alex and I just returned from a week long stay in Hawaii. My brother, Chris, and his wife, Melissa, invited a group of friends and family to Maui to help celebrate their marriage. For the majority of the group, it was the first time visiting Hawaii, Alex and myself included. We had such a wonderful trip! It really is a beautiful island with so much to see and explore.
After almost 12-hours on a plane + connection, we arrived in Maui. Our first stop was to Geste Shrimp Truck near the airport. For $15.00, you can get a plate with 12 shrimp, rice, crab macaroni and your sauce of choice (we opted for spicy pineapple - yum!). It was delicious and hit the spot after such a long travel day. We loved it so much, we even went back later in the week with my parents!
We arrived a few days before most of the others in the group and decided to stay on another part of the island, Wailea, before joining friends and family. Once we arrived at our hotel, the Four Seasons Resort, we hardly left our chairs by the pool for the next two days! It was so nice to be in warm, sunny weather and we had very little problem settling right into “vacation mode!”. The hotel even offered a free morning outdoor yoga class which was super nice.
On Sunday, we did venture from the hotel in the morning to visit the ‘Iao Valley. The ‘Iao Valley is where the Battle of Kepaniwai took place and King Kamehameha famously conquered the kings and forces of Maui. There are several viewpoints, including the “‘Iao Needle”, a large, plant-covered pinnacle. The “needle” was used as a lookout station for warriors to warn against outside invasion. We didn’t spend too much time here, but the views were beautiful and it was so lush and green. The ‘Iao Valley is the second wettest place in Maui, so a rain jacket is key!
‘Iao Needle
We ended our outing with shaved ice from, Local Boys Shaved Ice. I’d read you are supposed to add ice-cream to the bottom to make it extra indulgent! They only had one size available, LARGE, so Alex and I shared one with French Vanilla, Rootbeer and Cherry syrup with Vanilla Ice Cream on the bottom. It was pretty good, but melted SO fast, we were quickly left with a bowl of icy soup.
Once we left Wailea, we spent the following day touring the Road to Hana - I will do a separate post on Hana as there was A LOT to see! Once we returned from Hana, we made our way to Lahaina on the west side of Maui where we met up with family and friends.
On Wednesday, we had planned on doing the Waihe’e Ridge Trail with my parents and friends, Brian and Kim. When we went to get our rental car from the hotel valet, there was a bit of confusion and the attendant kept asking for the make, model, color and if this was the only valet ticket we had. Never a good thing! Finally after a lot of waiting, it was determined they lost the car keys and we could not get into our car!! Fortunately my parents also had a rental car, so we ended up taking theirs. Unfortunately, both Alex and my hiking shoes were in our rental car, so we ultimately had to change plans and did not do the hiking trail we had originally planned. Brian and Kim had already gone ahead (they had a rental car of their own) and we were going to meet them at the trailhead, so I had to text them the bad news we could not join them for the hike! The hotel did end up finding the keys (they were dropped in another person’s car and were returned by this person to the hotel), so thankfully, the lost key issue was resolved!
Despite a rough start, we ended up having a great day nonetheless and spent the morning traversing the Acid War Zone Trail (a recommendation from Brian and Kim). This trail goes along the coastline and to the Nakalele Blowhole & Heart Shaped Rock.
After walking back to our car, we drove to the Olivine Pools where as the tide gets higher, the waves fill the volcanic rock with sea water and create natural tide pools. Although it is advised not to swim in these pools (there is a chance of being washed out to sea if a big waves comes up unexpectedly), there were people swimming and playing in the tide pools. We did not get in, but admired the pools from above.
We ended the afternoon with pie from Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop. My mom and I were in charge of selecting the pies and we took our job VERY seriously. After much deliberation, we settled on one large banana cream pie, a small coconut cream pie, and a small chocolate macadamia nut pie. The pies were SO good, but my favorite had to be the banana cream. Yum!
Chris and Melissa arranged for the whole group to join in a luau for one evening at Feast at Lele. I have never been to a luau before and did not know what to expect. The luau takes guests along a journey through the Pacific Island nations of Aotearoa, Tahiti, Samoa, and Hawaii. It features a five-course sit-down dinner with music and dancing from these nations. The luau was a highlight of the trip for me - the dancers were amazing and their costumes so bright and colorful. I’m still not sure how the women shimmy their hips while keeping their upper body perfectly still!
It was a wonderful, relaxing, and fun week in Maui. I’m so thankful to Chris and Melissa for organizing this trip and getting everyone down to Hawaii to celebrate their marriage. I wish them a lifetime of happiness! I hope to be back one day but until then… Aloha!
Food & Drink:
Dinner: Spago, Monkeypod Kitchen, Maui Brewing Company, Feast at Lele
Lunch: Geste Shrimp & Da Kitchen
Treats: Local Boys Shaved Ice, Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop and Ululani’s Shaved Ice
Smoothies: Choice Health Bar - Whaler’s Village