Heading Home

We were up early. No real need for the alarms we set because we woke several times and just finally got up and got ready to leave. The trip to the airport was uneventful, car return was quick, and the shuttle dropped us off right in front of the Alaska Airlines check in. Our flights were on time and Hilton Garden Inn Natomas shuttle was waiting for us at Sacramento Airport. There was a slight confusion on my part where "door 1" was but it all worked out. We were on the road and made it to June's house in good time. We were certainly happy to see Tony. We only stayed a few minutes because we need to get home too. We got gas and a small snack in Livingston. We were home by 11p. Fond memories are tucked away as we enter back into real life here in Clovis. So thankful for a safe and healthy trip! 

Maui Day 14

Say it isn't so! Our last full day... We spent a good part of the morning at the beach enjoying our last swim. After that we went to Sarento's for our brunch. We barely made it before they closed at 11a. After that we add up our ABC receipts and did the last of our shopping there. We got both a tote bag and a calendar for our receipts. Several hours were dedicated to packing and cleaning up our things, which seem to be upstairs when  we are down stairs or vise versa. Anyway, we got it all done, touched base with Patti in the office, and we were ready to watch our last Maui sunset for awhile. Actually, the sky AFTER the sunset was more spectacular than the sunset itself! We went to the picnic tables and visited with other guests while we enjoyed our last bottle of Splash Maui Wine we saved for tonight. Off to bed early as we have an early morning planned. 

Maui Day 13

Our entire morning was devoted to the beach. We took two nice swims. We made use of the chairs and dubious umbrella in our condo closet. That is not a complaint about the umbrella because what we have are items left behind that others share for our use. Each condo here has a different set of usable items left behind. Ours had a boogie board, 3 beach chairs, 1 regular chair, and the slightly damaged umbrella. It's a nice touch to have these items in this "less fancy" condo. Anyway, after the beach, showers, lunch, Rummikub, resting, reading, etc. we went for happy hour at Moose's again. I wanted my farewell potato skins, John and June humored me! The view was not great for the sunset (We wonder when they will bury the power lines here in Kihei?) but still lovely. John drove back to the condo with our leftovers while June and I stopped in shops on our walk back. The breeze was cool and refreshing. Sadly, tomorrow will be our last full day in Maui! 

A "selfie" - I'm not too good at that!

Maui Day 12

This morning we went for another nice swim. June and I stayed at the beach tanning for a little while afterwards but John headed back. After showers, lunch, and Rummikub we took a drive to La Perouse Bay. We never even knew there was a blow hole there! There is a little path, 1/8 of a mile, to the site. It is such a remote and fun place to go. We were glad June enjoyed it as well. There happened to be a ranger there and I double checked the fact Jeff told me, which was no fishing license is needed in Hawaii. It IS true but there are restrictions on limits, types of fish, etc. for each season. I guess he can read up on that before he comes here. The ranger also noted there are many good fishing spots between La Perouse Bay and Kihei. Anyway, there is no swimming or fishing at La Perouse Bay anyway. It is a reserve and to swim would be very dangerous. There is a snorkel spot along the way in a lovely little cove. It is rocky, so you would need some sort of shoes to get in the water I think. On the way back we stopped at Gannon's. To be exact the Red Bar located at Gannon's. The food was delicious, we had crab cake sliders and volcano fries. The service was pretty slow, it was warm out there, and the bushes are pretty overgrown so it is a little hard to see the fabulous views. 

I found this on the street.

The largest Plumeria blossom I have ever seen!

Crab Cake Sliders - Volcano Fries (with Furikake)

Maui Day 11

Today is the day for a little adventure! This morning took us to Maui Tropical Plantation for a zipline adventure with Maui Zipline Company, which is located at the plantation. First just John and June were going to go and then I decided to go as well. We got there at our 9:30a check in time and we were soon adorned with our gear, walking up to the tower, up the steps, and ready for our first line! John and I did a zipline long ago in Belize but this was June's first time and something on her "bucket list" as well. We had a nice visit with one of the staff. He is a Marine veteran who was on a ship like Steven was on. He brought up photos on his laptop to show us. Such a nice young man who served 3 tours in Iraq. The entire adventure was about 90 minutes. The staff was just super, so helpful, friendly, and patient. The worst part of it all is up on the tower platform and the need to stand up on a box to attach to the line. The wind was blowing as it always does out there and you feel like you will blow off. That first step off is a bit challenging but flying across on the zipline is fun and exhilarating. 

After this we ate at the Mill House restaurant, which is right there at the plantation. The food was delicious, but small portions. They had oldies music playing, Hawaiian would have been nicer. They brought bread about the time we finished our entrees. No salad or anything is served with the entree, which makes it seem a little expensive for what you get. But as I said, the food and the bread were delicious. We decided to skip the tram today as we are tired. We would like to come back rested and walk around the gardens and look through the shop a bit more.  

Our time in Maui is going by so quickly!!!

Maui Day 10

Lots of beach walking morning and evening, just lovely and so enjoyable. The gardener brought us some lovely smelling flowers and the scent fills the condo. There is a very nice volleyball court at Kam I (Kamaole Beach Park I) Let's see, we had Maui Fish Tacos for lunch I guess that was our day!

Anyone Know What These Are?

Maui Day 9

Sunday but no church for us, for one thing, not sure where we would go? Midday was very warm and humid, they call it "sticky" here on the news. We stayed in playing Rummikub. The morning and evenings are really nice with great tropical breezes. We have so enjoyed the lanai and watching the ocean. It has been quite choppy and rough after the first few hours in the morning. I made Debra's easy scampi recipe for us today, June liked it, never knew anyone who didn't! The sunset was beautiful once again. 

Maui Day 8

I should list all the interesting things we did today but the truth is we simply relaxed, read, played games - that's what this type of vacation is for! We had a tasty Japanese Rice meal fixed in the microwave that we purchased at Costco. Maui Vacation = Every day is a new opportunity for a nap! :-) 

June Won!!!

Hawai'i State Flower

Maui Day 7

Hard to believe we are completing a week here! It goes by very fast. It was especially warm in the morning with humidity of 85%, dropping to 78% by 10ish when we left on our excursion but it was 87 degrees by then. Later in the day it was up to 93%. I really didn't think it would be this warm in September! We wanted to get out of the condo because they were coming to clean this morning. Since it was so humid and warm we decided to just go back to Sarento's around 10a. Trying something different this time June and I both had a half omelet. I might add their full omelet is $15 made with 4 eggs, thus the choice of the half omelet (also half price). John had the crepes, which he enjoyed very much, eating every bite! The rest of the day we spend inside needless to say. No photos of what we did at sunset because it was quite exciting and not camera friendly! We donned our swimsuits and watched the sunset while floating around in the ocean! It was delightful, the best feeling ever. I love this beach. I have never been in the water here late in the day because it is usually pretty rough with the trade winds by afternoon but not so today - Just delightful! John finished off appropriately watching the premiere of Hawaii 5-0 ending our full week in Kihei, Maui. 

Sarento's on the Beach

Nice View of Lanai

Maui Day 6

We had a quiet day here at KBC. June and I walked to several shops in the area, ending up at the ABC Store. Our store right by the condo has really improved. They used to have a little deli with a few things, sandwiches, etc. Now they have a really good sized deli offering specials of the day. Today it was prime rib for $12.99 including sides. The side choices are mashed potatoes or rice, salad or veggies. The "salad" is only chopped up romaine, but very fresh. The veggies were sauteed green and wax beans with a few carrots. The meal was not "amazing" but good and quite filling for our big meal of the day considering the price. They have prime rib on Thursday and Sunday. I forgot to take a photo of it! Today's other offerings were orange chicken, some sort of sweet and sour pork, pork on skewers, fried chicken, and a variety of pasta and potato salads as well. In the evening we had a fruit plate and the rest of our bottle of Pineapple Margaritas. We enjoyed the sunset and watched the water and fishermen until it was pretty dark, then came back to the condo. Tomorrow they clean the unit so as of now the plan is to take a drive to the end of the road where the French beach is. 

Dragon Fruit - Papaya - Star Fruit 

Fishing: This guy caught a "goat" fish. He said that is what it was due to the little protrusions coming out under the mouth. Yes, you can eat it. A nice size at least for one person. 

Lovely Flowers Today

Maui Day 5

A little day of discovery! We saw the most amazing flower today called the Blue (or green) Jade Vine. All the times we have been to Hawai'i I have never seen this flower.  The botanical name is Strongylodon Macobotrys. 

Now, about our day. We decided we would go to the Maui Winery. The drive seemed much longer than in the past, but in reality...we took another "Eash Shortcut" this time! However, the drive was nice and we saw sugar cane fields, banana tree fields, and a few other unknown fields of crops growing. Though there were clouds today, like every day, I thought the winery would be below the clouds. As the road climbed the side of the volcano the sprinkles began to fall. By the time we arrived to Ulupalakua Ranch Store it was raining. This is a great little place with a warm E' Komo Mai (welcome) and fantastic food. They have a small menu but really worth the drive and it you are going to the winery anyway, it's a no-brainer to eat your meal there! It poured down while we ate and they said it has been raining every day, which they welcomed. We all decided as much as we like Cool Cat, sorry this beats it hands down! 

Now about the winery - Like everything else, it keeps changing too. They have added some wooden sculptures to the front and They have a new wine called Hula o Maui but unfortunately they were totally out of that one for tasting or for purchase. Supposedly it is quite similar to the Maui Blanc. We had our 3 complementary tastes and bought some Maui Splash to enjoy later. 

We took the "normal" route on the way back and in reality the drive is only supposed to take less than an hour. We played Rummikub, relaxed, and by the time the sun was setting we were almost too late so we just saw it from our lanai. We had our Maui Splash and snacks as we prepared for the Survivor Season Premiere!

Stolen Flowers

I know I shouldn't be shocked, but humanity continues to shock me. I noted the lovely Blue Jade Vine we saw at Maui Winery. When we first arrived I went to the restroom. These flowers were on a pergola by the restrooms. I marveled at them and took this first photo below. There was a man and two women admiring them as well. The older of the women told me the name of them and that they are very rare. I took my photo and rejoined John and June back at the Ulupalakua Ranch Market for our lunch. The three of them lingered on and I suppose they were the culprits. I was telling them about the flowers because June likes flowers as much as I do! After our wine tasting and walk around the area we went to the restroom so she could see the flowers. You can look at my photos below to note the difference you will now see!

            Before                                                After

 

Now, who does this? And HOW did they do it? They had to pretty much destroy the stalk to hide it well enough to get it out of the winery area in a bag or wrapped in a sweater or something. You walk right back by the tasting room to leave. PLUS, we picked up a dropped blossom off the ground that was quite fresh and by the next day it was all dried up! So if they had left it for others to see people would still be enjoying it. Instead it is either in the trash right now OR maybe they alone are enjoying the last remnants of the blossoms in water. I just felt disgusted and appalled... Shame on them OR whoever took that lovely growth. 

Maui Day 4

Another beautiful morning. We decided to go to over to Lahaina Town today. We stopped at the fruit stand along the way and got some lovely strawberry papaya, dragon fruit, and star fruit to enjoy later. In Lahaina one thing John wanted to do was eat lunch at Cool Cat Cafe and June and I wanted to look in some shops up there for dresses. The Celebrity Solstice was in port arriving from Vancouver, BC. but the town was not especially crowded. We had our humongous lunch and then John read under the Banyan Tree while June and I shopped. Heading back to the condo we stopped in a park and enjoyed a view of the Solstice and little crabs trying to make their way along the rock walls. The ocean is lovely today, lots of waves because there is a lot of wind. Tonight we had some Maui Blanc wine with our late afternoon snack while playing Rummikub. Another beautiful sunset rounded out our day.