So Many Exciting and Beautiful Places!

Tuesday, January 19

Beach day today. We rented beach umbrellas which allowed us to enjoy several hours without burning to a crisp. $4 per chair – pretty good deal, I think. More whale watching.

There are so many public beaches in the area, and they are just as beautiful as those at the resorts and hotels. There is also plenty of free parking near them so the locals can enjoy ready access to the ocean.

Mark and Jeff went boogie boarding, and lived to tell the tale. Some folks were paddle boarding, and some were paddling their boards to catch waves for surfing. The waves were pretty high, and the lifeguard did issue a warning after one person got hurt when crashing into a rock.

Dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse tonight and back to the condo to pack. Boo hoo!

Monday, January 18

By now, everyone has caught my cold. Jeff and Mark both went to a clinic this morning, and Sally goes tomorrow. We have a pharmacopia of meds, cough syrups, cough drops, Kleenexes and decongestants. I do want to thank you to the Wailea Makena Urgent Care which took such good care of me and Mark.

Fully medicated, we drove to Lahaina to meet a friend, Marlin, for lunch. He has been living in Hawaii for about ten years, and has a couple of accounting firms on Maui and Oahu. Good lunch and good company at Duke’s Beach House.

After lunch, we went into Lahaina to see the huge banyan tree. Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 – 1845. The tree is located at the site of the Old Lahaina Fort which was built in 1831. After the fort was demolished in 1854, a courthouse was built on the site. The tree was planted in 1873, and is the largest banyan tree in Hawaii. Its trunk and aerial root system covers 2/3 acre.

There was an art fair in the square under and around the banyan tree, so we did some exploring while we were there.

On the way back to Wailea, we stopped at a scenic overlook, Ma’alaea Bay, where people were whale watching. We’ve had great luck in seeing so much activity.

Next stop was a roadside beach, which was fairly quiet. We spent some more time looking for whales, walking the beach, and just watching the water.

Another beautiful day comes to an end in paradise.

Saturday, January 16

Today was pretty quiet, due to the fact that a couple of us have contracted bad colds (many thanks to one of our flight attendants.) I decided to visit the local urgent care clinic to be sure I didn’t have the flu or anything else viral. Yay! Pharyngitis and sinusitis only. Got some meds and cough medicine, and I’m already on the road to recovery. Never, ever fly with a sinus infection if you can help it – very painful!

We took it easy, spent some time at the pool and on our deck, saw a beautiful sunset, and ate leftovers.

Sunday, January 17

Sally got us set up with a whale watching tour at noon today, with Blue Water Rafting. We were on a small boat so the crew could respond very quickly to any sightings – and there were plenty.

The humpback whale (kohola) population migrates about 3,000 miles from Alaska each winter to mate and calve in the waters around Hawaii. They remain here for about six weeks, not eating, until returning to Alaska to feed.

The humpback weighs about one ton per foot of length, and can grow up to 60 feet. Newborns are about 15 feet The average life expectancy is about 50 years. Humpbacks were put on the endangered list in 1966 when their worldwide population was estimated to be only 1,500. Now, their population is estimated to be between 18,000-20,000, and there has been discussion about removing them from endangered status.

The tail markings are unique to each individual whale, allowing researchers to identify them as they move back and forth between Alaska and Hawaii.

Lunch afterwards at Café O’Lei, where Mark continued his quest to sample as many mai tais as possible, but only if they have real juice (he is such a health nut.) This one was made with Passionfruit juice.

Dinner at the local Tommy Bahama. Good as usual. It will be easy to fall asleep tonight.

Friday, January 15

This morning, we drove to ‘Iao Valley Park, hoping to see a 1200 foot tall vegetation covered basalt remnant. This spire has some historical significance, as it was the site of a great battle between Kamehameha and the king of Maui which allowed Kamehameha to unite the islands into one kingdom. Unfortunately, the park was closed for some maintenance work.

The trip was not in vain, I’m happy to report.  Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens is located just outside the entrance to the park. The gardens memorialize many of the peoples who emigrated to Hawaii, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean and missionaries from the mainland.

The gardens are nestled between several mountains, with a stream running alongside. So very lush.

Our next stop was Hawaii Sea Spirits Organic Farm & Distillery. The distillery was established about ten years ago, and their first location was a warehouse in Kahului. Our GPS directed us there, which was pretty confusing. Quick check online and we were driving up into the hills to find the current location.

The farm grows about 80 varieties of sugar cane, which are harvested by hand. Other sugar cane farms will burn the cane to remove the leaves. Here, the leaves are allowed to drop naturally and are used as compost. By harvesting by hand, they are able to keep the cane plant producing for up to 8 years, rather than having to replant after each harvest.

They produce Ocean Organic Vodka and Deep Water Rum. We had already sampled the vodka, attracted in part by the beautiful blue bottle. Today, we got to sample the rum as well. No complaints about either.

After distilling the alcohol, it is cut with deep sea water from melted polar glacial ice. The water contains potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Although not for sale in the US, we were able sample some, and it certainly tastes different from regular drinking water. Most of the water is exported to Japan where they sell it for its “health” benefits: relieving stomach pain, indigestion, and decreasing the risk of developing stomach cancer.

From there, we headed to Ulupalakua Ranch Store for lunch. We had been told it had great hamburgers, and all of its meat comes from Hawaii. We went inside to the deli to order and pay for our food, then dined outdoors. I enjoyed the pumpkin ginger soup and Mark had the elk burger. Ulupalakua is an 18,000 acre cattle ranch with about 2,300 head.

Maui Wine is located across the road, so we visited it as well, and of course, sampled and purchased wine. There is an interesting display in the front yard, called the Hula Circle. In the 1870’s, a ring of cypress trees was planted for King David Kalakaua in which hula troupes performed in his honor. High winds brought down two of the trees in 2012. The other trees were determined to be unhealthy as well, so Maui Wine asked a local artist, Tim Garcia to carve the remaining trunks in a way that told the story of the trees.

There were some fabulous views along these drives, including some of the waves breaking on the beaches. There is a forecast of 40′ waves heading this way, and the surfers are anxious to try them out. Best of luck to them.

Thursday, January 14

The grounds at The Palms are gorgeous – lush with flowers and palm trees – and quite close to the ocean.

We wended our way to the beach, not a long trip at all. Before long, we connected with the Wailea Coastal Walk, a 1.5 mile walk that takes the pedestrians past five white sand beaches, and several hotels and resorts. We walked as far as the Grand Wailean Hotel, a Hilton/Waldorf Astoria property. Mark and I have been to a couple of beverage meetings here, so we enjoyed showing it off to our friends.

There are several statues, pools, fountains, and even waterfalls on the property.

On our way back from the hotel, we stopped at the Shops of Wailea for some window shopping and lunch at Cheeseburger Island Style. The cheeseburgers were very tasty and so were the mai tais.

Tonight, we stayed in for pasta and salad. It was another good day in paradise.

Tuesday, January 12

Our last full day on The Big Island, so we kept it easy. We went to King’s Shops and visited the shops we had missed the first time. I especially enjoy the art galleries that feature work by local artists. We had lunch with Jeff and Sally at Three Fat Pigs, which had outdoor dining along the lagoon.

Lava Lava Beach Club is known in the area for its fabulous sunsets. The restaurant is on the beach, so we were able to watch the wave action and at least one surfer. As sunset approached, many of the diners lined up to get their photos – it really was impressive.

Wednesday, January 13

Our flight was at 1:00, which gave us time to stop for coffee at a Kona Mountain Coffee Shop just a couple miles from the airport. This airport is fairly small, and the waiting areas are outside, so we continued to enjoy the lovely air.

The flight to Maui is very short. We were barely aloft when our descent began. Maui’s airport is larger than Kona’s, but still small enough to make it easy to navigate.

After picking up our rental car, we drove to Wailea where our condo is located. The grounds are beautiful, as is the condo.

For dinner, we went to Manoli’s Pizza where we had another great view of the sunset.