Our 25th anniversary extravaganzas continued with a sojourn in Maui and Kauai.
Monday, August 18
After a nice week in Colorado with the Embreys, the three of us headed to Hawaii. Barb and I had honeymooned at Hana in Maui but hardly left the isolated Hana Ranch resort so Barb hadn’t seen most of the island that time. We returned to Maui in 1988 on our way back from China and Hong Kong; we stayed at an inexpensive condo on Napili Point which was decent but not very special and at that point we couldn’t really afford to go to the nice places on the island, other than driving around Lahaina and Kaanapali. Barb had never been to Kauai. Allie had been with us to the Big Island in 2004 and we did a good job covering that island but this was her first time on Maui or Kauai. I had greatly enjoyed both Maui and Kauai with my folks on various vacations to and from Hong Kong more than 30 years earlier (in 1971 on the way to Hong Kong, then in 1973 and 1975) and I was eager to show the best of the islands to my girls.
We flew first class on United (yay, MileagePlus points) from Denver to Maui via Los Angeles. I think this was Allie’s first time in first class. She enjoyed the warmed nuts snacks and an ice cream sundae for dessert. We left Denver at 10:30am and arrived in Kahului at the civilized hour of 4:30. We rented a car, stopped at a grocery store near the airport to get snacks and necessaries, then headed to our beachfront condo about an hour away on the southwest side of Maui, Makena Surf (TripAdvisor), unit G-204 for those keeping track. I’m trying to remember how I selected this condo — I think I just searched online for beachfront condos and was enchanted by the photos and reviews. In any case, it was a real winner — one of the most beautiful properties I’ve ever stayed at (and one we’d return to in 2013).
Our condo had a great balcony — excuse me, lanai — overlooking a small beach and a bay known as Turtle Town. There were almost always tourist boats in the cove where folks swam with sea turtles, though at this point we didn’t know that’s what they were doing. In the distance we could see the small island of Molokini and the larger Kahoolawe on the horizon.
Once we got ourselves situated, we headed to the nearby Shops at Wailea to rent snorkel gear from the Maui Dive Shop before having dinner at the Big Wave Cafe (which appears to have closed in 2012).
Tuesday, August 19
In the morning, I headed off early for a round of golf at the Makena Beach and Golf Resort (I don’t think it’s there anymore, either). The girls went to the condo’s beach for some sun and surf but we have no photos of their adventures.
We reconnected in the afternoon for lunch at the Kihei Cafe (now a Caffe) before embarking on a big adventure: surfing for the first time! We chose Maui Wave Riders to help, buying lessons for Allie and me. We also bought their photo package which was a good thing; a professional photographer followed us a snapped a bunch of shots we never would have been able to get. Barb was content to watch from the beach and didn’t have to worry about taking photos.
I had never been surfing before and honestly had little desire to give it a try until Allie got the bug, no doubt originally from her “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” dance back in 2003 and 2004. She was very excited to try and her enthusiasm rubbed off on me. We got ourselves outfitted at the store and posed for a few requisite goofy photos.
We started with a lesson on the beach where I quickly discovered that the transition from a kneeling position to a standing one was going to be tricky for me. Allie had no trouble hopping from her knees to her feet but I could barely do it on the beach without stepping on the sand. It was not as easy as it looked. Once we got into the water I also discovered that paddling the board out to the waves was no simple matter, even though the barely 1-foot waves looked laughably calm. My arms and shoulders were sore after just a few minutes. Allie, meanwhile, had no trouble whatsoever.
Allie took the first ride and the photographer snapped away, documenting how she popped right up and rode her first wave all the way in with a big, though slightly nervous, smile on her face.
Then it was time for my first ride. I got myself up on one knee which felt like an accomplishment but then I sort of froze. My brain said “try to stand up” but the rest of me didn’t respond. After a few moments, I decided that riding in on one knee without falling off was plenty enough of an accomplishment for my first try. Whee!
Allie paddled out for her second ride, taking to it like a proverbial duck to water. She hopped up and rode her second wave all the way, with her smile even bigger even if the wave was smaller.
I eventually paddled out for my second try. With a combination of encouragement and mocking from our instructor and Allie, I resolved to try to stand up this time. I got to my kneeling position and tried hopping into the standing position, fought a short, losing battle with balance and gravity before ignominiously plopping my butt on the back of the board as I went down. But for a brief moment, fortuitously captured by our photographer, I was nearly in a standing position and can say that I surfed. Sort of.
Allie paddled out for one last ride before our hour lesson was up. She finished with a little flair, hopping off her board into the wave…if you can even call it that. I myself had had enough.
I was exhausted heading back to the surf shop to deposit our wet gear, get back back into dry clothes and collect our pictures. I think Allie could have happily surfed for several more hours. But for us it was back to the condo for a little rest, sunset, and dinner. We dined at Da Kitchen (now in a new location) for our first taste of Hawaiian plate lunch style diner food. Cheap, filling and delicious with enough rice to more than compensate for any calories burned while trying to surf.
Wednesday, August 20
We got up early for an (overly) ambitious day of driving, including tackling the famous Hana Highway to the south side of the island.
We started by heading to the summit of Haleakela, Maui’s main volcano, ascending through multiple micro-climates on the winding road to the 10,000-foot summit. I didn’t press the girls to go up super early for the sunrise, but we were there before 10am when it was still plenty chilly. We were not well-prepared for the cold wind and didn’t last long outside the car. We checked out the views from the visitor center and walked a bit of the way toward the observatory.
I have a vivid memory of flying through the Haleakela crater with Mom and Dad on our very first trip to Hawaii on our way to Hong Kong in 1971. I was in the co-pilot seat of a Royal Hawaiian Air Service Cessna prop plane as we flew from Honolulu to Mauna Kea on the Big Island. The pilot buzzed the sea cliffs on the north side of Molokai and dipped well into the moonscape of the Haleakela crater along the way. The FAA doesn’t allow that kind of flying anymore but the view from the summit is nearly as good.
We didn’t stay very long at the summit before heading back down the mountain. Going down, we passed some groups of bikers coasting downhill from about the midpoint of the mountain. The bikers used to go down from the summit but the year before, in 2007, the Park Service prohibited bike tours within the park because too many tourists were getting killed on the steep, switchback road. It was easy to see why: driving the road was tough enough without having to worry about packs of bikers coasting down.
We headed to the town of Paia for lunch at the Paia Fish Market. This venerable tourist destination did not disappoint; we had a very tasty fish lunch. After lunch, and mailing some postcards as I recall, we embarked on the Hana Highway. When Barb and I honeymooned in Hana back in 1983, we flew directly there and never drove this famous stretch of twisty coastal road. I was looking forward to the challenge. The drive itself turned out to be not as hair-raising as advertised but it was lush, not terribly crowded, but still pretty slow over the many one-lane bridges. We didn’t stop at very many of the waterfalls or bridges, and I was a little disappointed there were not very many expansive views of the coastline, but we were on the wet and forested side of the island.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we got to the small town of Hana. Surprisingly little had changed in 25 years since we were last there. We tried poking our heads into the Hana Ranch Resort which had changed hands since the days we stayed there, but were thwarted by the guests-only gates. The resort had its ups and downs and several different owners since we stayed there, but in 2020 became part of the Hyatt chain — I hope that doesn’t ruin it forever; the website still makes it look pretty. We made a stop at the Hasegawa General Store which was still a low-key tourist trap.
We headed onward toward the Seven Sacred Pools, or more properly, the Pools of ‘Ohe’o. Allie was eager for a swim so we parked and clambered down the rocks to the pools. Barb and I were less interested in getting into the water, especially with a long drive still ahead. Despite the crowded conditions, it was fun to watch Allie splash around and remember the day we had visited 25 years before.
The swimming area was a little bit downstream from spot near the bridge where we photographed Barb on our honeymoon, but you can still get glimpses of the bridge behind Allie.
Eventually, we pulled Allie from the water and drove onward to the church where Charles Lindbergh is buried. I remembered this as a peaceful little spot where one of the world’s great aviators spent his last days. It’s still a beautiful place, even if the political legacy of the aviator is a little more tarnished than I realized back in my youth.
We we first visited Hana in 1983, the Lindbergh grave was pretty much the end of the road, but I’m pretty sure this time we headed onward on Route 37, circumnavigating the south end of the island. It was still a long drive back to the condo. We stopped somewhere along the road for a little bite of down home Hawaiian (or was it Japanese?) food and straggled back into the condo after sunset. But it was early to bed anyway because Allie and I had an early morning appointment to go snorkeling. No rest for these ambitious travelers!
Thursday, August 21
I reserved a morning Blue Water Rafting snorkeling tour of the Kanaio Coast and Molikini crater. The tour departed from the Kihei Boat Ramp at 7am to catch the morning’s calmer waters, which meant Allie and I had to be at the boat ramp at 6:30am. We made it in time and boarded a pair of 27-foot rigid-hulled inflatable boats with about a dozen other passengers each.
The boats raced down the coast, past our Makena Surf Resort condo to the Kanaio Coast on the southern shores of Maui, near some 200-year old but seemingly recent lava flows from Haleakela.
We got close enough to shore to poke among some of the lava caves, then (as advertised) we encountered a pod of spinner dolphins. They showed off their jumping and spinning prowess on cue. It was hard to get a good photo with my dinky camera but it was delightful watching the dolphins’ antics for a while. The boats did a good job of not getting too close to intrude on the pod.
The boats zipped over to Molokini, the partially submerged volcanic crater we could see from our condo. This is a popular dive and snorkeling spot; there were a few other boats in the caldera but there was plenty of room for us all in the still-early morning. Allie and I got on our snorkel gear and plunged in, armed with disposable underwater cameras we had bought for the occasion. The snorkeling was terrific, with lots of fish, coral and clear, calm and comfortable water. The only worries came when we drifted toward the edge of the crater where the ocean floor dropped off, the current became stronger, the water became cooler and a few reef sharks appeared — but we were well warned and stayed out of any danger. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of snorkeling but I’ve done my share of it in many interesting places — this was the best place I’d ever been. If you’re going to give it a try, Molikini is at the top of the list.
After an hour or so taking in Molokini’s charms, we were called back to the boats. The caldera was starting to fill with other, larger tour boats, and the water was already starting to get choppier as the day’s tradewinds picked up. Our boats shuttled back toward shore, stopping not far from our condo in the area known as Turtle Town. A host of green sea turtles make themselves at home here, casually feeding on the sea bed then periodically floating 20-30 feet to the surface for a breath before drifting back down. It was hypnotic and enchanting to watch them go through their paces. The turtles seemed peaceful and serene; it was easy to fall into their gentle, unhurried rhythm…as long as you stayed away from other snorkelers and didn’t get surprised by a turtle floating up behind you. We stayed in the water quite a while until we, too, were called up to feed on a little lunch on the boats.
The tour concluded in the early afternoon as the boats bounced back to Kihei in the now mildly choppy water. In all, this was without doubt the best snorkeling boat tour I’ve ever taken. The combination of calm, predictable water, three memorable locations each with different wildlife and features, all a short ride from shore is hard to beat. Swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos was fantastic and awe-inspiring, but it was an ordeal to get there, and wedging into a wet suit is not an appealing prospect for me. Lounging with the sea turtles in warm, calm water is much more my speed, as is watching the plethora of colorful reef fish nibbling on coral in the clear water at Molokini.
Allie and I reunited with Barb at the condo in the afternoon. The girls stayed in the sun while I took my camera down the beach to try to capture some of the scenery. The Makena Surf Resort technically sits between Po’olenalena Beach and Chang’s Beach. Our specific condo overlooked Chang’s Beach and Cove. I headed down there first for some pictures.
Tucked behind the condos, away from the beach was the swimming pool. The pool itself was nothing to write home about but Barb found it to be a nice refuge in the afternoon when the beach got a little too windy. There was a little headland between Chang’s Beach and the larger Po’olenalena Beach. The resort wrapped around the headland and a number of condos directly overlooked the larger, prettier beach. The beach near the condo was never very busy. Further north, there was a public parking lot and sometimes more people…and occasionally a wedding ceremony on the beach. But this afternoon there was almost no one. It was a great time to wander the length of the beach and get as artistic as I could. This was pretty much my definition of paradise: a lovely, modern condo with fantastic views over a pristine, nearly empty beach.
To cap off this excellent day, we got showered, rested, then headed back across the island to have dinner at Mama’s Fish House, one of the most famous (and busiest) restaurants on the island. We has a 6:45pm reservation (made months ahead on OpenTable). We got there in time to catch a double rainbow offshore. The photos don’t quite do it justice but it was pretty magical.
Dinner itself was a treat. They made a show of displaying the day’s catch and discussing the qualities of all the different fish available. I can’t recall exactly what fish we selected but we all left very happy. It was a splurge but worth it.
Friday, August 22
For our final full day in Maui, the girls began the morning with some sun at the cove beneath our condo. They and some other beach-goers actually spotted a turtle swimming close to shore which stirred some interest.
Around midday we head north to the Kapalua Resort where we reserved a table for lunch at Merriman’s. When Barb and I were on the Big Island in 1993, we stumbled upon the Chef Peter Merriman’s original restaurant in Waimea. It was one of our most enjoyable dinners we’ve ever had with a delicious mix of local fish and produce prepared with skill and panache. We went back to the Waimea restaurant in 2004, this time with Allie, and enjoyed it just as much. The Kapalua location was Merriman’s first venture beyond the Big Island and was newly opened in 2008 when we visited. Since then, he has added a location on Kauai and expanded into other brands. The outdoor location in Kapalua was certainly beautiful but somehow our lunch was not quite as magical as the first few meals in the original restaurant, but it was still a tasty treat.
In the afternoon, we drove back through Kaanapali, the resort area where I first stayed with my folks in the 1970s. We did some souvenir shopping at the Whaler’s Village and spent some time in the Whale Museum (which closed in 2015 and was to be replaced with a newer one, but evidently not yet).
We went a bit further down the road to Lahaina, wandered around the historic district and grabbed a light dinner at one of the many casual restaurants. It was a nice, low-key finish to our Maui sojourn.
Saturday, August 23
We checked out of our condo in the morning, returned our car and caught an 11:50am flight to Kauai for the final leg of our Hawaiian adventure. It would be hard to beat our time in Maui.
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