Last Day in Maui

This morning was calm again so we went to try snorkeling at Kamaole beach, right in the heart of Kihei.
Got there about 9:30, just sat down and the Shiers showed up, we had told them we were coming here but hadn't set a time.
Snorkeling was surprisingly good for a beach we have driven by daily.
Saw some green sea turtles and a white snowflake moray eel as well as numerous fish.
We left for home after a couple of hours. Time to start getting things together before we leave.

We met Norm and Robbie again at the 5 Palms at 5pm for half price drinks and appies.
Quite a good deal, we ate enough that we didn't need dinner and got to watch some whales in the distance and see a nice sunset.
Cost with drinks was $40 per couple, not bad for Maui!

We don't have to be out of our place until 11 am so we can finish packing in the morning.
Our flight leaves at 3 pm so by the time we drop off the car and then get to the airport 2hrs. early we won't have too much time to kill.
Hate it when you don't fly out until late at night and have no place to go after checkout.
It's been a nice holiday, enjoyed the sun and water but it's will be nice to get home and see the pets!
Not looking forward to winter though.

Ulua again

We finally woke to a calm morning so decided to try snorkeling at Ulua beach in Wailea again.
It was excellent!
Bright sun made for great visibility in the clear waters.
We saw angel fish, moorish idols, and lots of other colorful fish and coral. There are lots of different kinds of coral in pinks ,yellows, purple, and white.
You can see Molokini Island in the distance. It is half of an old lava cone that is a popular dive and snorkel site. Took a snorkel tour there on one of our other visits.
I've included some pictures of the types of fish we saw but I didn't take them, they are downloaded, but this exactly what they look like. Sadly, I don't have an underwater camera.

We spent a couple of hours there then came back and showered and then went for lunch at Da Kitchen.
It's a very small place . No liquor license, you can bring your own beer or wine if you want.
They serve a lot of the local favorite, the plate lunch ,which is usually some kind of meat in gravy over rice with a scoop of macaroni salad!
We didn't have that.
Karen had saimen noodle soup and I had a tempura battered mahi- mahi fish sandwich.
Portions are huge and very good.

After lunch we came back and got ready for company.
We had met a Nanaimo couple in the Iao Valley and had arranged for them to stop by for a drink and to see our condo.
They seemed to like it, we had a couple of beers before they went back to their condo.
We plan to meet them tomorrow at the 5 Palms restaurant for happy hour. Half price cocktails and pupu's with an ocean side view of the sunset from 3 till 7.
It will be our last night in Maui.

Iao Valley and Ho-okipa

The winds are still blowing hard, ruining any chance of snorkeling ,so we drove up to Wailuku this morning and went to the Iao Valley State Park, about 1/2 hour from here.
It is in the West Maui mountains and was the site of a big battle between King Kamehameha from the big island and the Maui tribes. Very bloody, lots of Mauians slaughtered, Kamehameha won and united the Hawaiian Islands.
There's your history lesson!

In the valley is a 1200 ft stone spire called The Iao Needle.
Coming down the steps from the viewpoint I ran into Norm Shier and his wife from Nanaimo.
He's a retired Telus guy that we have known for years.
Small world.

After we left the park we stopped at a mall for "one last thing" and ran into Norm again.
Exchanged addresses , hope to get together before we leave.
In the mall there were some young kids performing hula.
Always cute to see the little ones that have no idea what to do.

We then drove to Ho-okipa beach on the northeast shore of the island . This is the windward side and the high winds are making big swells for the surfers so we want to have a look.
There is a viewpoint that you can watch from.
The waves are in the 15 to 18 ft range, not a place for tourists!

Back home with another Costco chicken and potato salad for dinner. Yay, no cooking tonight!

Kapalua and Kaanapali

We made the 30 minute drive up to Kaanapali and Kapalua today with 2 objectives.
One was to snorkel at Kapalua Bay or Black Rock at Kaanapali but the winds are too high and surf and snorkeling don't go well together.
It's a little cooler today too, about 78, but the sun is shining!
Karen also wanted to try out the Star Noodle House in Lahaina. We had success with that.
The head chef was a contestant on one of those Top Chef shows . Not sure if he won but the food was good and reasonably priced. We paid about $25 for lunch for us both.

On the way to lunch we had an incident with a local in Lahaina .
I was stopped in a line of cars in a left turn lane at a busy intersection waiting for the car in front to move when all of a sudden the guy behind me honks like he wants me to move,then bumps my rear bumper.
He's a young guy in a beat up pickup..
I get out to see what is going on and he gets out and says I backed into him!
I'm in an automatic with it in drive and my foot on the brake waiting to move ahead, I tell him , how could I back up without shifting into reverse and why would I do that?
He calls me an f'ing dumbass .
I see there is no damage and decide not to argue anymore, this is the U.S.A after all and that would probably justify shooting a Haole!
Anyway, no harm done but it did get the heart rate up!

After lunch we drove into Kahalui, the Capitol and biggest city, to finish up any souvenir shopping.
We want to spend the rest of our stay near the beach.

Here's a couple of pictures of some of the different vegetation here.
They have huge cacti, the leeward side of the island is mostly desert and the large red plant is a natural poinsettia . They grow here like our rhododendrons.

Canoe Ride and Snorkel

On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Kihei Canoe Club offers rides to visitors for a donation.
I went this morning, had to be there by 7 to sign up,ugh.
They only have a limited number of seats so I didn't want be late.
They put 2 or 3 experienced paddlers with 3 or 4 newbies, six people in a boat.
You then have to drag your boat down the beach and launch it into the surf.
These are big heavy outriggers so it isn't easy. As the boat enters the water you have to get in quickly as it is still moving forward to get out of the shore break.
I had the bad luck to be sitting in seat 3 and was informed by our leader that I had to do the count, which I had no idea about. It was explained that I had to count the strokes in my head until 13 then yell "HUP" which is the signal to switch your paddling to the other side.
At the same time we all had to match the front paddler's stroke to remain in unison .
Watching her and trying to keep count in my head was pushing my brain to it's limit!
We had only paddled for about 15 minutes when we came upon a mother Humpback whale and it's baby. Thankfully we had to stop paddling as you are not supposed to approach too closely or disturb them.
We floated for about a 1/2 hour watching them which was very special. They came within about 30 ft., just rolling and diving. One of those moments to remember!
We then returned to the beach , my stressful counting job was over.

I came back to the condo then after breakfast we drove up to Olowalu or 14 mile marker Beach to snorkel.
The beach is 20 ft from the road , you park on the shoulder then you just wade in and start swimming.
Lots of colorful coral and some nice fish though not as many as we have seen in the past.
We had made sandwiches so we had our lunch on the beach.
Came back home and started the laundry, looking out to our beach we saw everyone was watching a group of about 7 whales out in front fairly close to shore. Fun to watch.
Tony Roma's ribs from Costco for dinner tonight. Our first week behind us.

Ulua Beach and Upcountry

Yesterday we went to Ulua beach again. Got lucky and found a parking spot.
Snorkeling wasn't great, the sky was a bit overcast so water visibility was poor and Karen was having problems with the fit of her fins so we packed up and went for a drive to the south end of the Island, past Makena .
The sun broke through and we came back to enjoy the pool and get ready for dinner.
We had invited a nice couple from Alberta, Mark and Darlene.
We had steak fajitas then after too many drinks decided to play Hearts.
I think Mark is a bit of a card shark because he won handily.
We've seen two mongooses here , one ran across the lanai and one was on the back sidewalk.
Someone brought them in many years ago to control rats but now there are too many of them because they have no predators .

Today we drove upcountry which is the area on the upper flanks of the volcano, Haleakala .
Nice drive with great views of the coast and interesting local sights.
Someone put a lot of work into the mailboxes. The one on the far right is a grave for someone caught stealing mail.
Another picture shows that they do hunt deer here!
We stopped at the Surfing Goat Dairy for some cheese tasting, then made our way back down the mountain to sit on our beach.
Tomorrow I'm hoping to go on an outrigger canoe ride with the Kihei Canoe Club and later drive up to a favorite snorkel spot towards Lahaina.

Maui Drive

We decided to drive around the northwest end of the island today.
We did it many years ago and it was scenic and exciting.
It is not for the faint of heart or those with a fear of heights.
About 12 miles of the road are very twisting with many areas too narrow for 2 cars to pass. On one side is the mountain on the other a sheer drop to the ocean.
It makes the road to Hana look like a cakewalk!
Not many houses here, just the occasional little taro farm or cattle ranch.
The trip was about 2 hours from Kihei through Kahalui then around to Kapalua and Lahaina where we stopped for lunch.
Walked the boardwalk for a ways but we've seen all the t-shirt shops and jewelry stores before so we headed back to the condo for some r&r after our adventure.

Sunday Snorkel

We drove ten minutes down the road to go snorkeling at Ulua Beach, one we like because it has easy access and lots of fish but the parking lot was full so we drove another mile to Wailea Beach.
It is a beautiful beach but you have to swim further to get to the reef where the fish hang out.
Luckily Karen stopped me from going into the water with the car keys in my pocket.
Probably wouldn't have done the remote lock control any good to be immersed in salt water!
Bad enough that yesterday I took the wrong house keys from the hook when we went out. There are 2 sets hanging that I assumed were the same but one is the mailbox key.
Luckily there is a lock box near the door with a spare key .
I had already forgotten the code but Karen with her wonderful memory, remembered it and after several attempts we had the key and were in.
She says " I'm not just good looks but brains too"! I would have to agree.
No wonder we are known as the Griswolds after the family from Chevy Chase's ,Vacation!
We stopped at Maui Taco's for lunch then checked out a house that our friends Dave & Barb have reserved for next winter. It looks very nice!
We had this little Gecko on our lanai, there are lots of them around, usually at night.
He is only about 3in. long, my zoom makes him appear larger.
Also there's a picture of the sidewalk to our condo, very lush and tropical.
Now it's time for vodka tonics on the lanai!

Maui Swap Meet

Every Saturday there is a huge swap meet in Kahalui so we went today.
It's the cheapest place to buy tourist stuff and they also sell a lot of local fruits and vegetables.
Karen bought a sun dress and we had a drink of freshly pressed sugar cane and lemon juices over ice. Very refreshing.
We bought some sushi for lunch then came back and sat on our beach.
The trade winds are blowing gently so it doesn't feel too hot, a very comfortable 84.
I got some advice from some locals and tried a little fishing .
My luck was a lot like at home, lots of seaweed and no fish.
I'll try a few better sites in days to come.

Maui Vacation Jan.2013

We woke up early, Maui is 2 hours behind( or is it ahead?) Anyway 7 here is 9 in Nanaimo.
After breakfast I went for a walk on the beach then we drove up to a local farmers market and got a few veggies then went to Safeway for more groceries. Our Safeway card save's a few bucks.
The downside of the condo is that this one is poorly stocked. No cooking oil, sugar or any condiments so we have to look for the smallest sizes of things for our 2 week stay. We'd need the same for a month. Maybe next year!
We came back and spent some time at the pool, trying to not over do it and get fried in the first days.
After lunch we drove into Kahalui, a 15 minute drive. Bought some fishing stuff at Walmart.
Back in Kihei I went to a local fishing store and bought another lure.
I brought a rod and reel to try some beach fishing.
Spent the rest of the afternoon on the lanai reading.
Every evening many of the residents gather on the lawn in front of the beach to watch the sunset and anyone that wants can join in the ceremonial blowing of the conch shell.
Everyone here is very friendly . Nice to go to the barbecues to cook dinner and meet other people.
Many here from Canada, some from Utah, some from North Dakota.
We met a nice couple from Alberta and had them over for a drink, invited them for dinner next week.

Maui Vacation Jan. 2013

Well after a long ferry ride, we got into Vancouver an hour late, arriving at 3:30pm. Then a standing room only bus ride into Vancouver and the Canada Line sky train to the airport. We got to the Fairmont hotel at 5pm.
Great hotel, we stayed on the Fairmont Gold Club floor and enjoyed free appies and some wine. Later watched a little TV, then to bed to dream of sun and sand.
After a nice free breakfast, we checked out, went thru customs and the plane even left 10 minutes early.
But the best part was that the plane wasn't full, so we had three seats to ourselves. What a difference that makes to airplane travel.
We picked up our rental car, did a quick shop at Costco for the essentials ( booze, meat and water) then got to our Condo about 3:30.
Weather is sunny and 82 but the trade winds are blowing so it is quite comfortable..
Got a few more groceries across the street then settled in with a glass of wine to watch the sunset at 6:30. Forgot that when the sun goes down here it is almost instantly dark.

Here is a picture of our beach.