Maui (Day 5)

Monday, March 19: Trilogy Snorkel & Sail, Luau, Hula Grill
My 45th birthday began with outdoor Zumba in the early morning darkness, since we had to leave the hotel just after 7am to drive to Maalea Harbor for our 8am "Discover Molokini" tour with Trilogy Excursions. Unfortunately, the strong winds that had swarmed in yesterday afternoon hadn't receded, so going to Molokini Crater as planned was no longer possible. Instead, Captain Brian took us to Olowalu Reef for our first snorkel site. The entire crew was very friendly & helpful, serving the 50ish passengers with fruit, cinnamon rolls, and beverages as we sailed to the reef. I'm not sure how they kept their balance with all of the wind! I was bundled up in multiple layers, including my black mesh hoodie and blue windbreaker.

One of the crew gave brief guidelines about tips for using the snorkel equipment and provided a thorough lesson about reef conservation and the damage caused to coral's ability to procreate due to certain chemicals in most sunscreens. We had read about this in our Lonely Planet guide and purchased a sunscreen labeled "reef safe" at Lamont's gift shop at the Sheraton, but when I read the ingredients more closely, I realized that it still contained one of the bad benzone substances, so we decided to avoid using it and take advantage of the sunscreen being offered on board instead.

When we arrived at the reef, we got suited up in our snorkel gear, including short-sleeved wet suit tops (yay!) and then hit the water to explore the site. Mr. E and I entered by jumping from the side gate instead of descending the stairs that lower into the water at the stern of the catamaran. We swam inland and heard one of the crew calling us over to the side of the reef, where we saw our first of many honu of the day. We hung out for a bit over in that area and were rewarded with more honu sightings, although Mr. E wouldn't let me follow the big one out to sea... Once we turned back into the center of the reef, we discovered the turtle cleaning station with more honu, including a little one that I followed as it came up towards the surface and poked up its snout twice for some air. Awesome!!!

After about 30 minutes in the water, I was getting really chilled, so we kicked back to the boat to get dry and warm up. Eventually, everyone returned from the reef, and Captain Brian piloted us to another snorkel site near a drainpipe. Mr. E and I (and quite a few other passengers) decided to skip a second dip in the water, and later reports of no honu in the area confirmed our decision to remain dry and warm on the boat.

Before settling in for lunch, we moved to a calmer and more sheltered cove. The crew brought around plates of salad, rice, teriyaki chicken, and sweet rolls as well as beer, cocktails, and other beverages. When most folks had finished up, we got underway again back toward Maalea harbor, getting some great views of the shore and Haleakala rising above the clouds along the way. The wind was even stronger on the return trip!

We finally arrived back at the dock, safe and sound but very, very windblown. Mr. E bought a Trilogy Excursions visor, and we returned to the hotel through the typical Lahaina-area traffic. Both of us were a bit sleepy due to the early morning and windy conditions, so we napped briefly and then Mr. E worked on a Trip Advisor review for Banyan Tree Divers while I updated the travel journal.

We could see and hear the luau preparations just beyond our lanai, but our "cocktail only" tickets didn't give us access until 6pm, shortly before the main show began. We each enjoyed an adult beverage as we watched the dancing and witnessed a gorgeous sunset over the ocean. The performers even paused for a bit to let the audience try to see the "green flash" as the glowing sun sank below the horizon line.

After the show, we headed back to Hula Grill to sit at the chef's counter and take advantage of the special prix fixe 3-course chef's tasting menu for $27/person. We started with lobster and scallop pot-stickers for Mr. E and a kale salad with roasted beets and feta for me. Mr. E got a small steak for his entree, and I ordered the fresh fish of the day, which came with a yummy quinoa & veggie mixture on the side.

Both of us finished with the mini pineapple upside down cake for dessert. We also munched on fresh taro chips as we waited for our second course.

What a wonderful birthday! This was a day full of "mahalo moments," for sure!

Maui (Day 4)

Sunday, March 18: Scuba #2, Lahaina, Dinner
I did a 40+ minute run along the north section of the Beach Walk and finished with some yoga before we set off for breakfast at Starbucks on our way to Mala Pier in Lahaina for a belated second dive with Kevin. We had decided yesterday to skip out on trying to get to Haleakala, as we just couldn't agree on timing or which part to visit, so that freed up our day to plan something else. Kevin was super-accommodating and fit us in for a 9:30am dive time. He had a great plan to keep me warm this time around with a short wet-suit under a thicker full-length wet suit for some extra insulation. So much better!!!

We entered the water from the shore along the left side of the pier and picked our way through the rocks to the artificial reef that was created when part of the pier was damaged by storms. Kevin led us all around the reef, and we saw lots and lots of honu! Yay! Honu happiness! We also saw three white-tipped sharks and a frogfish (although Mr. E and I didn't spot the latter until we saw it in Kevin's photos). Such a fabulous dive!!!

We returned to the hotel to shower and change and then jumped back into the car to retrace our steps to Lahaina to check out the town for lunch and browsing. Captain Jack's was our dining destination, and we had great timing to arrive at 1:30pm just before the crowds showed up for the beginning of Aloha Hour at 2pm and also before the rainstorm began! The restaurant is right across the street from the iconic and fantastical Banyan Tree Park, which shows off an enormous single banyan tree that has spread across almost the entire block through a series of offshoots and vines and trunks. It's hard to believe that the entire structure is just a single tree!

After lunch, we did some browsing and shopping in the light drizzle, and I had some delicious sorbetto from Ono Gelato. We got back to the hotel just before 5pm, so Mr. E went back to Whaler's Village to shop and then went for a run while I caught up on email and purchased tickets for the luau tomorrow and Maui Ocean Center for Tuesday. We had already decided to cancel the Monday dinner reservations for The Mill when we realized the distance from Ka'anapli, so that allowed us to opt for the Sheraton's luau instead, which takes place just outside of our lanai.

We finally broke with our Joey's Kitchen dinner tradition and instead went to the Sheraton's Black Rock Kitchen to take advantage of the 20% off coupon we had from our first day lunch at the Cliff Dive Grill. Despite a false start and potential wait, we were seated for dinner almost immediately, although it was clear that the restaurant was short-staffed for some reason. Mr. E had cocktails during the meal, and I enjoyed my local Maui wine -- a sparkling rose to begin and then a red blend. We started off with chicken wings followed by sesame ahi for Mr. E and grilled salmon for me. Both dishes had interesting and tasty sides of grains and veggies, and the fish was delicious.

We finished the meal with poi beignets. Yes, POI beignets!!! They came dusted in powdered sugar with ice cream and a light caramel drizzle and easily matched up to our all-time favorite beignets from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. So odd to see the dark colour of the interior from the poi!!!

I went to bed right when we got back to the room as I was sleepy from the yummy and filling meal and also anticipating the early morning start tomorrow prior to our "Discover Molokini" snorkel & sail adventure.

Maui (Day 3)

Saturday, March 16: Scuba #1, Shopping, Kihei Trail
More outdoor Zumba and indoor yoga for me this morning plus a quick jump in the pool to cool off. We had a light snack of fruit from ABC and then set off on foot along the Beach Walk north to meet up with Banyan Tree Divers for our 9am beginner scuba dive. Our instructor and guide, Kevin, gathered the small group of five under a tree in the parking lot for a safety briefing and basic overview of all the equipment. We did some dry land skills practice and then got suited up in all of our gear. Our fellow divers included a dad (certified PADI) and daughter (dive #8) duo and a solo woman (first-timer). For Mr. E and me, this was dive #3, after the first two in Oahu about a year ago.

This time around, we entered directly from the beach rather than getting on a boat to go out to the reef dive site, as we had done in Oahu. The beach and park area used to be the site of the Ka'anapali airport! Hard to read the plaque on the rock in the picture below, but it describes the former airport.

In the water, we did some more skills drills while bobbing around on the surface, and then Kevin took us down to the sandy floor in small groups, checking in with everyone along the way. I had to take some time to equalize the ear pressure but finally landed on the bottom with everyone else, where we did a final round of skills drills before setting off to explore the reef.

Kevin led us around for about 45 minutes, and we saw lots of colorful fish and pretty coral but no honu. Darn. We still enjoyed the experience, but I was cold from the moment we entered the water, despite my long-sleeved rash guard and full-length wet suit.

Since I was so chilled, we decided not to join the others for a second dive at a different site and instead just shed our gear, purchased the photo package and a logo tank for me, and walked back to the hotel. I finally warmed up along the way!

We were both hungry as it was past noon by the time we showered and changed (we hadn't anticipated that the dive would last so long!), so we strolled over to the beachside Hula Grill for lunch and did some more shopping at Whaler's Village. Mr. E bought a hat for himself and a beautiful honu necklace for me, and I also enjoyed some fro-yo.

Once we dropped off our purchases back in our room, we fetched the car and headed south to Kihei, where we finally managed to find the northern end of the Kihei Coastal Trail after a few wrong turns. We walked along the cliff tops and saw lots and lots of honu in several of the coves as well as two honu snoozing in a small beach area. The path ended near some hotels, where someone had clearly had some fun for St. Patrick's Day. As we retraced our steps back to the car, we found a white rock "graffiti" that Mr. E altered slightly for us.

We hit some major rush hour traffic near Lahaina on the way back to Ka'anapali. Yuck! Once we got back to the hotel, Mr. E went off to get dinner from Joey's Kitchen again while I picked up some postcards and souvenirs at Lamont's and tested out the card from Vacation Services to see if we'd won resort credit or extra SPG points. Nope. So just dinner and drinks in the room and then bedtime.

Maui (Day 2)

Friday, March 16: Helicopter + Hana Tour
I did a short Zumba workout on the side lanai but moved inside for a longer yoga session -- too warm and humid outside!!! I finished with a 15-minute swim in the pool while Mr. E went for a short jog south along the Beach Walk. We left the hotel around 9:15am to pick up coffee and breakfast at Starbucks in Lahaina Gateway on our way to the heliport back by the airport in Kahului. After we checked in for our tour at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, we did a bit of souvenir shopping as we waited for our departure.

We took off with our friendly pilot, Michael, and four other folks in our small tour group who were traveling together. They all live in San Diego now but come from Rochester, NY. Michael provided a great tour over West Maui, the isthmus, some of Central Maui, the northeast coast, and finally the east side as we landed at the tiny Hana airport. We saw lots of waterfalls throughout the valleys, and the minimal cloud cover allowed for some great views. Mr. E and I were lucky enough to again be in the front seats! (similar to our helicopter tour in Kauai, although with doors on this time)

Our guide for the driving part of the tour was Gayle, and she met us at the airport with a very comfy 6-passenger van for the return trip via the famous Road to Hana. We stopped for lunch near Hana town and enjoyed fresh chicken and fish wraps, a light pasta salad, Maui gold pineapple, and mini brownie bites.

Other stops along the tour included the Black Sand Beach with lava tube, a swimmable waterfall, and the roadside Halfway to Hana (yummy banana bread) as well as several other scenic and panoramic outlooks to take advantage of the beautiful day and amazing views. We also saw lots of the colorful rainbow trees (not the appropriate name, I'm sure) with multi-colored bark that changes from blues and purples to reds and oranges as the tree sheds each spring. Gayle was a very informative guide who clearly loves the Road to Hana and being able to share it with her guests.

We got back to the heliport just after 5:30pm and had a surprisingly traffic-free return drive to the hotel. From our room, we could hear the luau show, which luckily finished up by 7:30pm. We repeated our food court dinner, although Mr. E indulged in the loco moco this time while I again enjoyed my tofu and vegges. He had wanted the huli chicken, but it was already sold out. Darn! I think he was still pretty satisfied with his meal...

Maui (Day 1)

Thursday, March 15: SMF > SFO > OGG
Unsolved mystery... why is "OGG" the airport code for Kahului, Maui??!!

We had a 6am flight (yawn!), so I was up by 4am for a Zumba workout to start off our travel day before our quick hop flight from SMF to SFO, where we used our United Lounge passes to make the 1.5 hour wait a bit more comfortable. Mr. E noticed that I was #1 on the First Class upgrade list with one seat remaining available... Fingers crossed!!!

We boarded our flight from SFO to OGG with Group 1 and took our assigned seats, hoping that no one would purchase that First Class seat at the last-minute. And... success!!! About 15 minutes before take-off procedures began, I was switched to seat 1A in First Class and enjoyed the premium flight experience for our 5.5 hour flight to Maui. Kale, tomato, and egg tart plus fruit for breakfast and later two glasses of white wine and a freshly-baked mac nut cookie prior to landing. Mahalo, Mr. E!

When we arrived, Mr. E got some coffee at Starbucks while I waited for my roller board at bag claim. We then hopped on the Hertz shuttle to fetch our rental car and drove about 50 minutes to reach our hotel, the Sheraton Maui Resort at Ka'anapali Beach on Maui's West Side. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready yet, so we left our bags at the bell desk and went down to the pool area to have lunch at the Cliff Dive Grill, the only eatery on property that's open all day. Mr. E had a burger, and I had a chicken quesadilla. We enjoyed the lovely beach view, although our traveling clothes were a bit warm for the climate.

Our room still wasn't ready, so we checked out the gift shop, Lamont's, and then played a few hands of rummy in the open-air lobby.

We finally got our keys and settled into the room, which was a corner site on the first floor, overlooking the expansive lawn area near the luau show site. One advantage of the room was the wraparound lanai, which was nicely protected along the side by greenery and will be a great spot for outdoor workouts in the morning. We changed into more appropriate Hawai'i clothes and decided to take a stroll south along the Beach Walk to explore the area. We spent quite a bit of time browsing the shops at Whaler's Village and then returned to the hotel for a swim around the expansive pool to cool off. Our timing was perfect to see the nightly sunset cliff dive from Black Rock after we took a quick dip in the ocean.

Once we showered and changed and grabbed our new Sheraton logo tote and Mr. E's backpack, we went back to Whaler's Village to get provisions at the ABC Store and dinner from Joey's Kitchen in the food court. Mr. E had the Kahlua Pork plate meal, and I had an awesome tofu and vegges combo. I'm now a new fan of oyster sauce! We ate back in the room and learned lots more about the island thanks to the Maui Visitors Channel (MVC) on TV. Due to the early morning and three-hour time difference, we were both in bed by about 9:30pm.

Welcome to Maui!