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.