Well well well...it has been a while. A long while. Work has been crazy and I haven't been able to do much traveling - let alone blog updates. However...what's better than taking a quick break from work to celebrate with a wedding in Maui!
I booked my flight out of SJC on Hawaiian Airlines which has a direct flight to Maui leaving everyday at 8:30am and gets into OGG (Kahului Airport) at 10:50am. This flight got me into Maui earlier than any other flight out of San Jose and it was cheaper than any other airline and bay area airport - DOUBLE SCORE!
The flight got in early due to the winds we caught en route - so our arrival was close to 10am. Since I did not check a bag - I was able to head straight to the car rental lot which is a short bus ride away. Right outside the airport in the town of Kahului there are a tons of stores to stock up on necessities - within blocks there is a Costco and a Big Kmart. I recommend stopping here for snacks, boogie boards, hat + cover ups, etc.
Wailea is about a 30 minute car ride away and since we could not check into our hotel early - we stopped in the town of Kihei. There we picked up bottle water and chocolate covered macadamia nuts at Safeway and we ate at Coconut Fish Cafe. Coconut Fish Cafe was a yelp find - as most of the places we ate at were - and it did not disappoint! We ordered the fish tacos and a fish burger. For both we got the mahi mahi fish. The tacos - were my FAV! So good. The tortilla was crispy and there was a ton of flavor in the filling. The fish burger was great as well - but just not as good. This reminded me about my favorite part of being on an island...AMAZING FRESH FISH! This is a must stop on your way to Wailea!
When we arrived at the Marriott Wailea Resort and Spa our room was still not ready so we headed over to The Shops at Wailea. It is nice having these shops walking distance from the hotel - there is an ABC store and Whalers General Store which have all of your snack foods, any items you might have forgotten from home - sunscreen, toothpaste, etc - and trinkets. You will also find the clothing surf shops - my favorite was Billabong due to massive sale they were having. This is also the area I got most of my gifts for people back home - shirts, hats, soaps etc.
The hotel grounds and room were very nice. The hotel is very big and spread out and there are 3 pools to pick from. My favorite pool was the infinity pool which is 18yrs +. There are rent-able cabanas at the pool and lounge chairs that were easy to get any time of day. One of the pools offers 2 water slides and a kids area - which was not busy at all. The other is located next to the bar/restaurant. This was nice in the evenings because attached to the pool was 2 hot tubs - so when it was a bit to cool in the pool you could enjoy in the sunset in the hot tub. The beaches are at both ends of the hotel and in between is a great path way to take a morning stroll on, get a run in or watch the sunsets from. Both beaches offered great snorkeling areas - seeing many fish and turtles - and the sand was so soft (not rocky like other beaches).
After setting in, meeting up with friends and watching the sunset - we headed out to dinner at Monkeypod. It was a 3 minute drive from our hotel. The wait was about 30 mins - so we walked in the shopping center and stopped at a chocolate shop. Unfortunately I don't know the name of the shop - but it was AMAZING! I am not one who can really tell the difference between a chocolate bar and the chocolate from See's candy - HOWEVER - this chocolate was worth every penny. I recommend the sea salt chocolate filled with caramel and the chocolate with hot peppers. For dinner I had another fish sandwich. This one was a bit different in that the fish wasn't seasoned but it didn't need to be because it was so fresh! They had pickled kim chee which I put on it and WOW. This is my new favorite fish sandwich of all time! I am so in love with it. I highlyyyyy recommend it! And accompany it with some truffle fries!
Due to the time change...I was up bright and early at 4am. At 6am - my friend Kristina and I decide to take a morning stroll and although you couldnt see the sunrise - it was so peaceful and calm.
Mid morning we headed down to the beach and then made our way to the pool. It was so relaxing! Ahhh...I wish I could be back there right now...
Lunch time was another yelp adventure - Da Kitchen. There are 2 - Da Kitchens but we went to the original in Kahului near the airport (about 20 mins from the hotel). Our orignal goal was to stop here for appetizers and then make our way over to Mama's Fish House for lunch but that didn't happen because we got too full. At Da Kitchen - we ordered the deep fried spam musubi, the kim chee crabcake, and pork wontons. The food was great - I could have done without the wontons but the other two were a MUST. I mean how many restaurants do you know that make deep fried spam musubi?
After make a pit stop at a few stores in town - we headed back to the hotel for some pool time. We caught the sunset and then it was time for dinner.
MiGrant is the restaurant in the hotel and we had dinner here Thursday night. Unfortunately the service was horrible - and the food was just okay. The spicy garlic noodles were great - but def spicy! And my pizza was not worth it.
The next morning at 2am - Haleakala Bike Company Inc picked us up from the hotel for our Sunrise Biking adventure. We picked up about 10 other guests and headed on our way to the town of Paia/Haiku. On the way there our van got a flat tire - but they came quickly with another bus and brought us to their shop. There we were fitted for bikes and helmets and signed the waivers. The windbreaker jackets and pants they had for us to borrow smelled horrendous! DO NOT PLAN ON USING THEM. It literally made me sick just smelling them near me so I decided it was better to be cold than to start vomiting everywhere. The drove us the rest of the way up to Haleakala Volcano and we watched the sunrise there. When they say it is cold up there - it is no joke. It is cold - the wind is going. I thought I wanted to look cute for pictures up there - but that all went the window once I got up there. It is a sight to be seen. It is gorgeous. The views. The clouds. The sun. The crater. I loved everything about it and I wish I was able to stay up there longer and maybe hike around a bit.
Once the sun was up an we took pictures we headed back to the tour bus and they bought us to 1 more look out point to take pictures and enjoy views.
From there we headed down the mountain a bit to the back road where they dropped us off with our bikes and told us to ride. Yes it was that simple. They said here's your bike, here's directions...go. The ride down you will see alot of other bikers from different companies and guided tours going down. You also might see a few injuries - like the girl who fell of her bike on her first turn and couldn't get up after that. The ride down the volcano is on a road - it wasn't busy but there was traffic going both directions. I got honked at 3 times. The views are pretty - and there are restaurants and stores to stop at on the way down. I think the bike ride was fun - but I am not sure that portion is a must. It was nice to do once - but I probably wont be doing it again. We arrived back down at the bike shop about 10:30am and once everyone from the shuttle ride arrived (about 10:45) the driver brought us to Wailea.
That afternoon - after spending some time in the dark clouds came in and it started pouring rain. From our location in Wailea we could see the town of Lahaina - which was about an hour away - and it was clear so we decided to make the trek over there. It is really easy to drive between the two towns - it just takes a while due to 1 lane roads and slower speed limits than we are use to in California. In Lahaina we walked around - did some shopping in a few stores and ate Lahiana Luna Cafe. It is in an outdoor cafe tucked away. We ordered the fish tacos, beef plate and crazy fries. I thought the food was good - not as good as the other fish tacos I had but good.
Then came dessert...and luckily it was right next door to Lahiana Luna Cafe...Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice. It really doesn't get any better than this. I am not sure what it is about Ululani's but it just tastes so good and the ice is so fine. If you don't stop here - your trip is not complete. I had Strawberry and Blue Raspberry with a snowcap (sweeten condensed milk). It sounds gross and it was my first time having it - and now I can't imagine shaved ice without it. Ahhhhh.
Saturday = wedding day! For breakfast we went to Longhi's for breakfast. I had the fresh strawberries and crab cake eggs Benedict. It was really good!
The bus picked us up for the wedding at 2:30 and drove us out to Makena. The wedding and reception was at Sugarman's Estate. It was breathtaking. It was unlike any other wedding I had been to. The views were amazing - the waves were crashing in the background, the palm trees were swaying in the breeze. Every bit of this wedding had personal touches - from having the guest sign a map for the wedding couple to the surfboards which indicated your table assignment.
I am so happy for Chris and Quyen - they are truly are beautiful people inside and out! I can't wait to see where their love takes them - cause they really do deserve the best!
Sunday was our last full day in Maui - and the best one weather wise. I spent it all day at the beach and pool with friends. It was the best! For lunch I went back to Monkeypod for one last fish sandwich of the trip and then it was straight back into the water!
That evening we went to Kamaole Beach Park III for a post wedding BBQ. I wish I had known how great this beach was! I would have spent all of my time here - ah. The waves were large but not too large and the beach had great views for sunsets! The BBQ got food from Da Kitchen in Kihei (the other location) and we feasted on that. Yum - the beef and chicken skewers, mac salad, noodles! You can't miss this place!
Sadly the next day it was time to pack up - and I came down with a cold. I had every intention of eating with the group at the Kehei Caffe however I just wasn't able to. Maybe next time!
Mahalo Maui - It was a wonderful trip!
Highlight of my Trip:
- #CQMaui Wedding
- Haleakala Volcano
- The food!
- Rest and Relaxation
On my to-do list next time:
- More restaurants (Kihei Caffe, Mama's Fish House, etc)
- Snorkeling around Molokini + Turtle Town
Great pictures! Looks like you had a great time. :)
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