Dayenu

After all the bad rap United airlines were getting in the press, which airline do you think our son picked for us to fly? The flight to Maui was fine, arrived on time, and the kids, who flew in the day before, picked us up.

The flight back was 2 hours late, the boarding was terrible, they just took in people by the rows, including passengers in wheelchairs who normally pre-board. No meals. Kids flew Hawaiian – they still feed their passengers. At least the Super shuttle was on time both times.

VRBO # 58225 condo P207 at first seemed the best one. Excellent floor plan: the kitchen/living room was in the middle, bedrooms and bathrooms on both sides. For 4 people, complete privacy. Even if 2 more kids would’ve joined us, one bathroom had access from the kitchen, and the door would close it off.

On a Sunday morning our toilet stopped working. Called the owner, her repairman “probably doesn’t work on Sundays, he will come over on Monday”. Surprise, surprise, Monday is his busiest day. We left Tuesday morning, I hope they fixed it for next renters. Pouring water in the toilet worked, otherwise we’d have to sneak through adult children’s bedroom to use their bathroom which was absolutely out of question.

Not too crazy about location – while the Maui Banyan resort is almost across the street from the beach (a few yards to the crosswalk), our building P was not. This means, no ocean view, only brushes, trees, and flowers. We walked to the ocean only once, too far in the heat, and we didn’t even carry anything except a bottle of water.

This was our 3rd visit to Maui, and the kids went snorkeling every morning, so it may seem that we didn’t do much. Every night we’d drive to a park with benches to watch the sunset. On the last night before the early morning flights I packed the camera, and of course this was the only sunset with spectacular red colors!

The highlight of this trip was walking on lava. From Kihei we went past Wailea, down a narrow road toward the ocean. Of course took photos for bragging rights.

Once again went to the Feast of Lele – the only luau with a sit-down service. More expensive, but at our age we pay for convenience, this time the convenience of not getting up to a buffet line. I was surprised, they called me 2 days prior to remind of our reservation.

We were driving to the Surfing Goats Farm, and on the way saw a sign for a Vodka Farm. Planned to stop on the way back, but being pressed for time, just whizzed by. Now I will never know how vodka is planted and harvested on the island.

The Goat Farm is a nice place to visit, they sell hay to feed the goats, and this is fun. When my daughter-in-law said, she is going to buy hay, I thought she was joking. She was in the food line, and this is where they sell food for every living creature.

We got a large sample of cheeses and crackers, enough for all four. They provide a page indicating what type of cheese is on the plate. Now, after that lunch outdoors, I love goat cheese even more.

Went to the Synagogue on a weekday, only took photos from the outside. The Star of David, Israeli flag, and a rooster with a few hens – very shy, but I managed 2 shots before they ran off.

Iao Valley and Needle were closed, we knew about this in advance, this would be a great place to see again. The Ocean Center and the restaurant were as we remembered them: interesting to visit, and good food in the restaurant. This time we saw divers in the aquarium, and they were not employees, did not work in there.

Maui Tropical Plantation and the tram tour – must visit on Maui! We learned a lot during the tour. Hint: try to get in the 2nd car so you don’t have to stand for the lecture at the stop, you can see and hear it all from the car seat. The restaurant (The Mill House) has great food, lunch provides nice views, and zipliners whizz by.

Children “did” the road to Hana, we are not as adventurous. They visited a cave, don’t know the name of it, and saw some waterfalls. The cave required flashlights that they got at the entrance; inside it was absolutely dark. Waterfalls were small, probably too late in the year to see them in August.

I asked about the broken cars down below, they said, those were not accidents. It’s expensive to get rid of an old car on Maui, so people just push them down. There are also signs warning the locals not to do it.

‘Ami ‘Ami was a really nice place with outside seating, great service, and tasty local food. Most of the restaurants offer lots of tuna which has mercury, and occasionally one salmon dish.

Stillwell’s bakery & café is worth a detour, this is a destination in itself. Everything is great, but the favorite was the apple tart.

In quite a few restaurants we saw rice in salt shakers, keeps salt dry? Discussed with kids if it really works to put a wet cell phone in dry rice. Decided not to try.

Normally I end my trip report mentioning the next trip, but this time the younger couple of kids who couldn’t make it to Maui will be coming over from Canada to stay with us for a week.

Songdoc

Thanks for sharing about your trip. You got me curious so I had to check out the Vodka Farm online. It looks beautiful! I might plant a vodka tree next to my bourbon bush ;-).

http://oceanvodka.com/#

Dayenu

Ha ha ha, and don't forget to water your money tree.