August 8-15, 2006
We stayed at the Milowai Condos, Unit 304 in Maalea
Flew Continental, Houston to Maui with a stop in LA both flights
(Like to add, Gary has Elite membership, which makes boarding very nice)
Hope I have all the names and places accurate and spelled right!
I also want to say I had a schedule before we left; however the only things we kept on the schedule were the sunrise and the para sailing. We saw everything we wanted to see, just not in the order we had planned. It felt great to not have an itinerary and just decide then and there. We normally have schedules and stick to them.
Tuesday 8th- Day 1
We left home at 9:30, Gary my husband had to stop by his school to get a parking pass for the semester. We arrived at the airport ahead of schedule and tried to get a earlier flight. No luck… grabbed something to eat and waited… so we finally boarded at 1pm, had to set on the runway for an hour waiting for the storm to pass. Finally were off… watched Failure to Launch and had a snack, uneventful flight…
Since we were late leaving Houston…just had time to use the restroom grab a snack and we were back on the plane headed for Maui. Tried to sleep most of the flight.. not much luck there, Gary can always sleep, Take the lead was the movie and we had pizza for dinner… flight was fine, very tired when we arrived.
I love the anticipation of the Hawaiian airports… just a great feeling!
We got the rental car, Avis, Gary has preferred membership, car was waiting as soon as we got off the bus… so, headed to the condo, we were going to stop for groceries but decided we could get a few things at a convenience store right by the condo, then shop later.
The condo was okay. I realized I had booked it without AC… after the initial disappointment. It was okay. It was clean. It was almost a full moon and from the lanai you could see how close we were to the water, hear the waves crashing. Showers for both and off to bed…
Wednesday 9th Day 2
Today is Gary’s birthday, what a way to celebrate. In Maui!!! We decided to drive to the Haleakala National Park to see the sunrise. Since we were still on Texas time it worked out well. We left the condo around 3:45 AM. Drive was fine, didn’t get busy until the entrance. Gary kept saying we got up WAY to early. I kept saying everyone on Trip Advisor said that is when we should leave. Paid our fee and she said we had plenty of time. Actually we thought we cut it close. There were tons of people and not much room to park. We stopped at the Leieiwi Overlook, Gary sat up the tripod and I sat on a rock in a blanket from the room. It was cool, about 50. It was very pretty… totally worth it. You could feel the nervous energy, everyone waiting for the sun to appear. A great experience. Would definitely do it again! I think this time without a camera and just enjoy the moment.
We went to the very top lookout, VERY crowded. Took a few pictures there and a few on the way down. We were going to do some hiking but decided against it at the last minute. Gary was obsessed with trying to beat the bikers down. We would stop to take a picture and see them coming, he would be like hurry, get in. It was funny!
Ate breakfast at Denny’s in Kahului, finally coffee. Gary had pancakes and I had biscuits and gravy.
Went to K-mart to buy water and snacks, bought a few souvenirs (how can you resist)
Decided to drive to the Iao Valley State Park, really had a great time here. We took a lot of great pictures. Saw locals diving off the cliffs there. A very pretty place. Stayed here about 2 hours,
Drove to Kihei around 2 PM, ate at Fred’s Mexican Café, across the road from the beach (not sure of the name). VERY GOOD. We liked it a lot. Gary had a cheeseburger (he always orders a cheeseburger) and I had Nachos. The servings are HUGE there.
Decided to walk off dinner, walked some on the beach, then shopped some. We were going to get Lappert’s ice cream (some of the best I’ve ever tasted) but we were too full.
From here we went to Ka’anapali Beach, got there just as the cliff diver was jumping. Walked around the resorts, watched the sunset. WONDERFUL!!! No dinner tonight, still full from Fred’s! Walked around Whalers Village, saw a free Hula show, then back to the condo. Long day, went to bed around 11PM
Thursday 10th Day 3
Well up at 5:30 without an alarm clock, and for the very first time to see the view off the lanai. Gorgeous. I could get used to watching a sunrise like that every morning over the blue water, palm trees swaying. Made coffee, ate breakfast and enjoyed the view.
We had booked tickets before we left with UFO to go para sailing, a first for us. We also had bought the 2006 Entrainment Guide for a coupon (the only thing we used the book for, we left it in the condo for other ppl to use)
Drove to Ka’anapali, checked in and waited for our turn. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I loved it, we did the 800 ft para sail. The best part is when they bring you down close to the water, you can almost touch it, then they take off and you go up really fast. I also enjoyed riding in the boat really fast while the other people para sailed. We bought the pictures and tipped the great crew. Everyone should try it. Great FUN!!!
From there we decided to drive North and on around back through Kahakuloa and onto Kahului. We went to Dragon’s Teeth. Very neat place. Kept on driving, the road was VERY NARROW, one-lane for a lot of it, and Gary realized we were almost out of gas. Thank God we made it… we couldn’t remember the last gas station we saw. I really enjoyed the road. It was an adventure. We did stop to buy Banana bread. I didn’t really care for it but Gary thought it was great. Finally made it to a gas station in Waiehu, and onto Kahului. So I realized that we had left our other SD card for the camera at home, so we stopped at Longs drug store to copy our pictures, we ate at Piñatas a little Mexican restaurant there in Kahului (we both had bean and cheese burritos, very good) while we waited an hour for the CD’s to be ready.
We came back to the condo around 3PM to rest, shower and relax… we both fell asleep on the futon in the living room and didn’t go back out. Time difference had caught up with us.
Friday 11th Day 4
Road to Hana
Up at 5:30 AGAIN! Made coffee and ate breakfast. Watched yet another amazing sunrise. Off at about 7AM…
Our first stop was to a waterfall right off the road; Four Falls of Na’lil’ili hale. A very neat hike through the Bamboo. I have never seen that much bamboo in my life. We took the tripod and got GREAT pictures here. We had a great time and the waterfalls was all to ourselves.
Next stop was the Garden of Eden.. I was a little disappointed the Bird Man was not there… I wanted my picture made with the parrots. The grounds were very pretty but I’m not sure worth $20.00 w/out seeing the birds…I guess the chance you take…
Next was a hike through a wild boar lease to the Punalau Falls. We also had this stop to ourselves..
We then stopped at Honomanu Bay…walked a little bit to the beach..it was okay… t
After the stop there we went onto Ke’anae, just stopped here and look out over the little town…. very picturesque.
At mile 17 there is a bridge that you can look down on falls… pretty neat to see it from that angle.
The Waikani falls next were almost dry…so just drove onto the 3 bears falls…. it had started to drizzle (the only time it rained on our trip) Gary wanted to hike down to them…but with the rain and the hike seemed pretty difficult we decided against it…just took a picture.
Drove to the town of Nahiku next. Probably the prettiest area to me. Very lush and green. The road ended at a very pretty beach. Nice little side road to take.
To the Blue Pool next. They had a barricade up, hand written, nothing official, just the locals stated they would rather we didn’t go to the Blue Pool and that it didn’t exist. However 2 little boys were flagging us in to park for $2.00, so we parked. Walked down a bit to the pool. Very pretty and crowded.
Next was Wai’anapanapa State Park. We probably stayed here the longest.. very pretty…took pictures…walked through the lava cave…took pictures of the sea arch.
Onto the last stop of the day (or so we thought) Oheo Gulch. We didn’t have to pay because I had my receipt from the Haleakala National Park… we parked and followed the crowd. It was VERY CROWDED. We didn’t stay long. We were tired from the hiking and driving. Took a few pictures then headed to the restrooms.
While in line a guy (Steve) was asking if anyone was going to Kula? We weren’t really sure if that was a town on the way (we were going all the way around Maui) so we didn’t reply. He needed a lift; he had lost his keys while he was swimming. Everyone kept telling him to call his car rental company but he was a local. Anyhoo… we headed out and saw him hitching, we were going his way so we picked him up. We took him to his home in Kula. A very nice guy who was home visiting. He is attending school in California now. He invited us in, but we didn’t impose. We were just ready to get back to the condo.
Back to the room around 4 PM rested a bit and showered. Then went to Kihei for dinner, ate at Moose Mc Guillycuddy’s. Gary had Coconut shrimp I had potato skins. We had a great table overlooking the beach just as the sun was setting. Went to sit on the beach for a bit, then to get ice cream. Back to the condo for the night.
Saturday 12th Day 5
Slept a little later today, still in time to see the beautiful sunrise once again. We decided to walk down to the beach near the condo, Mai Poina Oe Lau. Very nice, not crowded at all. Stayed there for a few hours, walked around the condo complex. The Waterfront restaurant is located in the condo complex we stayed in.
Decided to go back to Kihei for lunch and souvenir shopping. Ate at Bada Bing, really good. I had chicken Parmesan sandwich and Gary had a meatball cheeseburger. Shopped for a few hours, then decided to drive to Paia, cute little town we saw on the way to Hana. Enjoyed the shopping there, neat shops. Came back to the condo to shower and nap.
Tonight we headed to Front Street in Lahaina. Watched the sunrise from the harbor, shopped, ate dinner at BJ’s REALLY good pizza, we each ate a piece and took the rest home.
Sunday 13th Day 6
Up around 6:30 again this morning. Gary and I ate left over pizza for breakfast. YUM! Watched the sunrise… never get tired of that… Decided to drive into Kihei..looked at a few house that were for sale, drove onto Wailea (the NICE AREA of Maui)looked at houses there. Went through a few of the resorts… very nice. Did a little shopping here also. Best shopping in Maui to me.
Stopped at the Kaahumanu shopping center for shopping and dinner. Ate at a local restaurant called Koh (I think) I cannot remember the name.
Went to Little Beach/Big Beach…stayed here a few hours. Really liked this beach. Drove onto the Kanail Coast through the Lava Flow. It was like you were stepping into another country. The contrast of the dark lava against the blue sky. Very pretty yet unsettling. At the end of the paved road was a little beach we stopped at. Took a few pictures and headed back.
That evening we went to Whalers village for the last (good) sunset. So pretty!
Monday 14th Our last day!
Slept a little later, about 8:30. Took shower, ate breakfast, cleaned up a little around the condo. Packed up our luggage, tried to get everything in the two carry-on’s we brought. We checked luggage on the way back because of the new restrictions for carry on luggage.
We decided to go to Whaler’s Village again. We really liked the beach there. While we were on the beach we had the pictures put on CD’s. That took a couple hours so we just enjoyed the morning. After the CD’s were ready we went to Front Street again and ate lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Gary got a Cheeseburger and I got a grilled cheese. Probably the best-grilled cheese I’ve ever had. Made with Hawaiian sweet bread. We walked around for a bit bought a few last minute gifts. On the way out of Lahaina we stopped at an out door flee market…bought a few more things. We drove back to the beach near the condo and stayed a few hours before we headed in to Kahului that evening. We parked at the harbor and watched the local fishermen fishing. Stayed until we HAD to leave for the airport.
Dropped of the car at Avis, got in line. We only had to stand in line for maybe 30 minutes (I’ve waited longer when we weren’t at high alert) We grabbed a snack at the airport and waited for our flight. It was on time and we were TIRED. Right before we boarded we watched a plane full of HAPPY people getting off the plane for their first night in Maui. All we could say was LUCKY DOGS!!!
I always take water, lotion, and antibacterial hand jel…so the flying without it was tough on me. I tried to sleep most of the flight, but like I said before I don’t sleep well on planes. Of course Gary was out.
We had pizza again on the flight (I mean did they get a good price for a truck load of mini pizzas?). There was more turbulence on this flight. The movie was animated? Don’t remember what it was I listened to my MP3 player
Got off in Los Angeles. It was EARLY in the morning and we were tired. I bought a couple things in the gift shop and we waited. AT THE WRONG GATE…LOL!!! Finally dawned on us when they started boarding a hour earlier than our original time (we thought we were just lucky, the flight was early.LOL!)
So the flight from LA to Houston was UNBEARABLE. I was SO tired of sitting. I probably got up about 10 times to just stand. We finally landed in Houston…got the luggage.. got the truck and we were HOME!!!!
Yes. We are ready to go back…would leave tonight if I could!!
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