First Trip To Maui: Fun In The Sun

Sunny beaches, swaying palm trees, swimming with sea turtles, and eating fresh pineapple were on our minds as we landed in Maui. With snow in the forecast in Baltimore on the day we left our timing was good. Even Chicago weather held off for our transition to the long flight to Maui. Arriving at 3:50 p.m. we were ready for a week in paradise. Our first stop was Lahaina for a two-night stay at the Plantation Inn.

The pool area was the first indication the Plantation Inn was going to be great. Getting upgraded to a suite helped to make the stay perfect also. After checkin we headed to the Lahaina Grill for a light dinner.

Dinner at Lahaina Grill was one of the best on the Island, but definitely a spendy affair. The bill for an appetizer, entree, dessert, and two glasses of wine was nearly $200! Still, it was so good I’d recommend it if you can afford this fine dining experience.

On to Hana

With our paddle boat excursion cancelled due to wind we opted to drive the fabled road to Hana. With the whole day to spare we took our time stopping at key points along the way. The Kaenae Arboretum was a gorgeous walk in the woods. I posed for this shot next to a rainbow eucalyptus tree.

Even though we stopped at Leoda’s pie shop outside of Lahaina for a sandwich for a picnic lunch, bbq called. We saw the roadside food vendors just past the halfway mark. Once we bailed out of the car the unmistakable smell of bbq drew us closer for a look at Max Bullah’s bbq. We opted for the chicken and packed it for lunch at Hana. Paired with potato salad and banana cream pie form Leaoda’s, this was a fabulous lunch.

A fishy story

We had to check out the Behind The Scenes tour at the Maui Ocean Center. When I heard that feeding sea turtles was involved I signed us up. These babies were hungry and great fun to feed. But the highlight of the visit was watching the Humpback whale 3D film in the Sphere, a 52 foot across round movie screen-think planetarium-like.

Imagine having a full-grown humpback whale swim just above you! That’s what you get in the Sphere, plus the haunting calls of these, whales.

In all my visits to aquariums in the US the food was not of much interest. But when I heard that Seascape, the aquarium’s restaurant had a James Beard winning chef, I was interested. We had the best poke of the trip at seascape and wished we could have gone back for another visit.

Getting High In Maui

I’m from the mountains of Colorado originally. When I heard that Maui had a rare snowfall event up on the slopes of 10,023 foot high Haleakala, I had to go. Even though it was raining as we left the Paia area, up on Haleakala it was dry and mostly clear.

My wife spotted a chukar as we descended and I pulled over to take a shot with my telephoto lens. This imported partrdge loves the rocky slopes of Haleakala and makes for a good photo opt, even though it’s an invasive species of wildlife.

Further down the road we stopped for a photo of the endangered Nene, an indigenous goose.

On The Water

We finally found time to get out on the water on a sunny, but windy morning. Maui Kayak Adventures took us on a kayak and snorkel trip to remember. We paddled out about a mile, seeing an occasional whale in the distance.

When the wind increased to about 20 mph, our guide Matt told us, “Let’s head towards the shore and do some snorkelling before it gets too difficult to paddle.” Good thing he turned us in as the wind made paddling difficult for my wife and I. About thirty minutes into the effort to get near shore it was evident we were struggling to keep up. Matt paddled out to us and hitched a rope to our kayak then helped us paddle into the shallows.

During the time I snorkelled several schools of colorful fish swam in front of me and beneath me. The best part was having a sea turtle join me for five minutes. The turtle swam slowly and effortlessly like a ballet dancer in slow motion.

As the sunset on our last evening, we vowed to come back next year to escape winter in Baltimore again. Who wouldn’t want to frolic on the warm beaches in Maui instead of freezing in the Mid-Atlantic States?

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