just a few notes on the last pictures from maui. I finally managed to take a photo of one of the menus, this is the one from our last dinner on monday night just sampling the appetisers, called "pupus". Also there is a shot of our view of the beach from our deck shairs when we wetre doing the beachside stints and then another of us on the roick platform looking for Sea Turtles. you could see them as they popped their heads up while feeding off the rocks.
There is a snap of Dad paying his visit to the Surf school in ahwaii and tyhen a bunch of the Hula show we went to on our last night. This is run by a foundation that has been going for 47 years and is all about keeping the hula tradition alive by teaching kids to do the dances. So there are kids of all ages and lods of dances and loads of different hula outfits which I thought all the girls would enjoy seeing. The kids were just great.
All up a lovely visit with J&D and a chance to experience what a hawaiian holiday looks like. Happy to be home.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Home
Home now and awake at 4am but in our own wonderful house and in our own bed.
We left Napili around 3 am for a very early flight from Maui to Honolulu but our Jetstar flight was delayed so we just sat around there until 12.15 working hard to keep one another awake. The flight was the rerun of our outward journey on which you had to pay for absolutely everything. There was nothing complimentary, not even a blanket. we did not buy anything except a hot chocolate and survived on a bag of peanuts and a bag of cranberries and a bottle of water which we topped up during the flight.
Our bags were nearly last off but we went straight through custom and to the car rental place and were on our way out of the airport by 8.15 and home by 10.30. The house was cold but lovely and clean and clear and we just left everything in a pile and crashed.
Last pictures to come shortly and we ail talk to you all in one way or another sometime today.
We left Napili around 3 am for a very early flight from Maui to Honolulu but our Jetstar flight was delayed so we just sat around there until 12.15 working hard to keep one another awake. The flight was the rerun of our outward journey on which you had to pay for absolutely everything. There was nothing complimentary, not even a blanket. we did not buy anything except a hot chocolate and survived on a bag of peanuts and a bag of cranberries and a bottle of water which we topped up during the flight.
Our bags were nearly last off but we went straight through custom and to the car rental place and were on our way out of the airport by 8.15 and home by 10.30. The house was cold but lovely and clean and clear and we just left everything in a pile and crashed.
Last pictures to come shortly and we ail talk to you all in one way or another sometime today.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Last day in maui
We had a very laid back day yesterday. dad was going to enter the putting competition that the hotel was running at the 18 hole putting course that they have on the hotel grounds and we were going to be his cheer squad. He had gone around the curse twice to practice but then a couple of guys showed up with their own putters to join the comp and that started to look way too serious for dad so he opted out. We just had our afternoon drinks on the verandah before going off for one of our shared appetiser dinners. They call an appetizer a pupu, and so going for pupus has become our mantra.
this morning we have done our morning walk and a quick morning run into Lahaina and we are ready for a beach side stint. Dad is already down there with J&D and I will join them shortly. We are doing a big lunch today having all had breakfast in our rooms with supplies bought from the grocery store. Then we will skip dinner. The restaurant meals are so large you can slide through and skip the next meal no worries.
I finally bought myself a shirt this morning. This is the world of Tshirts, flowery dresses and thongs. I don,t wear thongs so even thou there are some great ones it would be money down the drain. The flowery dresses would just not work in Stockton, so I have been on the lookout for a shirt. This morning we went into the Save the Whale shop and my shirt was there waiting for me.
Around the corner Dad found the Surf school and so went in to have a chat and found out thT he could have hired a board for. Week for not much $$ and then could have had a few surfs right here in front of our hotel.
We have a very Early start in the morning to get from maui to Honolulu for our flit home, so I am not sure how I will go getting something up on the blog but will see how I go.!
this morning we have done our morning walk and a quick morning run into Lahaina and we are ready for a beach side stint. Dad is already down there with J&D and I will join them shortly. We are doing a big lunch today having all had breakfast in our rooms with supplies bought from the grocery store. Then we will skip dinner. The restaurant meals are so large you can slide through and skip the next meal no worries.
I finally bought myself a shirt this morning. This is the world of Tshirts, flowery dresses and thongs. I don,t wear thongs so even thou there are some great ones it would be money down the drain. The flowery dresses would just not work in Stockton, so I have been on the lookout for a shirt. This morning we went into the Save the Whale shop and my shirt was there waiting for me.
Around the corner Dad found the Surf school and so went in to have a chat and found out thT he could have hired a board for. Week for not much $$ and then could have had a few surfs right here in front of our hotel.
We have a very Early start in the morning to get from maui to Honolulu for our flit home, so I am not sure how I will go getting something up on the blog but will see how I go.!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Carbon tax
just to assure you that I am watching the news when and where and however I can to follow the carbon tax story. Felt very proud that Julia was able to make her announcement, i just hope that they can hold the line and handle the fallout and make use of the positive reactions.
Dad's part
so mum covered most of yesterday and it was fun toolin' around the island. As usual, she navigated and I drove...driving on the right is no problem. With the speed limits all pretty low we have had no problem slowing down to find streets etc.
We have now managed to establish a walking route which we do very early in the morning...even earlier than at home since we're both waking pretty early every day. We have also even managed to cut down a little on our food intake but it will still definitely be diet time when we get home. Almost all of the food is served in huge helpings ...about twice as much as you need and they cost about twice as much too...especially if you add a beer or bottle of wine. All good, but definitely too much even for me.
I could see that honolua bay definitely had potential for a good surf but it was very small when we saw it. There are also golf courses laid on everywhere on Maui so on all of our drives, walks etc. We are always passing them..all very well manicured.
As I sit on our verandah looking over the water I can understand why so many people love Hawaii since the view is almost exactly like what you see on a hawaiin shirt...palm trees, sunsets, beautiful ocean etc. The co ours are very rich.
Later today we,'re heading into lahaina for a last or second last shop and then we'll probably do the swim, get hot, swim thing here in the bay.
Aloha,
Dad
We have now managed to establish a walking route which we do very early in the morning...even earlier than at home since we're both waking pretty early every day. We have also even managed to cut down a little on our food intake but it will still definitely be diet time when we get home. Almost all of the food is served in huge helpings ...about twice as much as you need and they cost about twice as much too...especially if you add a beer or bottle of wine. All good, but definitely too much even for me.
I could see that honolua bay definitely had potential for a good surf but it was very small when we saw it. There are also golf courses laid on everywhere on Maui so on all of our drives, walks etc. We are always passing them..all very well manicured.
As I sit on our verandah looking over the water I can understand why so many people love Hawaii since the view is almost exactly like what you see on a hawaiin shirt...palm trees, sunsets, beautiful ocean etc. The co ours are very rich.
Later today we,'re heading into lahaina for a last or second last shop and then we'll probably do the swim, get hot, swim thing here in the bay.
Aloha,
Dad
Drive adventure
Yesterday morning dad and I went exploring across Maui. The island is not very big but some of the roads are very windy or situated along the sides of the mountains and just two lane roads so Slow going. But this is part of the charm, everything is at a slowed down pace.
Our first stop was a small museum in Wailuka which was closed but we wandered around the grounds anyway. Then off to Pa'ia whi h is the windsurfing Capitol of the world, or so all the Tshirts claim. We had a coffee at a very fun place, Anthony's Coffee House, then wandered in and out of ahops. We went looking for a place to buy a bottle wot water and found the most wonderful supermarket there, completely invisible from the outside, just a doorway and a sign Maru Foods, but inside it was supermarket junkie heaven. Even dad was charmed and we probably spent 30 minutes in there. You will see some photos next.
Our next stop was Makeweo which they market as the last of the old cowboy towns. Hawaii has it's own cowboy tradition mush like our Australian stockman and they were called Paniolos. They worked the big ranches on various islands and there are still some very large ranch properties in Hawaii. Makeweo is up in the highlAnds in ranch territory and the shop fronts really do look like a little old western town, except now the shops are selling very upmarket clothes, art and jewelry. We had a wander then had lunch at Pollies mexicaN Cantina!
next we kept going up the mountain to maui's only Winery, Tedeschi winery, which has been making wine for 37 years but has been a ranch property for hundreds of years under a range of different owners. The make wine from grapes and wine from pineapples!
On our return we could see loads of families picnicking along the very narrow beachside parks and lots and lots of bord riders. Both traditional and stand-up. These are really common and I will let dad write a bit bout that.
For dinner we stayed in and had a salad in our room with J& D and this was really nice, nearly making up for Saturday's giant hamburger.
Our first stop was a small museum in Wailuka which was closed but we wandered around the grounds anyway. Then off to Pa'ia whi h is the windsurfing Capitol of the world, or so all the Tshirts claim. We had a coffee at a very fun place, Anthony's Coffee House, then wandered in and out of ahops. We went looking for a place to buy a bottle wot water and found the most wonderful supermarket there, completely invisible from the outside, just a doorway and a sign Maru Foods, but inside it was supermarket junkie heaven. Even dad was charmed and we probably spent 30 minutes in there. You will see some photos next.
Our next stop was Makeweo which they market as the last of the old cowboy towns. Hawaii has it's own cowboy tradition mush like our Australian stockman and they were called Paniolos. They worked the big ranches on various islands and there are still some very large ranch properties in Hawaii. Makeweo is up in the highlAnds in ranch territory and the shop fronts really do look like a little old western town, except now the shops are selling very upmarket clothes, art and jewelry. We had a wander then had lunch at Pollies mexicaN Cantina!
next we kept going up the mountain to maui's only Winery, Tedeschi winery, which has been making wine for 37 years but has been a ranch property for hundreds of years under a range of different owners. The make wine from grapes and wine from pineapples!
On our return we could see loads of families picnicking along the very narrow beachside parks and lots and lots of bord riders. Both traditional and stand-up. These are really common and I will let dad write a bit bout that.
For dinner we stayed in and had a salad in our room with J& D and this was really nice, nearly making up for Saturday's giant hamburger.
First days in maui
Somehow days have gone by quickly here. This post is going to cover Friday and Saturday.
The days here start slowly. The hotel provides coffees in the Lo by from 5 am which suits us. We have done one morning walk and one morning drive. The first morning walk was kind of mind boggling looking at all of the hotel and resort complexes around us, along with the occasional spectacular house. One of the local mags had an article on Mick fleetwood of fleetwood Mac who has a (very large) house in this neighborhood.
We used the first day to get the lay of the land at Napili Kai, which has a number of systems in place to make the guest experience successful.Also the rooms have a small kithenette so we went to the local grocery to get breakfast things.
The second day was when dad and I set off on our journey to find Honolua Bay which he had seen many times in surf mags.on the map it looked close by but we drove north and somehow did not find it. Once we turned back we found it very close to where we had picked up the highway. In the pictures you can see that the sign at the lookout was very small. But dad was happy to find it.We ha e started a Maui movie list with J & D and this has been fun. We are adding to it all the time and before we leave we have to decide on the criteria that allows a move to stay on the list. Also there are some which either THEY have not seen or WE have not seen,
so there is some following up to do.
The days here start slowly. The hotel provides coffees in the Lo by from 5 am which suits us. We have done one morning walk and one morning drive. The first morning walk was kind of mind boggling looking at all of the hotel and resort complexes around us, along with the occasional spectacular house. One of the local mags had an article on Mick fleetwood of fleetwood Mac who has a (very large) house in this neighborhood.
We used the first day to get the lay of the land at Napili Kai, which has a number of systems in place to make the guest experience successful.Also the rooms have a small kithenette so we went to the local grocery to get breakfast things.
The second day was when dad and I set off on our journey to find Honolua Bay which he had seen many times in surf mags.on the map it looked close by but we drove north and somehow did not find it. Once we turned back we found it very close to where we had picked up the highway. In the pictures you can see that the sign at the lookout was very small. But dad was happy to find it.We ha e started a Maui movie list with J & D and this has been fun. We are adding to it all the time and before we leave we have to decide on the criteria that allows a move to stay on the list. Also there are some which either THEY have not seen or WE have not seen,
so there is some following up to do.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Maui
Finally organised enought to do our first posting from maui. you have seen the pics so you know we have been here since thursday evening and here we are already up to saturday morning.
We are in a beautiful resort called napili Kai Beach Resort in Napili bay and i think the whole area is called Kapalua in West Maui. You can drive all around the island but the road varies. In a few places it is four lanes but in most other places it is ony two lanes and the speed limits are very low, 25 to 30 MPH being the most common. This is a good introduction to the place as you really need to crank down the gears in every way when you get here.
D&J were waiting for us when we arrived. we actually saw them at Honolulu airport but they had an earlier flight so were here ahead of us. They have been here many times so that is great because they know how everything works.
Maui is dominated by a couple of volcanos and there are all sorts of ways to explore these but all take driving time, exploring time, interest and a bit of fitness. So I don't think these things are going to be on our agenda. but there is a lot of history on Maui as a lot of things started here. Whaling and pearling were major industries and the first big waves of chinese migrants settled here on Maui. They actually preceeded the missionaries.
We have had two dinners out and one breakfast. The brekkie was over the top in size, one of the common experiences we are having, but really good. Corn tortillas feature in a lot of dishes and i think i put a photo of uncle jims brekkie on the blog.On the dinner side we have done the same thing both times, that is order 4 appetisers and share. This is working out really well as there are lots of interesting things to try.
Me now. Im just back from a brief swim in the beautiful bay below our hotel. we also went out for an early drive/walk and I got to see Honolua bay which I had only seen in the surf mags with perfect surf. It was beautiful but small and we continued on for about another 20 miles and had a pretty good tour of that part of the island.
We finally had broken the diet stakes and have had several meals out now....all good some really good... and yes, expensive. We're talking diamond jerry and chrissie here but what the heck we're on holiday. the area is super schmick and i would guess the houses are in the millions with golf courses laid on and communities build all around them. Later this morning we're heading for Lahaina for a shopping and late lunching excursion. when we get back, I think we'll have a short swim and maybe a putt on the resorts 27 hole putting green and then it will be snacks and scotch o clock....again....I'm quitting typing now as am too frustrated with this particular machine. we are having fun but i am certainly looking forward to seeing home and family.
We are in a beautiful resort called napili Kai Beach Resort in Napili bay and i think the whole area is called Kapalua in West Maui. You can drive all around the island but the road varies. In a few places it is four lanes but in most other places it is ony two lanes and the speed limits are very low, 25 to 30 MPH being the most common. This is a good introduction to the place as you really need to crank down the gears in every way when you get here.
D&J were waiting for us when we arrived. we actually saw them at Honolulu airport but they had an earlier flight so were here ahead of us. They have been here many times so that is great because they know how everything works.
Maui is dominated by a couple of volcanos and there are all sorts of ways to explore these but all take driving time, exploring time, interest and a bit of fitness. So I don't think these things are going to be on our agenda. but there is a lot of history on Maui as a lot of things started here. Whaling and pearling were major industries and the first big waves of chinese migrants settled here on Maui. They actually preceeded the missionaries.
We have had two dinners out and one breakfast. The brekkie was over the top in size, one of the common experiences we are having, but really good. Corn tortillas feature in a lot of dishes and i think i put a photo of uncle jims brekkie on the blog.On the dinner side we have done the same thing both times, that is order 4 appetisers and share. This is working out really well as there are lots of interesting things to try.
Me now. Im just back from a brief swim in the beautiful bay below our hotel. we also went out for an early drive/walk and I got to see Honolua bay which I had only seen in the surf mags with perfect surf. It was beautiful but small and we continued on for about another 20 miles and had a pretty good tour of that part of the island.
We finally had broken the diet stakes and have had several meals out now....all good some really good... and yes, expensive. We're talking diamond jerry and chrissie here but what the heck we're on holiday. the area is super schmick and i would guess the houses are in the millions with golf courses laid on and communities build all around them. Later this morning we're heading for Lahaina for a shopping and late lunching excursion. when we get back, I think we'll have a short swim and maybe a putt on the resorts 27 hole putting green and then it will be snacks and scotch o clock....again....I'm quitting typing now as am too frustrated with this particular machine. we are having fun but i am certainly looking forward to seeing home and family.
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