A few weeks ago we were invited to a birthday party at Ultimate Air Maui. In light of yesterday’s island-wide rainstorms I thought this would be a great place to spend some time on a rainy day with kids.
Ultimate Air Maui opened this past spring. There aren’t many indoor activities to do with kids on Maui, so their opening has been eagerly anticipated by many kids and parents alike. It is located in a large open warehouse in Maui Lani/Wailuku. The facility is new and clean and not air-conditioned (just in case you were wondering).
The evening of the birthday party was fun. The kids bounced around, there was a very attentive birthday party attendant who helped the party run incredibly smooth.
The website doesn’t mention this, but there are certain specials and special events. For instance right now Wednesdays are Ohana Night – come as a family and jump $10/hour per person. They have times reserved for toddlers, Friday night teen nights and even host fitness classes. For more information check the website, for specials check out their Facebook page.
Tickets are $22/hour, $32/two hours, $40/three hours plus $2 jump socks. They do not allow outside food or drink (they do have a concession). And most importantly for those non-jumping parents or family members, there are comfy leather couches and even massage chairs.
Coming up on Maui this weekend and in the weeks beyond….
The Maui Lilikoi Festival
Have you had lilikoi? It’s a passion fruit – I’ve written about it in the past, see here. This weekend Saturday September 22, the Napili Farmer’s Market is hosting the Maui Lilikoi Festival from 8AM to 2PM. I have it on good authority that my new favorite bread bakery will be selling their bread there also…
Kula Festival
On the same day, Saturday September 22 from 9AM to 4PM St John’s Episcopalian Church hosts their 36th Annual Kula Festival. We went last year to cheer on a few musicians in the Chop Suey Jazz Orchestra. Not sure if they will be performing this year again, but it is a cute upcountry local festival to check out.
Maui Ukulele Festival
Sunday September 28th between 1-6PM come for a free Maui Ukulele Festival of concerts at the MACC. Bring a blanket/chairs to sit, ukuleles, a game or two and your wallet for some ono grinds (good food from the food trucks) and relax to the ukulele music. Note this festival usually takes place in October – this year it’s end of September instead.
Oktoberfest in paradise
Yes, Oktoberfest reaches even to Maui. There are several Oktoberfest happenings here.
On Friday September 28th the Rotary Club is hosting their 7th annual Oktoberfest at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina (see here for tickets).
On September 29th the Maui Brewing Company in Kihei hosts their Oktoberfest from 2:30-7:30PM.
Brigit & Bernard’s, the Swiss/German restaurant in Kahului, always hosts Oktoberfest four weekends in October complete with German beer, good food and oompah-band. I am not finding their information off hand, but give them a call for details.
Maui Sunday Market
Sunday evenings in Kahului from 4-8pm check out the Maui Sunday Market. This is a new event, just started this July.
It’s the beginning of a new school year and Kamalii Elementary School has issued their new Pueo Premier Card for the year. We have one of these at each of our four condos, so please do use the card to get discounts (similar or better to kama’aina) at local restaurants and stores. If you are not staying at our condos, swing by the school office at Kamalii Elementary School. They sell them as a school fundraiser for $10 cash. Mahalo for supporting local schools.
What’s on this year’s cards? Here are some of the restaurants/stores represented. Check out the picture of the cards to see them all.
5 Palms Restaurant
Amigo’s
Cold Stone Creamery
Cow Pig Bun
Dina’s Sandwitch (sandwich store at Sugar Beach Resort)
Duo Steak & Seafood
Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse
Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods
Matteo’s Osteria
Maui Brick Oven
Maui Taco
Roasted Chiles
Round Table Pizza
Ruby Tuesday
Scuba Shack
Shearwater Tavern
Three’s Bar & Grill
Wailea Pharmacy
Cards are good for 1 use per day per offer and must be presented at time of purchase/order. Only 1 free item (unless specified) may be received on each visit. 2 for 1s are for equal or lesser value. Offers cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Discounts at participating locations only.
picture of this year’s Pueo card – lots of discounts at local stores and restaurants
Kama’aina discounts
Speaking of discounts – what does ‘kama’aina’ discount mean? Kama’aina is the Hawaiian word for native born or ‘child of the land’. Here is an article about the meaning of kama’aina. Businesses in Hawaii are much more liberal with the application of the term when they offer kama’aina discounts to residents. Typically you need to show your Hawaii State ID or driver’s license to get the discount.
Note that though I have lived on Maui for 8+ years now, I am not considered a local. To be local, I would need to have lived here much longer.
The specials offered on this Pueo Premier Card are similar to these stores’ kama’aina discounts. In some cases these are instead of kama’aina discounts.
I’ve noticed a sign on my way to the Kalama Park hockey rink lately. Truth is, it may have been there for years, I’m not sure. But I have noticed it lately. It says Blue Door Bakery. Having grown up in Austria the word ‘bakery’ is quick to catch my eye. I love most baked goods and especially a good loaf of bread.
After a few weeks of seeing the sign, I stopped in one afternoon – but sadly the bakery was closed. So I went online and saw that the Blue Door Bakery is open Monday-Fridays 8am to 2pm (or until they sell out). I haven’t been able to make it there during those times, so I did the next best thing – I went to Hawaiian Moons, the Kihei organic food store, one of several local stores that sells Blue Door Bakery bread.
I picked up a loaf of sesame semolina – all they had left by the time I got there. It was delicious! According to their website this bread is all natural organic and uses old-fashioned natural-rise methods (instead of yeast). The semolina tasted like sourdough bread to me. I don’t know if sourdough is the correct term, but …. hey, I love EATING bread, I don’t know much about baking bread.
Today I needed more – so back to Hawaiian Moons I headed for another loaf. This time I picked up a loaf of Levain. This one doesn’t have the sourdough taste. Absolutely delicious. If you like bread and like me do not care for toast bread, give this local bakery a try.
Hawaiian Moons is a small organic grocery store on South Kihei Road across from Kamaole 1 beach (near Cafe o Lei). If you are staying at one of our condos, be sure to take the Pueo Premier Card which should be on the counter near the keys or by any restaurant menus. It gives you a 10% discount off anything in the store. Besides introducing you to organic/natural food loving locals and visitors, the store also has a good section of healthy (natural) take out foods. Please do RETURN the Pueo discount card to the condo so the next guest can use it.
If you aren’t staying at one of our condos, stop in at the Kamalii Elementary School office – they sell these Pueo Premier Card for $10 cash as a school fundraiser. Help the local elementary school out and get loads of restaurant and store discounts around the island.
I thought I’d post a short update on Hurricane Lane on our blog.
Tropical Storm Lane at the 5PM update
August 24 5 PM update. It turns out Hurricane Lane is no more. Thankfully the storm has been weakening and is now ‘just’ a Tropical Storm with maximum winds of 70 mph. Wow. What an incredible ride. We had 2 hours of steady rain this morning and word that the hurricane had stalled at speeds of 2 mph – more delays while it deteriorated. Don’t get me wrong – we are incredibly thankful. Just three days ago we were staring at a Category 5 hurricane headed straight at us. After days of preparation and stressing, today was quite anticlimactic in Kihei. I went for a nice walk in the rain this morning along South Kihei Road (about a third of stores/restaurants were open). Then we did some necessary de-cluttering in our home.
At noon neighbors who were also feeling stir-crazy asked us to join them for lunch. So we had a pre-hurricane lunch at Nalus. I had been snacking (on hurricane supplies), so I wasn’t terribly hungry. I had their fruit bowl while my son enjoyed the mac nut pancakes. Delicious and fun and a good distraction for us all.
We know to still expect rain and wind and of course things can still change. Other parts of Maui have NOT been this fortunate. Lahaina/Kaanapali-side had higher winds while other parts of the island experienced flooding. Our thoughts are with those in Lahaina who lost their homes to the brush fires (7 were destroyed/damaged). But we are very relieved. A big thank you to all of you who have been thinking about, praying for us and sending us encouraging notes. It’s meant so much to me.
Nalu’s fruit bowlNalu’s banana mac nut pancakes5AM August 24th Hurricane Lane update
August 24 7 AM update. It’s been a quiet peaceful night here in Kihei. We left the bamboo wind chimes hanging on our lanai as it would be sure to wake me if we got wind. Nothing. It’s overcast and dry with no wind. This has got to be the slowest moving hurricane ever. The good news is it’s now at Category 2 status – with winds at 110 mph.
In other news on island – last night a brush fire started up near Lahaina. It’s been windy up there with gusts up to 50 mph, and the fire has spread badly. Officials had to move the emergency shelter out of harms way and entire neighborhoods are being evacuated. The highways encircling West Maui have been closed which means there is no way for anyone to get to the hospital (in Wailuku) other than by helicopter.
Thursday afternoon update
August 23 9:30 PM update. It’s been a slow day here in Kihei. It’s been overcast and there’s been some drizzle. Upcountry there were about 2000 people out of power and apparently Kahului airport (OGG) lost power also. But so far we are still waiting. The hurricane’s speed has slowed some more. Moving at only 6 miles an hour, this means that even though the intensity has come down, the storm has even more time to unload moisture and rain. Parts of Big Island got doused today. Soon it will be our turn. In the mean time, here’s what sunset looked like in our part of Maui.
Kihei sunset before Hurricane LaneHurricane Lane’s current (2AM) forecast track
Currently in Kihei (it’s 3:50 AM HST on Thursday 8/23/18) it is calm and quiet. Yesterday afternoon we had some gusts up to 30 mph according to my husband’s weather station. We went for an evening walk down to the beach yesterday and were caught in rain shower.
At this time Hurricane Lane is expected to spend time with us on Friday. The system is physically moving slower than expected. This is not a good thing – the winds should slow down, yes, but we want the system to move past Hawaii as quickly as possible. When it camps out here, we get heavier rain and more damage. I will keep you posted. For more information on Lane – check out the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s website.
By the way – yes, I am prepared. Besides all my hurricane shopping (7-14 days supply of water and food), I also have these amazing fruit gummies. They are fantastic.
June through November is hurricane season in the Pacific and as of now we have Hurricane Lane, a category 4 hurricane, preparing to pass close to the Hawaiian Islands Thursday/Friday. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now. I guess now is the time to do it. This is more of a general post on what to be aware of if staying in one of OUR condos. It is by all means NOT intended to be an all-inclusive list, but hopefully will give you some sense of what to expect.
Please note that in case of a disaster, Sig and I will be in touch and try to help as much as we can.
KNOW YOUR CONDO’S STREET ADDRESS. Note that the condo’s cable phone will NOT work during a power outage.
During a disaster it is important to keep calm and use common sense. The condo’s front desk of the property will become the resort’s command center. Please listen to the local news and check with the front desk for more information. During a disaster the Maui Police Department is inundated with calls – they will triage these 9-1-1 calls. It is important for you to secure your valuables (we have a safe at each of our condos).
For hurricanes and tsunamis (except locally generated) you will have time to prepare.
Check your condo’s binder on whether you are in the flood zone and need to evacuate (Sugar Beach Resort and Kihei Surfside yes, Palms at Wailea and Maui Kamaole no). Portions of South Kihei Road itself are considered flood zone and may be blocked off – you may not be able to leave the property after the event. The local power plants and water treatment facilities are also in the flood zone. Be prepared to go up to seven days without water, electricity and outside help. Clean the bathtub and fill it and as many containers as you can find with fresh tap water. Locate and check the condo’s flashlight, check batteries. Charge all your electronic devices. If you have time, stock up on food, paper plates, batteries (for flashlight & radio), gasoline (for your rental car), cash (possibility of no credit card/bank machines in power failure) etc. Avoid unnecessary travel as the roads become clogged quickly.
Earthquakes cause landslides, property damage, and tsunami waves.
Local earthquakes are no-notice events. There is no way to predict them. If you feel an earthquake, DROP, COVER and HOLD ON.
If there is a local earthquake, it typically takes 3-5 minutes for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to let Civil Defense know if a local tsunami has been generated. If the earthquake is strong enough to knock you off balance and you are in an evacuation zone, move uphill as soon as things stop moving. Don’t wait for a siren. You may only have a few minutes until the tsunami wave arrives.
Tsunamis
A tsunami is a series of waves caused by a local or distant earth quake. Do not go to the beach to watch until the all-clear has been given (usually a number of hours). Tsunamis can create erratic currents and there can be debris washed into the water, so stay out of the ocean for a few days.
Maui is equipped with tsunami warning sirens (these are tested on the first day of the month at 11:45am). If you hear them sounding otherwise, move to higher ground and tune in to local news for more information. The siren closest to you may be out of order. If you are in a remote area, there may not be a siren. Signs of a pending tsunami: the earth shakes strong enough to knock you off balance, you hear the ocean roar, or there is a sudden pulling back of the water.
The water treatment facilities are shut down 30 minutes before the first tsunami wave is scheduled to arrive. Avoid flushing the toilet until the all-clear has been given, waste water will flow untreated into the ocean (another reason to stay out of the ocean for a few days after).
You may or may not be in a flood evacuation zone. There will be emergency shelters that open, if you do need to evacuate. Listen to the news and check the front desk for more information. Do not go to an emergency shelter until it has opened and, very importantly, you will be expected to bring your own supplies. Even if you do not need to evacuate, keep in mind you may be without water and utilities and the road may be blocked.
Hurricane/cyclone
Hurricanes have 3 danger components: wind (can also cause tornadoes), rain and lightning, storm surge. During a hurricane, you want to button down anything loose outside (move all patio furniture inside), secure all doors and windows and then stay away from windows.
Again, you may or may not be in a flood evacuation zone. There will be emergency shelters that open, if you do need to evacuate. Listen to the news and check the front desk for more information. Do not go to an emergency shelter until it has opened and, very importantly, you will be expected to bring your own supplies.
Stay out of the ocean for several days. Storms wash debris into the ocean and stir up the ocean currents.
Did you know that the Pacific Ocean also has a hurricane season? I remember mainland news focusing in the Caribbean in years past, but yes, we also have hurricane season – and it also runs from June through November (6 months).
Normally we don’t get much hurricane wise, but a few years ago (2015 and 2016) we sure felt like we were on a roller coaster. At the time I wrote a number of blog posts about hurricanes and what to expect. With Hurricane Hector approaching the islands, I thought this would be a good time to revisit the topic.
Hurricane Hector
Wait a minute? Did you say hurricane? Yup. There is a Category 4 hurricane approaching the Hawaiian Islands as we speak. For more scientific information on Hector, do check out the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s website. They have many details, cool graphs etc.
Hurricane Hector
Should you be concerned? At this time forecasters are saying Hector will likely miss Hawaii and not to worry. However, they point out we should keep an eye on it, just in case. A few decades ago Hurricane Iniki, the last hurricane to do major damage to Hawaii, was also forecast to miss Hawaii. Unfortunately it veered off course and did major damage to Kauai in 1992. So yes, it’s important to be aware. But no need to panic – yet. In the past number of years any hurricanes and tropical storms that have hit Hawaii, have hit Big Island and its 2 large (14,000+ ft) volcanoes first, dismantling the storm system. Maui is so-to-say rather protected.
What to expect from Hurricane Hector
The immediate things we are likely to see are an increase in clouds, wind and humidity. We may even get rain here in Kihei (honestly, that would be a great thing – it’s bone dry). What you however can’t see, is how the ocean currents are affected by the storm. Please, during and for a few days after the storm if you must go to the beach (if the weather looks ok), go to a beach with life guards and actually take the time to ask them about the ocean conditions. These storm systems can and do affect ocean currents, stirring things up and can increase chances of shark vs human activity. Please be safe and if in doubt, do not go out.
As I mentioned, at this moment it looks like Maui will be fine. Please keep an eye on local media (Maui Now, KHON) for updates and please use common sense.
Out of curiosity – what to expect if Maui were to get hit
Good question, I haven’t actually witnessed a hurricane. I have a disaster preparedness sheet in each of our condo’s binders – review it and monitor local (not Oahu, but Maui specific) media. However, Maui’s Civil Defense has a list of what to do. Check it out.
Last night was girls’ night out with a few friends. The activity of choice was an art party at Kihei’s own Island Art Party. Confession – I haven’t painted since art class in high school with exception of a finger painting ‘mom and me’ event with our youngest child a few years ago. I used to be pretty decent in art class, and at the art party they give you step by step instructions, so how hard could it be?
Kihei’s Fourth Friday town party
It was the fourth Friday of the month, which means it’s Kihei’s monthly town party in central Kihei at the Azeka Shopping Plaza. I haven’t been to one of these in years. It was fun – a good number of local artisans selling t-shirts, soaps, jewelry, honey and even Maui-made candy. There were several musician areas with a variety of music being played and then of course a food-truck alley. We arrived early (around 5) to ensure good parking and enjoyed happy hour at Shearwater Tavern.
sneak picture during one of our breaks
Island Art Party is located right in Azeka, so that worked out perfectly. With it being Fourth Friday, they had a special on – $45/person or $25 for kama’aina (with State of Hawaii or military ID). The class was full, so it was a good thing we had made reservations. If you go on their website, they have a monthly calendar and you see exactly what the class will be painting each evening (and some daytime slots). Honestly, I didn’t like the project selected for last night. It was called ‘mystic jellyfish’ and, in my opinion, looked pretty awful. But, it was a night out with friends, so my attitude became ‘modify as needed and toss it out when I get home’. Plus it was a sale night, so whatever!
We arrived, were ID’ed (for the kama’aina discount and to purchase a drink from the bar) and ushered to our reserved seat. Everything was ready, except we needed to get our paint from the paint station (the instructions told us how many squirts of each paint).
We all started with a blank canvas, a few brushes and a plate of acrylic paint.
The Partista (party artist) gave us step by step instructions on what to do. I did modify mine a bit and honestly, ended up pleasantly surprised.
My slightly modified background (I added blue).My finished jellyfish painting
It was fun! We’ve already checked out next month’s calendar. I think we’ll try a sunset painting next time around.
I’ve written about the Maui Tropical Plantation‘s transformation the past few years. I’ve even posted pictures of the very cool historic train inside the Mill House Bar. I finally got to eat there!
A train in a bar? Yep! Only on Maui 🙂
When we first started coming to Maui on vacation, the Maui Tropical Plantation was always on our ‘things to do’ list. The main attraction was their duck pond for our kids. After a number of years it unfortunately closed to the public, only to have been reopened a few years ago under new ownership. The new owners have done an amazing job of the place. I love how they’ve taken old sugar cane factory parts and converted them into lawn art and garden decor. An homage to Waikapu’s rich sugar cane history. Admission to the grounds is free, and I highly recommend you go check it out. And yes, the gift shop (which is large and good) also sells $2 duck food baggies.
The Tropical Plantation also features the Mill House which is a high-end farm-to-table restaurant and bar. I’ve always admired the bar from outside – particularly checking out the historic train inside the bar (how cool is that!). The other day I finally got to eat there – happy hour and pupu (appetizers). The food was great, service good, the ambiance amazing. Specifically we had a squash pizza, ceviche and bao bun tacos.
pupu at the Mill House Bar
What’s up with the train in the bar?
The locomotive is known as the Claus Spreckels – the second locomotive purchased for the Kahului-Wailuku railroad in 1881. It transported passengers and freight on a 13 mile (!) line. It is on long-term loan from Maui’s A&B Sugar Cane Museum. Be sure also to check out King Kalakaua’s train car (also on display in the bar)
more information on the Claus Spreckels train in the bar
Other things to check out at the Maui Tropical Plantation: a coffee roaster, ice cream, several smaller shops, a tour of the property. Do note that most of these places close at 4pm. The Mill House also hosts it’s weekly Chef’s Table event. At $150/person my friend tells me it’s an amazing culinary event.
Modern day paniolos – this weekend’s rodeo was ‘small-kine’ (just a little) muddy
This past weekend the Maui Roping Club hosted Maui’s 63rd annual rodeo in Makawao. Typically this rodeo is held in and around the Fourth of July, this year just a few days later. The two day event kicked off with a parade down Baldwin Avenue in Makawao. Rodeo festivities themselves started at 4pm on Saturday and again at 1pm on Sunday.
Maui has an interesting ranching history. In fact Captain George Vancouver, who had accompanied Captain Cook on his third expedition which is when they ‘discovered’ Hawaii, gifted several long-horn cattle to King Kamehameha in the late 1700s. At the time the king placed a kapu (ban) on killing/eating the cattle. As a result by the 1830s herds of cows apparently destructively roaming the island(s). This prompted King Kamehameha III to bring in Mexican cowboys to help contain the herds. These cowboys spoke Spanish (Espanol) and became known as paniolos – which is what cowboys on Maui are known as to this day.
Ranches were developed in the late 1800s. On Maui the Haleakala Cattle Company was formed in 1885 and what is now the Ulupalakua Ranch also started a ranching operation around that time. Both these ranches are still in existence today. You can go visit the Ulupalakua Ranch – their general store and winery (Maui Wine) are one of our family’s favorite upcountry lunch destinations. The Maui Wine tasting room has a room dedicated to the Ulupalakua Ranch history with plaques and photographs.
For a time ranching was the 3rd largest contributor to Hawaii’s economy. Raising cattle in Hawaii is trickier than on the mainland, due in large part to the shipping factor. Bringing in feed is very expensive, as is the cost of exporting the meat back to the US mainland. Maui beef is therefore mainly grass-fed. The droughts in recent years caused Maui ranches to drastically reduce the size of their herds. However, do look for Maui beef in local stores and restaurants – it is delicious!
The little kids with their bright stick lollipops definitely stole the show
But back to the rodeo… it was a fun small-town event where everyone seems to know everyone. Unfortunately it had been raining off and on, so it was a bit mucky. However drizzle does make for the most beautiful rainbows.
