Maui, Hawaii

    Category: Maui to-do

    Upcountry drive

    Maui to-do

    It’s been oddly stormy weather here over Christmas, with Kihei even getting rain showers. So we yesterda opted to go for an upcountry drive.

    Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

    Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park

    This is a small upcountry memorial park dedicated to a Maui resident who was interestingly involved in the 1911 Chinese revolution, overthrowing the monarchy. The fish taking a bite out of the roof cracked me up. And this well fed rooster definitely stole the show. I know I just turkey for Christmas dinner but…. I couldn’t stop admiring the size of his thighs.

    Ulupalakua General Store and Maui Wine

    Next up we stopped at Ulupalakua General Store for some homemade burgers from their own meat. I tried the elk, the rest of the family enjoyed the beef burger. There’s just something about an outdoor grill and eating burgers upcountry at a picnic table.

    The restroom is across the way past Maui Wine. We stopped in the Maui Wine building where they have an interesting history display of the ranch. The story on this plaque struck my funny bone. I love history – it’s full of interesting stories.

    Captain Mackee was at the time the owner of what is now Ulupalakua Ranch

    Maui Wine has changed the way it runs the tasting room. You can still go for complimentary tours (we have yet to go on one, our timing is always off), but tastings run $12-$16 for a flight of wines and they have pupus (cheese and charcuterie boards are available for purchase too). They have expanded the seating area and the gift shop, it is quite lovely. Old Jail tastings are $40. Do check the website for more information.

    Grandma’s Coffee House

    Next we stopped in at Grandma’s Coffee House for take-out coffee and desert. They grow their own coffee and have a nice display case of homemade treats. Their lunches are also excellent.

    Finally, we headed back towards Kihei, driving through rain showers and sunny patches and past this amazing poinsettia hedge right along Kula Hwy.

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    Planning for Christmas dinner

    Maui to-do

    Our family loves Christmas. The kids look forward to their school break and of course presents. I do a lot of Christmas baking (I have to store it in my bedroom if I want to ensure it lasts more than a week – ha!), Sig does the Christmas shopping (and wrapping). I plan a Christmas dinner (usually turkey). And then of course there are all the other Christmas activities surrounding this time of year: Christmas concerts, parties, school events…. and tourists!

    at a recent upcountry holiday event

    Did you know, the holidays are the busiest time of year on Maui? The first two weeks of December are generally calm, and then all of a sudden – right around now – you go grocery shopping at Safeway and realize, it’s high season! Families of tourists shopping for groceries, many more cars on the road, difficulties turning left at intersections….

    I’m not complaining. Visitors to our island are our bread and butter.

    I thought for today’s blog post, I’d post some Christmas dinner ideas – on the off chance that you are here this Christmas (or planning for next year)…

    Yes, some restaurants are open for Christmas dinner. They will mainly have buffet or pre-set menus to order from. If you plan to eat out, do make reservations NOW (many, though not all, use OpenTable for reservations).

    If you can’t get a reservation (or prefer not to pay that kind of money), some grocery stores offer pre-made take-out dinners. Check with Whole Foods (Kahului) to preorder your meal. Unsure if local grocery stores (Safeway, Times or Foodland offer anything this year).

    Guess what, if you are staying at one of our condos, you could also just plan to eat in. Throw something on the BBQ, or head to one of the beach parks for a sunset picnic (that would be my choice).

    Our favorite restaurants in South Maui

    Here are a few of our favorite restaurants. Note, almost everywhere on Maui lunches are significantly less expensive than dinner. And at lunch you can enjoy oceanviews which disappear after dark.

    • Gannon’s – lunch or happy hour with a view
    • Mulligans – Irish pub with a view
    • Maui Brewing Company – fun atmosphere
    • Nalu’s – I dream of their ahi tuna sandwich
    • Fabiani’s – I dream of their bakery case. However, also a great Italian restaurant
    • Pita Paradise – fresh fish
    • 5 Palms – amazing oceanfront setting

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    Sunset atop Haleakala

    Maui to-do

    I love watching sunset, watching the colors change. But there’s nothing quite like watching it at the beach. Except perhaps from atop the highest mountain.

    Yesterday we dropped our turkeys off at an upcountry imu (here’s a link to last year’s imu roast for lots more info!) and then continued up the mountain. We got there just before sunset which was great as it allowed us to see the crater valley which is spectacular in itself. I almost think it’s better in the morning though, when the sun really shows off all the different colors in the valley.

    Haleakala’s crater valley

    We had passed through some clouds on our way up to the summit (10,023 feet elevation), but it cleared up just past the National Park gates (yes, this is a national park – 3 day entrance fee starting in 2020 is $30, an annual pass is $50).

    a silversword plant – these are endangered and grow only on Maui. A step on their root system will kill them, so don’t get close.

    Sunrise viewing is hugely popular on Haleakala, so much so that a few years ago the park instituted a reservation system. If you want to go see sunrise, make sure two months prior you go online and buy a ticket. Tickets are cheap – only $1.50/car (however, you ALSO need to purchase or have along your national park pass to enter the park). But they are day-specific, so you do need to go on that day (this limits the total number of cars to 150, which is the number of parking stalls up there). They do release a few additional tickets two days prior, so that’s always an option also. Note, park wardens will not allow you into the park between 3-7AM without this special ticket.

    I’ve never driven up for sunrise. I would prefer to see if it’s cloudy or clear before I drive all that way (rather than taking my chances leaving at 3AM to get to the summit in time for a possible sunrise).

    Yesterday the top parking lot was full, but there were plenty of parking spaces in the crater parking lot.

    • sunset
      Maui’s lights from 10,023 foot elevation
    • sunset
      sunset
    • sunset afterglow from on top of Maui

    Stargazing with cows

    We stayed at the summit until it was quite dark and then drove back down the mountain. Just past the national park gate and forest, we encountered cows on the road. Yes, there are signs warning of cows, do watch for them as they like to munch grass right next to the road. In fact, I’ve come across cows lying on the road in the evening (which is nice and warm from the sun).

    We parked in a pull-out near some cows, turned off the car and stood next to it, gazing up at the stars. It was so dark, we couldn’t see the cows, just hear them snorting and munching their grass. As you know, we used to own a dairy farm, so we loved that. It was a beautiful evening.

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    Kula Lodge

    Maui to-do

    I had an errand to run today near Kula Lodge. Kula Lodge is at the 3200 ft elevation. As you drive up our volcano (Haleakala), you will find that the roads get narrower, the speed limits drop and the views become increasingly spectacular.

    The Kula Lodge is the highest sit-down restaurant on Maui with an outdoor pizza oven and stunning bi-coastal views. This is also home to the Curtis Cost Gallery – his Maui scenery paintings are just spectacular. You can also stay at the Kula Lodge, though we’ve never done it.

    One of my favorite things to do (though I haven’t done it for a while), is to kick off an evening of stargazing with pizza at the Kula Lodge. It’s time we did that again.

    The poinsettia hedge in the parking lot is starting to bloom. It is mid-November. Where did the year go?

    Kula Marketplace

    As I was a bit early, I stopped at the Kula Marketplace gift shop to look around. Always on the look out for new Made in Maui products and goodies. Today I found a few: a new to me hotsauce by Volcano Spice using Maui grown scorpion peppers. I love the HI Spice Smoke Scorpion sauce, so I’ll have to taste-test these two. I love the color.

    • Kula Lodge
      two scorpion pepper hot sauces…
    • Kula Lodge
      back of the bottles

    I also found these coasters which I thought would make fun Christmas presents.

    Kula Lodge
    Christmas coasters

    I may have mentioned a time or two how much I love upcountry Maui. I don’t know what I love more – the scenery and the views, or cooling off from Kihei’s heat!

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    Ocean Vodka’s fy gin

    Maui to-do

    A few weeks ago my husband Sig took friends visiting from Germany for his favorite upcountry drive. He came home with a bottle of Ocean Vodka’s fy gin.

    As of right now there is no information about this new fy gin online, so yesterday I stopped at Ocean Vodka to ask a few questions. Really, I should have signed up for the tour, but I was in a rush, so I asked one of the gift shop ladies for a little more information. I am really not a gin connaisseur but the main thing I gleaned from what she told me is that it is infused with lavender, lime, and ginger. The company is continuing on with their cool blue bottle concept.

    I also found this info on Tripadvisor from someone who obviously HAS been on the tour:

    The gin is called „fy“ which is taken from the local (pidGIN ) language for „five“. There are five botanicals that are responsible for the taste, the bottle is a very well transparent designed „container“ that has five sides and it is the distillery‘s fifth product. It gets five out of five points from me…

    https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60633-d13147941-r717497568-The_Hawaii_Sea_Spirits_Organic_Farm_and_Distillery-Kula_Maui_Hawaii.html

    Hawaii Sea Spirits

    fy gin
    Entrance sign to the organic farm and distillery

    Disclaimer: everyone I know refers to this farm as Ocean Vodka. However, the correct name for the organic farm and distillery is Hawaii Sea Spirits. Their first product was Ocean Vodka which is sold in its iconic blue bottle. They also make three types of Kula rum and now fy gin. All products are made from organic sugar cane grown right here on Maui.

    I highly recommend stopping by their property and going for a tour. Their vodka and rums are available at stores around the island and even on the mainland. Fy gin is for now only available in their own store on property.

    Upcountry Drive

    Sig’s favorite upcountry drive includes: Ocean Vodka and the Surfing Hawaii Goat Farm next door. Then a drive up windy Omaopio Road to Kula Hwy where you pass the Kula Farms farm stand (yum). Then on to Ulupalakua Ranch’s General Store for a fresh Maui-grown burger. After lunch, a stop at the winery across the street (the rest room is just behind it, so you’re walking right by anyway).

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    Craving Poke

    Maui to-do

    Of late it seems I’ve been craving poke. As I scroll through the pictures on my phone, I came across 3 recent pictures of poke. A-hem.

    What is poke?

    Poke is raw fish – usually ahi (tuna) – cut up, marinated and served very fresh. There are many varieties. A poke bowl is poke on warm rice. You always eat poke as soon as you buy it. Do not keep leftover for another meal. This is raw fish. Consume as soon as possible.

    My recent poke choices

    The first was a poke bowl at Gannon’s Red Bar. Gannon’s is one of my favorite restaurants. I love the setting in the club house of the Wailea Gold and Emerald Golf Course with a lovely view of the ocean and Molokini. Lunch there is always lovely, but so is the happy hour at the Red Bar. It runs I believe from 4-8pm. Depending on the number of visitors on the island, you will need to make reservations.

    Gannon’s Red Bar poke bowl – definitely the fanciest

    My second poke bowl was just last week. I was running errands and needed lunch to go. The poke bowl at Eskimo Candy was calling my name. Eskimo Candy is sort of out-of-the-way, located in an industrial area near Kihei’s middle and elementary schools. They have some of the freshest seafood on island, and THE best poke bowl. I got there after the lunch crowd, and they only had two kinds of poke (instead of the usual four). They put something on their rice – not sure what – but it’s good. And the seaweed salad gives it a punch of color and awesome texture.

    Eskimo Candy poke bowl – normally there would be 4 types, but after lunch they were down to 2 varieties plus seaweed salad

    Then yesterday Sig suggested I pick up fried chicken for a quick dinner from Foodland. It was on sale, 10 pieces for $9.99. I don’t know about you, but fried chicken doesn’t exactly pique my interest when…… everyone knows Foodland has the best poke……. And so, I picked up the shoyu (soy sauce) poke. So good.

    Foodland has THE BEST poke. Go try and buy

    I don’t know about you, but I’m craving poke. Tonight’s leftover pizza just isn’t working for me…

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    Upcoming Maui Events

    Maui to-do

    I keep seeing advertisements for upcoming Maui events, and I keep thinking – oh, I should post about that…. so here you go.

    36th Annual Kula Festival ~ Sept 21, 2019, 9AM-4PM. It’s roasting hot in Kihei this summer. Head upcountry and check out this one day event hosted by St John’s Episcopalian church.

    14th Annual Maui Ukulele Festival ~ Sept 28, 2019, 1PM-6PM at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. This is another fun FREE event. Bring a blanket or beach chairs and some games and enjoy a free ukulele concert. Food for purchase at local food trucks.

    Annual Maui Fair ~ October 3-6, 2019 at the War Memorial Complex. This is the only fair with rides on Maui, a favorite among locals. I always hear about the amazing local food here!

    Maui Marathon and Half Marathon ~ October 10, 5AM-2PM. There are people who come to Maui just for this event! Careful if you are driving from Kihei to Lahaina that day as there will be runners on the road!

    6th Annual Maui in Maui County Festival ~ November 1&2 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. This is an amazing place to stock up on Christmas presents and souvenirs. Everything is made locally. This year there are 140 local vendors signed up, plus food trucks and live music. If you’re on Maui, don’t miss this!

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    Upcountry Walk

    Maui to-do

    This weekend one of the kids needed to be upcountry for a 7 AM cross country run. To put this in perspective, we needed to leave our home in Kihei at 6:10 AM to meet at Grandma’s Coffee House which was their chosen meeting point. The coach chose one of my favorite upcountry walks for the run, so I made coffee and headed up the mountain with my athlete.

    We made fantastic time, getting there early. I left the teens to do their run and started off on a walk, stopping regularly to take pictures of trees, flowers and of course the view. It is just breath-takingly beautiful upcountry. And cool. I am always warm, so I particularly enjoyed cooling down a little from Kihei’s heat.

    The narrow, winding and hilly road is lined by traditional lava rock walls and offers gorgeous views.
    Look to the left, down the mountain, and see Kihei, the ocean and West Maui Mountains in the distance.
    upcountry walk
    Look to the right and enjoy the meadows on Haleakala’s volcanic slopes, looking for cows, horses and goats.
    upcountry walk
    It is the tail end of jacaranda season, but there were still blooms to enjoy.
    upcountry walk
    I always smile when I see these peeling trees shedding their bark.
    upcountry walk
    Colorful blooms along the side of the road
    upcountry walk
    These giant leaves were catching discarded jacaranda blooms.

    Grandma’s Coffee House

    After my beautiful walk (and the team’s run), we all gathered at Grandma’s Coffee House for some breakfast. This is a small mom and pop shop, one of few restaurants in the area and consequently a bit of a gathering place. The coach struck up a conversation with an older gentleman reading his paper. Turns out he’s Grandma’s son. His own son, Alfred Franco, now runs Grandma’s Coffee House. He talked story with us for a while, telling of the coffee growing/roasting they do.

    I had a small black Americano – one of the best coffees I’ve had in a while – and a pineapple coconut muffin. It hit the spot!

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    Video walk throughs of two condos

    Maui to-do

    I must admit, I am more active on Facebook than on this blog. If you are on Facebook, do follow us at Maui Oceanview Condos. Recently I did two video walk throughs of our condos (on Facebook), showing potential guests what the condos look like. The posts were pretty popular and generated a lot of hits. I thought my blog readers may enjoy seeing the condos also.

    Seeing a video of a condo gives you a different perspective than just looking at pictures. Now keep in mind – these are my amateur videos taken on my phone. Nothing fancy, in part a little blurry. But I hope you enjoy.

    Maui Kamaole I-103

    The first is of our Maui Kamaole I-103 condo. We still have some 2019 availability remaining for late summer and fall. Would love to have you come stay. This is a 1030 square foot condo with a large master bedroom with attached master bath and a very large living room which features a Murphy hide-a-bed (it folds in and out of the cabinetry). The lanai off the living room has a nice oceanview. This condo is in South Kihei, just up the hill from Kamaole 3 beach park and about a 10-15 minute walk from shops and restaurants.

    Video walk through of our Maui Kamaole I-103 condo

    Kihei Surfside 405

    The second video walk through is from our Kihei Surfside 405 condo. This is our one bedroom, 1 1/2 bath oceanfront property with the amazing ocean view. This condo has I think one or two weeks left late August/September. Note, it has no A/C, so do consider that before booking. Summer highs can be around 93, night-time lows around 83 that time of year. We usually get good trade winds, but if they go away, it’s humid. Of course we have high quality ceiling fans and extra fans. As you can see from our calendar, this condo is very popular with our guests.

    video walk through of our Kihei Surfside 405 condo

    I’ll take videos of our other two condos soon. We’d love to have you stay – check out our condos for your next Maui trip!

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    I just love those purple jacaranda trees!

    Maui to-do

    If you’ve driven upcountry Maui, you probably will know what I’m referring to: those beautiful purple flowering jacaranda trees.

    Jacaranda trees are actually not endemic to Hawaii but are native to South America. If you go for an upcountry drive, they are just starting to bloom. They are so beautiful.

    Maui’s only paint party place, Island Art Party, is located here in Azeka Shopping Center in Kihei. Yesterday’s paint theme was ‘upcountry drive’ which included some of the beautiful purple blooms. I’ve been eyeing up this painting for some time now and lucky me, my friend suggested we go painting.

    If you’ve never gone to one of these paint parties, no worries. It is a fun social event, where they give you step by step instructions on how to paint the painting (everyone paints the same thing). Worst case, you throw out the painting when you’re done. Best case, you have an amazing souvenir of your stay on Maui.

    Here are a few pictures of my painting. I’m about 90% happy with it. But I had a fantastic evening!

    Do check out their website for their event calendar. Island Art Party has new owners and is currently waiting for their liquor license (no alcoholic beverages available at this time). They are hoping it’s a matter of weeks. On the walls and unused tables you can admire upcoming art projects.

    Island Art Party
    Upcoming art projects – isn’t that sunset sail one (3rd from right on bottom) amazing?

    Seabury Craft Fair

    If you are on Maui around Mother’s Day, do check out Seabury Hall’s annual Craft Fair on Saturday, May 11th (the day before Mother’s Day). It’s a fantastic craft fair with juried crafts, a wonderful food section, kids games etc. But in my opinion the best thing about this craft fair – it’s the setting: beautiful bicoastal views, white tents under purple blooming jacaranda trees on a beautiful college prep campus. Don’t miss it! Parking across the road at the rodeo grounds is free, admission is $5.

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