Trip report April 3 through April 13 Part 1

Arrived safely on the third. Glad we had bought salads at O%26#39;Hare and brought snacks for the plane. Budget had to give us a bigger car because they were out of compacts. Same price so no problem until we had to park in our assigned space at the Punahoa. We got better at parking as the days went on. The studio 204 was a dream. Bright and clean, well stocked with all you would need and a view to die for. Kept having to go out on the the lanai and look to make sure it was real. Had a good dinner at Vietnamese Cuisine. Reminded me of A Saigon Cafe but in a nicer area and has a sign.

April 4 Up early and walked for about an hour. Had breakfast and lunch of leftovers on the lanai watching the turtles and the surfers. Turtles directly in front of the building off the rocks and surfers to the right. Later tore ourselves away and went to Wailea. Did the shops and the beach walk which I thought was nothing like Ka%26#39;anapali and more like the Marginal Way in Maine. Was not really impressed by the beaches in front of the resorts in Wailea. Guess I was expecting they%26#39;d look like Makena Beach. Had dinner at Cafe%26#39;O%26#39;Lei. We feel this was the best meal for the money on our trip. We didn%26#39;t have resevations. Would reccomend, they were packed. Food was resonably priced several entrees under $20 and they gave you a house salad with your entree! Service was excellent and friendly.

April 5-Up early and walk. Breakfast on the lanai and off to Makawao so Mrs. S. could get her Shere Reeve t-shirt. Shere signs them and Mrs. S. has 2 from previous years and now another although you may want to call ahead if you want them signed because she%26#39;s not always there. We had to go back on another day but that was o.k. Ate lunch at the Courtyard Cafe which is another ritual and bought some gifts. Went back to Kihei to see Trevor Jones at ';Life%26#39;s a Beach'; happy hour. We met Trev when we first went to Maui and I was looking for shanty singers. Trevor is a charming Welchman, who earns his living singing bar songs at various places on the island. He%26#39;s at ';Life%26#39;s a Beach'; on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays for Happy Hour. If you stop by say Shanty Bob says hello and buy him a beer. Had a delicious dinner at Sensei and arrived in time to have 25% taken off the bill.

April 6- Up early and walk. Lots of surf and surfers. Went to Charlie Young Beach. Not crowded and not seaweedy. Off to Hilo Hatties and Cold Stone Creamery-Yum. Back to get dressed for Wailea nights at Mulligan%26#39;s on the Blue. Excellent music and very intimate setting. Food was o.k. only because the fish was overdone. The appatizer and dessert were great. Maybe you should only get fried fish in an Irish pub. I would reccomend this entertainment for those who like Hawaiian music and there is some hula, but don%26#39;t want to deal with the luau scene.

April 7-Up early and walk . Off to Hana after breakfast. Having done most of it on previous trips, we went directly to Kahanu Garden. Did see a Hummer that thankfully was going our way and stopped. The Gardens are beautiful and the Heiau is the biggest in the State. It is a lovely location with beautiful glimpses of the Hana coastline. There was a shower but it stopped in time for a picnic at the black sand beach of Hana Bay. Stopped in Paia for a snack and had Da Kitchen take out for dinner. Very tasty.

April 8-Up early and quick breakfast as we were on our way to the Swap Meet. Great place to do your shopping. Met some nice men who do wood carving and a really nice lady who has written two children%26#39;s books about the sea turles. All the vendors were nice. Good fruit and vegetables, too. Ate leftovers from Da Kitchen for lunch and went swimming. Back to go to Roy%26#39;s. When you make your reservations make sure you are calling the right restaurant. I didn%26#39;t and we still got in but it did get me '; the look'; from Mrs. S. She had delicious fish. We shared a salad. I had o.k. shrimp. The souffle was a knock out. Well worth it. Since I had read enough reviews to know what it was like, we weren%26#39;t bother by the lack of view or the noise.

To be continued...

Trip report April 3 through April 13 Part 1

Thank you for the great details. I especially like the tips re: Mulligans entertainment and the swap meet.

Trip report April 3 through April 13 Part 1

to be cont.......... oooooooh you%26#39;re killing me!!! This is almost as bad as watching ';lost'; and seeing those dreaded words.

Don%26#39;t blame you a bit though,.....really glad you%26#39;re remembering what you ate and where you ate it which must be a bit more challenging given you still must be feeling the jet lag. Can%26#39;t wait to read the rest!

Shanty- thanks so much! About the Heiau at Kahana...could you see it well and get good pics? I have heard people complain that they could not get close enough to it or that it was blocked by trees. I want to go there next week!

Herbal, You can see the Heiau very clearly but it is so big that you have to get quite far back to get a decent shot. The foliage in front was not that tall. Its very impressive and Mrs. S. and I always feel that these structures are very moving, spiritual ';thin'; places. Hopefully when you are there there won%26#39;t be a lot of folks making a lot of fuss and you can feel it too.

Is the heiau really bigger than the one on the Big Island? Place of Refuge?

Thanks for the great info. Just curious, what is a ';Shere Reeve t-shirt';?

MR. S.,

Sounds like it was a nice relaxing trip, not too busy!

Thanks for part one. Do we have to wait an entire week for part 2?

Thanks, Shanty! I am going to go! I was also wondering about Shere Reeve. Artist?

Wow! Shanty you know how to do Maui! It sounds like you stayed at Punahoa beach apts - I have always been curious about them - would you recommend them? All my favorite restuarants! You are making me hungry for some Da Kitchen or Vietnamese food! I love Sansei and here%26#39;s a tip for next time, Monday nights are 50% off the first hour they are open - you need to get in line about 45 min early.

Thanks for the report.

Shere Reeve is an artist who lives in the Makawao area and sells her art out of her shop there. You can check out her stuff at sreeve.com. Because she will sign the shirts, it is a really special Maui souvenier. Mrs. S. always says its like wearing art.

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