My friend A. and I took an epic day trip through Maui's Upcountry. We began our day at the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, followed by a tasting at the Maui Winery at Ulupalakua Ranch, lunch at Polli's Mexican Restaurant in Makawao and then some major shopping at Walmart and Ross in Kahului.
At ten in the morning, I hopped in "Big Red," A.'s monstrous red truck and we thundered up north to the lower slopes of Mount Haleakala. The Surfing Goat Dairy Farm was practically empty when we rolled into the parking lot.
The Dairy Farm has a covered picnic table protected by recycled sails from kiteboards. A line of beat up surfboards are used as an impromptu bar for more snacking.
Since we were the only visitors at the farm, A. and I got a private tour of the farm. Our first stop was to feed the kids.
The kids line up, thrusting their heads and horns through the fence to get in on some alfalfa.
The tour included a stop at the milking station. I was charmed by information on goat milk production handwritten with chalk on the barn wall.
After our tour A. and I treated ourselves to a flight of 6 soft cheeses.
The Mandalay was a blend of apple bananas and curry. It was winner of Best US Goat Cheese Spread in 2004. Purple Rain is a mix of dried lavenders. Mango Supreme is made from fresh mangoes and mango chutney. I loved, loved, loved the Mandalay and Mango Supreme.
O Sole Mio, a blend of sun-dried tomatoes, was my least favorite of the batch. It won Best US Goat Cheese Spread in 2005. The Garden Fantasia, fresh garden herbs and the winner of Best US Goat Cheese Spread in 2006 was fresh, but nowhere near as awesome as the Rolling Green, fresh garlic chives and 2nd place National Award Winner in 2005.
We weren't the only fans. Ramses, a resident farm cat, also really liked the samples we gave him.
Yup, we ate EVERYTHING.
We left the goat farm and headed to the Ulupalakua Ranch to the winery. The heart of the ranch is located on the leeward slopes of Haleakala.
A. and I were bad tourists and didn't learn a lot about this place. We skipped the tour and just started tasting the wine.
A farmhouse on the winery grounds. I assume they do something wine-related inside. We don't know because we skipped the tour.
We took photos by this huge tree instead...
...and with this drunken wooden man.
Then we crossed the street to the Ulupalakua General Store where we posed with other wooden men.
After our impromptu photo shoot we got back into Big Red and began driving to Makawao for lunch. The views and terrain are amazing higher up, so I stuck my arm out of the truck to snap some photos as we drove along.
A. and I fell in love with this hand built lava stone wall. It crawled along the rolling hills for miles. We had to pull over to get a few photos.
Trusty Big Red with the Lava Stone Wall:
The day was long, the adventures plentiful and the bounty was rich (a bottle of wine from the winery, many, many household goods from Ross and Walmart).
I came home at sunset with my arms full, but my house sure looks good with its new additions. Will post photos soon.
Until next time...
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