The Perfect Sunday

As Bryan so eloquently put it, yesterday was a 10.

We drove from Lahaina to Kihei to meet up with Bryan's parents at their condo.  We loaded up their rental car with a cooler and four beach chairs.  After a brief stop at Safeway to grab some hummus and crackers, we made our way to Kula to check out the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm.  I had a serious hankering for their goat cheese, and I knew it would be the perfect snack for watching Polo in Makawao.

At the farm we had a mini tasting of their more popular cheeses before selecting our favorites: the Maui Secret (a more drained Chevre marinated in virgin olive oil), Ole! (creamy gourmet chevre flavored with jalapenos, artichokes, lime juice and cilantro) and then of course, the Udderly Delicious (salted, plain chevre).

After cheese shopping, we headed back into the car and headed towards Makawao to the Oskie Rice Field on Olinda Road.

{the road to the polo field}

We pulled off onto the rodeo grounds and drove through the pastures until we reached the polo field.  After paying our admission (5 bucks per person), we rolled through the field.  Skirting the red polo "wall," we made our way to the far end of the field.  The woman who was in charge of admission told us that that was the best place to watch the match--the sun wouldn't be in our eyes.

We parked our car, unloaded our chairs and our picnic and got started on snacking while we waited for the game to start.

My friend Shaina joined us along with her friend who owns and rides horses in Launipoko.

{the spectators}

{my favorite spectator}

{the polo field bordered by trees with a great view of the ocean--only on Maui}

{empty polo field}

{lucky ladybug found in the grass during the game}

{Flagger behind one of the goal posts--they raise their flags high in the air when a team scores a goal}

{polo ponies with their tails bundled up}

{polo players in action}

{our very enthusiastic "narrator"}

During the entire game, this ragged cowboy drank down beer after beer and provided colorful commentary of the goings on of the polo match.  You can get an idea of how amusing he was in the following clip:

Isn't he great?  

{look at those clouds}

{looking back across the field towards the mountain}

{riders switched horses between "chukkas" or 7 minute playing periods--the game we watched had 4 chukkas}

{ponies galloping across the field}

The first game we watched was the United States Polo Association Players Cup.  Afterwards, there was a second game played by the Maui Polo Club members.  It wasn't played with the same level of athleticism as the more professional teams, but it was still a blast to watch.  The last time I watched polo was back in Mexico City, and even though the games I watched in Mexico were far more exciting with players galloping full blast across the field at every moment--I don't think I can say that I watched at a more beautiful spot than yesterday's game in Upcountry Maui.

We left the polo field after the second game finished, and headed back into Kihei for an epic meal at Cafe O'Lei.  It was my first visit the restaurant, but I plan on making the trip out to Kihei to eat there again.  Delicious!

As Bryan said: Sunday was a perfect 10.