Hana on Maui: The Last Day

I took Hana to the airport this morning, and both Bryan and I were sad to see her go.  We have really enjoyed having her here, and I have had a blast showing her around Maui and introducing her to my favorite places as well as to all of my friends.

Since yesterday was Hana's last day, we let her decide what she wanted to do.  She told me she wanted to have one last Lava Flow and go back to Kobe's for more sushi.  Done and done!

But first, we headed into Lahaina to finish shopping for gifts that Hana planned on taking back home for her friends and our family.

{a pua to put behind Hana's ear}

{a Mango Colada with lunch at Kimo's}

{stopping to check out the huge Banyan Tree on Front Street}

This banyan tree was planted in 1873 by Christian missionaries to commemorate their 50th anniversary of their work in Lahaina.  The tree has now grown to be 60 feet tall and stretches across an entire city block--about 2/3 of an acre.

Over the weekend, local artists set up their wares under the shadow of the banyan tree branches.

{Tree Posing It!}

{the island of Lanai in the background}

After our hot afternoon of shopping, Hana and I came back up to the house and relaxed until dinner.

{Hana in her new Roxy dress}

{Hana rocking her seashell bangles that I got for her}

The three of us drove down to Kobe's and got a spot at the sushi bar.

{Hana's last Lava Flow}

{sushi chef preparing our dinner}

{Hana rocking her rookie chopsticks}

{Success!}

{salmon nigiri}

{rainbow roll}

After an epic dinner of sushi at Kobe's, we came back up to the house to play some games.  We played a few rounds of Sorry, a full game of Uno and a couple rounds of BS.

{the sweet game of REVENGE!}

I had to capture Bryan's terrible pour.  My glass is on the left, his is on the right.  Someone was trying to bogart the Waterstone Cabernet!  He was wrong to do so, but I can understand.  Our 2009 Waterstone was amazing!  What a wonderful purchase from the Kimo's wine sale.  Yum!

We stayed up and played games until 1 in the morning.  We had so much fun.  All of us got amped up playing game after game, and our neighbors could hear us cat calling, jeering and generally causing a raucous.  Will heard us playing games and came upstairs to hang out.  We ended up pulling the Sorry boardgame back out to play another round with Will sitting in.

It was a great last night with Hana, and we look forward to her coming back out again!

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Hana on Maui: A Day Spent Upcountry

Oh rejoice, one and all, the Green Monster (aka my putt-putt of a '95 Toyota Corolla) has been resurrected and has been running like a dream.  Thank goodness, because Hana and I took a chance and caught a lucky break when we decided to throw caution to the wind and spend the day driving all over the other side of the island and taking the Green Monster upcountry!

We began our morning with a stop at Leoda's (now serving breakfast!).

{Hana in line to order at the counter}

{the glowing display case filled with sweet treats and freshly baked bread}

{a veggie benedict on homemade veggie patties with poached eggs and breakfast potatoes}

{Hana's humungous egg and bacon sandwich}

After our breakfast of epic proportions, we waddled back into the car and took off down the highway towards Wailuku for our first tourist attraction: Iao Valley.

Driving towards the valley, Hana immediately noticed the knot of clouds we were headed towards.  It's best to visit Iao Valley early on during the day before the clouds overhead open up and unleash a storm.      However, it's the regular rain that keeps the valley emerald green and lush.

Iao Needle (pictured below) is one of the most recognizable Maui landmarks.  The rock outcropping is 1,200 feet and was once used as a lookout by Hawaiian warriors during the war with King Kamehameha.

{Hana at Iao Needle}

The park's paved path leads you up towards a lookout to the Iao Needle or you can follow the path down through a manicured loop of Hawaiian plants and down towards the river.

{heading up}

{sister selfie at the top}

{photo op along the rainforest trail along the water}

After seeing the sights and pointing some tourists toward the trailhead (there's a great hike past the lookout), Hana and I got back into the car and headed toward the slopes of Haleakala crater for our next stop: the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm.

{protea}

The drive up to the farm was a celebration: the Green Monster made it uphill without overheating!  Cool mountain air spilled in through the open windows, along with the scent of eucalyptus.  We drove further up the base of Haleakala, where it seemed as if we were driving up into the clouds.

When we rolled up to the entrance of the farm, we got our kama'aina discount (my beat up car plastered with stickers from local restaurants looks very, very local) along with a map and three sprigs of fresh lavender.

We parked our car on the upper slope of the farm, then headed downhill into the gardens.

{Hana resting at the Secret Garden}

This was a first visit to the Lavender Farm for me as well, and I loved the peace, quiet and coolness of this tranquil place.  The whole farm hummed with the business of bees and there were flowers and plants of every kind--not just lavender.

Well kept trails meandered through patches of lavender and landscaped pocket gardens.

{more protea plants}

{Hana with sunflowers in the vegetable garden}

Throughout the farm, there are lookout points punctuated with sculptures and gorgeous views of the Maui valley.

{praying with Buddha}

We began our walk of the farm by heading downhill, passing through the vegetable garden, then climbing up along the Peaceful Path above the farm office and crafting area towards the upper fields of the farm.

{the photo doesn't do it justice, but this is the view of the Maui valley from the Ali'i's Landing}

{panorama from Ali'i's Landing}

{yoga with Buddha}

{walking back down the farm}

{looking up towards the top of the lavender farm}

After our walk through the farm grounds, we went into the gift shop where we may or may not have bought some amazing gifts for some amazing people back in California (shh!).

We may have also gotten something for ourselves...Lavender Lemonade!

{refreshing!}

We left the farms just as a soft drizzle descended from further up the mountain.

We drove back down through Kula and headed for Makawao, the quaint cowboy town.  Hana and I walked up and down main street and took a rest at the Aloha Cowboy store.

We met up with Bryan and our friends (just finished playing the disc golf course up at Poli Poli) at Polli's Mexican Restaurant for chips, guac, tacos and burritos before heading back to Lahaina.

On our way home, we made a second stop to Leoda's so Hana could pick up a sweet treat for later (chocolate macadamia nut pie).  I can't wait to try it!

Now, offline for movie night!

Goodnight!

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Hana on Maui: First Day Car Troubles

My little sister flew in from Lake Tahoe yesterday.  Her first Maui stop?  Starbucks.

{just got lei'd, hanging onto a strawberry smoothie}

On our way back home, the Green Monster overheated.

{pulled over waiting for the tow truck}

{Peter from 808 Towing to the rescue}

{Peter unloading the Green Monster back at home}

On a side note: I had the best experience with 808 Towing.  Peter was prompt and professional, and pleasant to hang out with on our drive back to Lahaina.  He was also the same tow truck driver that I saw on my way to the airport that was fishing a white pickup truck from out of the ocean at Olowalu.  Seriously, click on the link.  You'll want to see the photos attached to the Maui News article.

After getting home, Hana and I took showers and then walked down to Front Street for a late lunch and drinks on the water at Kimo's.

{Hana with her first Maui Lava Flow}

And after our rough day, I decided to go big on dairy.  We ordered a slice of Peanut Butter Hula Pie: a huge wedge of peanut butter ice cream dotted with Reese's peanut butter cups, laced with a fudge swirl on an Oreo cookie crust, topped with hot fudge and whipped cream.

I had a tummy ache afterwards, but it was totally worth it.

Hana and I toured Front Street, and then headed back up the hill.  On our way up, Bryan came down to shuttle us back up to the top on the Vespa.

{Hana's first scooter ride!}

When we got home, we got to introduce Hana to T-Bone, and then we had a game night (Sorry and Skip Bo).

Bryan and I got up early this morning to take the Geen Monster to the mechanic, we rented a new car while mine is out of commission getting repaired (another Toyota Corolla), and now we are getting ready for lunch and the beach!  Yeehaw!!

PS: the best part of having to rent a car while yours is out of order?  The air conditioning!!

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