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Trip '09 – Week 2 Plans

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Cindy's JournalLast week I posted our initial plans for week 1 of our February trip to Maui. With making reservations last Friday for an overnight stay in Hana for our second week, it’s now time to share our week 2 plans.

Sunday, February 22nd
At the moment, Sunday is looking to be another beach day for us, although we normally don’t hit the beaches on the weekend. You see, unlike what some folks think about people living in Hawaii, they don’t actually spend each and every day at the beach. With the high cost of living the island life, many people work two jobs during the week, which makes the weekends with the ohana so special. Those weekends are generally when many residents make it out for some fun in the sun themselves.
We’ll probably be doing laundry at some point on Sunday, too, which would make this a pool day instead. Yes, we do laundry on vacation, one of the drawbacks of a two week vacation. It’s either that or packing two weeks of clothes, and trust me, we do not want the hassle of any more luggage than we already have. :)
Monday, February 23rd
Day one of our return to Hana. It will be our third time making the trip, but only the first time driving ourselves. Since we’ve seen many of the popular sights already, we’re not going to be in any kind of a hurry to fight the crowds, opting to take our time and finding the areas that are lesser known.
Also, as mentioned on Friday, we’ll be spending the night at the Hotel Hana-Maui, which will certainly include dinner at Ka’uiki. If there weren’t so many other great things we’ll be doing this trip, staying in Hana would be the hands down highlight of these two weeks.
Tuesday, February 24th
One of the benefits of staying overnight in Hana is that we’ll be able to see the sunrise over the ocean in East Maui. Right now, I’m thinking of greeting the sun from Hana Bay. After that, we’ll probably head over to the O’heo Gulch for some photos, which we didn’t visit on our trip to Hana last year. The rest of the day is taking our time getting back to Ka’anapali and stopping at places we might have missed on Monday.
Wednesday, February 25th
The day itself on Wednesday is pretty open right now. Possibly another whale cruise, a trip to the Maui Ocean Center, or maybe a day in Lahaina. The evening, however, is reserved for one of our traditions each trip, a Luau. We’re sticking with our regular Ka’anapali Sunset Luau as we have the past two trips, which is also right on the grounds of the Sheraton.
Thursday, February 26th
Another day at the beach on Thursday, to get the finishing touches on our tans before returning home to the final weeks of winter in Chicago. The evening will be our dinner cruise this trip, which we normally do on the last night, but will come a day early this time (and for good reason).
Friday, February 27th
The last full day is always a somber one, so we’ll likely just take it easy during the day and not try not to dread going home. We’ll probably do the laundry again, just so we won’t have to when we get home. In spite of the mood of leaving Maui yet again, we’ll be ending this trip on a very high note. Friday is the HAPA concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, and seeing what a magical night the show was last year, it will be the perfect end to our vacation.
Saturday, February 28th
Alas, our wonderful vacation has to end sometime. With the changes to our flight plans this trip, it will be interesting to see how it works out. Usually, we take the red-eye home, which means requesting a late checkout and then driving around with a car full of luggage. This time, we’ll have less time to kill and possibly less of an impact on our normal sleep patterns by the time we get home.
Some Vacation, Eh?
Kinda of makes you wish you were coming with us, doesn’t it? While not intended to brag or boast about how great our trips are, I hope these plans give you a good sense of just how many great things there are to do in Maui. To some, this list might sound a little light, or a few might even thing we’re trying to do too much. It certainly is a balancing act, and we’ve been pretty happy with our past trips as far as not burning ourselves out.
It truly is better to pace yourself when visiting Maui, and accept the fact that you’re not going to see everything in a single trip. That might not sound promising, but the reality is that you just need to keep coming back, like we do. Trust us, after you’ve visited Maui and have seen all the magic it has to offer and how it changes you, that vacation savings jar at home becomes a lot more popular. :)
Mahalo.

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Favorite Maui Moments from 2008

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Usually about this time of year, people start reflecting back on everything that has happened in the last 12 months. Actually, they probably started doing that a week ago and I’m just a little behind. :)

Anyway, it’s been a pretty good year for us, and with all this hype and excitement about our upcoming Maui trip in February, I thought I’d take a moment to relive some of our favorite memories of our trip in April, 2008. From the looks of the last post of our ‘08 Trip Journal, I think I meant to do this months ago. Oh well, better late than never.
Our Favorite Maui ‘08 Moments
So here’s the list of our favorites from 2008. I thought about putting then in order, but that’s too hard to decide. Honestly, they’re all so memorable.

Whale Tail - CroppedMeeting the Whales

We can’t describe what an amazing experience it was to finally see the whales in Maui for the first time. We came into this trip knowing that April was the tail end (pardon the pun) of whale watching season, which I think made seeing quite a few still around that much more special.
Spending the morning whale watching on my birthday was pretty nice, but if I really had to choose, I’d have to say this view of the whales 3 days later was my favorite. Going back in February is going to be such a larger whale watching experience, these first encounters may seem pale in comparison. However, seeing the whales for the first time will always be special to us.
HAPA in Concert
Seeing one of our favorite Hawaiian music artists live in concert had to be one of our all-time favorite moments on Maui. The HAPA concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on Maui in 2008 was such an amazing experience, and just like seeing the whales on our next trip, we’re overjoyed to see HAPA again in February.

Maluaka BeachSouth Maui Beach Hopping

While the skies weren’t cloudless the entire day, we had a blast beach hopping on South Maui during our second week. We make a point each trip to visit at least 3 new beaches, but not before this year did we decide to do it all in one day!!!
It felt like heaven for both Cindy and I, for different reasons. Cindy had yet another day in the sun, that is when she wasn’t dodging the passing cloud cover. Me, well, I probably walked close to 3 miles of sandy beaches that day, including the aptly named Big Beach in Makena. In just one afternoon, I probably shot over 500 photos of all three beaches we visited, and had a blast doing it.

Hula Pie - BeforeThe Best Birthday Cake

Actually, it wasn’t really a cake, it was much better. Having a nice slice of Hula Pie at Leilani’s on my birthday was probably the best birthday celebration that I could have wished for. I mean, there was no candles to blow out, but when you’re already on the beautiful island of Maui, do you really need to make a wish?
I think another part of my birthday celebration that made it extra special was the fact that I was sharing it with the two most important people in my life, my loving wife Cindy and my wonderful mom. Being able to take her along this trip and give her a first-hand look at why we love Maui as much as we do was very rewarding for us. She enjoyed it, too. :)

Inside the Lava TubeOur Return to Hana

It was nice to make it back to Hana this trip, and the tour we chose this time was so much better. Not only was lunch at the Hotel Hana Maui very nice, we had so much more time to spend seeing the sights and getting closer to everything than we did the first time.
Climbing down the rocks at Wailua Falls to get shots like this were fun, but I don’t think much compared to my excitement shooting at the lava tubes Waianapanapa State Park this time. Actually going into the lava tubes was another thing we didn’t do last time. I seriously felt like I was a kid again. After going in first with my digital camera (and taking photos like the one of the left), I literally ran up the rock stairs to where Cindy was using the video camera and ran all the way back down to shoot video of it, too. What a great time!
Honorable Mention
While the above are the big moments from this year’s trip, there were a few smaller ones that we’ll always remember, too. One of the two that come to mind right away are the little baby kittens that we saw near the walkway at our building at the Sheraton. They were four of the cutest little black cats that we’ve ever seen, and while we’d seen the mother cat on the property for years now, we didn’t know she was starting a family. It became a ritual near the end of the trip to stop and look for them whenever we walked past.
What do cats at a Maui resort eat, you might be thinking? That sort of leads to the second quick moment I wanted to share. Beside from other guests leaving leftover mahi mahi and various scraps, I had a run-in with the mother cat of my own. A friend of mine had just become a grandfather while we were away on Maui, and I decided to call and congratulate him (he
and his wife are Maui fans, too).
I was standing in the open air lobby on the 8th floor of the Sheraton (here’s the view, by the way) talking to him on my cell phone, when out of the blue, I see the mother black cat racing up the palm tree not 10 feet away from me. Now, the palm trees outside this view aren’t the giant palms that you see along the coast, but smaller ones planted alongside the cliff at Black Rock. In any case, not sure what the cat was doing, I kept an eye on her while talking on the phone.
Just a few moments later, the cat came back down the tree with, of all things, a green gecko in her mouth! Of all the times not to have my camera. Needless to say, I had a hard time keeping a straight face when replaying the story for Cindy. It was too funny.
Such Great Memories
While it isn’t possible to say that one of our trips was the best out of all of them, our visit to Maui in ‘08 definitely created some of the most wonderful memories we’ve had. There were a few rough moments at the end when the thought of having to leave started to settle in, but that’s expected on these trips that are so amazing.
Did you get a chance to visit Maui in ‘08? Tell us some of your favorite moments this year.

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Travel Tradition: Live Entertainment

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Our Travel Traditions series this week brings us to a tradition that’s not always easy to plan for, Live Entertainment. In addition to attending a luau or two each trip, we still like to find something that’s happening during our trip such as a festival, a concert, things like that. Sure, there are running shows like Warren & Annabelles, ‘Ulalena, and a host of others. While we haven’t seem many of these yet, we’re sure they’re very entertaining.

What we like to look for, though, is something more local, having that sense of community, and especially if it’s being held to benefit local organizations. Here are a few that we’ve been fortunate to attend over the past years.

Taste of Lahaina 001

2007 – Taste of Lahaina
Here in Chicago, we have an annual event called the Taste of Chicago, which has been going on for close to 30 years now. Well, in turns out that Maui has it’s own version, which is held in Lahaina. We were excited to learn that it was going to be held during the weekend of our Sept. ‘07 trip, although we had seen the different dates reported by different sources.
The Taste of Lahaina is put together by the Lahaina Town Action Committee, who are the same folks that bring to you the Lahaina Halloween celebration, the Lighting of the Banyan Tree, and many other events. It’s a two night affair, usually Saturday and Sunday, and features booths from local restaurants, games for the keiki, and live music from local favorites. It’s open to both locals and visitors, and we had a blast.
We only made it out for the first night, but still heard a lot of great music. Artists performing on the night we were there included Brother Noland, Beach 5, and Sean and Robi. The event was MC’d by personalities from KPOA, and at one point during the show, she asked for applause from people that came from the different islands, one island at a time. We thought that was neat, seeing (actually, hearing) that folks from across the islands had come to attend the event.
2008 – HAPA at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center
The following year, we were ecstatic to learn that one of our favorite Hawaiian artists, HAPA, was going to be playing at the Castle Theatre at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center during our trip in April. It was one of our all-time highlights on Maui, and the show was absolutely incredible.
It was our first time visiting the MACC, and the event featured a nice outdoor setup, again MC’d by KPOA, prior to the concert. There was food and drinks available, as well as a few merchants with arts and crafts they were selling. We also had time to walk through one of the art exhibits at the MACC before the show, which featured different art projects that students from different grade schools in the area had put together. Every group from kindergarten through high school was featured, and many of the pieces consisted of everyday household items, such as soda cans, cardboard boxes, pipecleaners, and other such items. It looked like the students had a lot of fun putting those together.
As for the Castle Theatre itself, it was a very small, quaint and intimate setting for such a magical concert. From talking to people in the courtyard before the show and during the intermission, we found that many of the patrons were local residents who frequent these shows regularly. It was a shame that more visitors to the islands hadn’t known about this show, since they really missed out.
2009 – Whale Day Celebration
As mentioned last week, part of this year’s plans will be spending the day at Kalama Park in Kihei at the annual Whale Day Celebration. The three week festival, as always, is hosted by the Pacific Whale Foundation. In addition to the Whale Regatta Race, there will also be a parade in the morning and live music in the afternoon and into the evening.
This will be our first year attending the event, but we’ve heard from others that it is a lot of fun. The entire festival benefits the work of the Pacific Whale Foundation, which is centered on Maui and has a number of programs for research, education, and conservation on the islands and throughout the world. A very good cause in our eyes.
Share Your Experiences
Have you been to any of these events in previous years, or have similar ones that you’d like to share? We’re hoping, at some point, to join the Lahaina Halloween festivities as well as see the lighting of the Banyan Tree, but we know there are so many other great events and festivals on Maui all year round.
Tell us about your favorites.
The Travel Traditions Series here at the blog features our habits and rituals that we have for various aspects of our frequent trips to the island of Maui. Getting to know the island so well after all these years, having a few traditions adds a little continuity to our visits, while still giving us so much flexibility to enjoy many new things each trip.

To follow along with future editions of our Travel Traditions Series, be sure to subscribe to our blog feed to get the latest posts and updates.

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Seeing HAPA in concert a second time, pinch me

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Last year, when we found out that HAPA was going to be playing the Castle Theater at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center the same week we were going to be in Maui, we were ecstatic. It was truly a magical night, not to mention the fact it was only 3 days after spending my birthday in Maui.

So imagine my joy this afternoon at lunch when I’m checking Maui News on my mobile phone and find out that HAPA will be back at the Castle Theater for a show on February 27th, the last Friday of our next vacation. Way cool.

This will be our third trip in a row where we’re lucky enough to see live performances by well known Hawaiian artists. In September of 2007, we were in Maui for the Taste of Lahaina (just realized I need a link for that and never uploaded those photos), where we saw Beach 5, Brother Noland, and Sean and Robi. Anytime you can make live, local music a part of your vacation just adds to the memories of it all.

Have any stories of concerts you’ve been to on Maui or in Hawaii? We’d love to hear them.

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Magic Isle, Magic Mele, HAPA at the MACC

Sunday, April 20th, 2008

Magic, that’s really the best way I can describe the HAPA show at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center last night. True magic.

We’ve been Hapa fans for a little over two years now, ever since our first trip to Maui. We have just about all of their CDs and as soon as we discovered that they were going to be on Maui during our trip, we knew it was going to be the highlight of our vacation, and indeed it was.

The combination of Barry Flanagan and Nathan Kawai Aweau (braddah Nate on stage) making up HAPA is such a delightful live show. Their light banter and jokes between the two of them, as well as their reminiscing about stories from previous shows along their tours displayed a lot of the chemistry they have together. Throw in Charles Ka’upu as the chanter and narrator of the show and explaining some of the meanings behind the songs, and you have a complete package. Keeping with Hawaiian tradition and adding the visual poetry to their music (as Barry put it), former Miss Aloha Malia Petersen added her beauty and talent by performing hula dances for most of the songs in the two sets they did. Not sure if that’s their standard MO or something special for being back on the islands, but it was a wonderful addition. They played two sets, each about an hour long, with an intermission in between.

It was our first time at the MACC, so we didn’t really know what to expect. They had about 3 dozen tables setup in the courtyard and various booths of people and grills selling food and drinks before the show. There was also live entertainment and hula for about 90 minutes prior to the doors opening. The show itself was in the Castle Theater at the MACC, which was a very nice, small and intimate setting for such a popular group on the islands. Everyone there had a truly great time.

Afterwards, Barry, Nathan and Charles were right out front signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. We had a long drive home ahead of us, so we took a pass on that, but it was still great to see them so open and accessible to everyone.

It was such a memorable night, we won’t soon forget it. If you ever have a chance to see HAPA live, whether in Hawaii or on one of their world tours, don’t miss it.

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