Here’s some of the low-down from our Hawaii trip...

On Kauai, we stayed at Bed, Breakfast & Beach, in Hanalei: http://www.bestvacationinparadise.com/bandb.htm

It was a five-minute walk to Hanalei Bay – literally, five minutes and you were in the water! I really liked this place, and felt we got a lot for our money. The Bali Hai Suite upstairs is quite large (enough for a group of three or four), and has a partial view of the bay. Unfortunately, the co-owners are working on selling the place (for a cool 2.5 million).

The dining highlights in Hanalei were…

-       Hanalei Mixed Plate, a roadside café run by two Asian guys cooking stir-fry in industrial-sized woks. Fresh, super-cheap, super-tasty, Asian-style food – and it’s quick!

-       Sushi place – can’t remember the new name right now; used to be Sushi Blues; it’s the only sushi place in Hanalei. Excellent, fresh fish.

-       Bubba’s Burgers – I’m not really into burgers with white-flour buns, but I wanted to try it when I saw the beef was locally produced, range-fed, etc. The trappings were nothing special, but this was the best beef hamburger I’d had in many years! The patties come in a range of sizes …And, it’s cheap!

-       Papaya’s Natural Foods, a market like a tiny Whole Foods, in the center of town.

Maui 

We stayed on west Maui, in Honokawai, about a 15-minute drive north of downtown Lahaina. Most of the condos and resorts along that side are right on the beach. There was one winter “storm” while we were there, a day’s worth of rain and heavy winds; but even then, conditions were pretty mild.

(We didn’t go up to Haleakala, as the day we’d planned to do it was rainy, and all the weather reports for 10,000 ft. sounded terrible – 45 MPH winds, chill factor below zero, clouds, rain. We checked a webcam, and all we saw was a thick, windy-looking fog. Apparently it cleared up some before we left, though I think it’s very cold up there in winter no matter what.)

Our place was the Hale Kai resort; as I was telling Mom, we ended up with an upgraded unit with a decent bed, but were first placed in a second-rate unit with a really crappy bed! (I persisted politely until our needs were fulfilled.) There’s a crowd of retired, repeat customers at this place, most of whom know each other. They tend to reserve the best units early.

My first choice was the Kuleana resort, up the road from us: http://kuleanaresorts.com/rooms.html# It looked nice up-close, though I didn’t get to see inside. If we went back, I’d probably try that place, as it’s a short walk from a surf spot we liked.

Both are about halfway between downtown Lahaina and Honolua Bay, which I surmised was the premier snorkeling spot on west Maui. There are several reefs and mini-bays at Honolua, each of which hosts unique marine life. One reef is home to sea turtles! We didn’t catch any turtles there b/c the winds had been up, but we got very close to both turtles and whales while surfing.

I would’ve like to take a ½-day snorkel trip to Molokini, or a day trip to Lanai. Some of the quieter spots out there are supposedly full of turtles. (Since surfing was a high priority, the waves determined how we spent some of our time.)

Honolua can be really calm (best for snorkeling), but if it’s windy, the water murks up. If the surf’s up, then the outer breaks are crowded with surfers.

We had several good dinners:

-       Kimo’s is an experience; I don’t think it has changed much in 30 years! Its atmosphere makes the food taste even better.

-       Roy’s was very good, but overpriced for what you got.

-       Farmer’s Market and Deli, in Honokawai – another natural foods market, but with several prepared-lunch options too: salad bar, hot bar, sandwhiches, etc. We tried five of their dips and dressings. I especially loved their Maui Onion dressing and Cashew Carrot dip. (I’m gonna make this dip – it’s basically cashews, carrots, garlic, vegenaise, and Bragg’s.)

-       The real standout was A Saigon Café, in the small town of Wailuku, just east of the Iao Needle (we hiked around there too, up to a nearby ridge and around the valley a bit. Parts of the ridge trail were a bit like bushwacking, and I had to cover my thinned leg skin so as not to get cut).

Probably the highlight of the trip for me was the Masters of Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar concert (see my blog entry, http://dianalovejoy.com/dianalovejoy/blog/post/A-Dying-Art.aspx). They play every Wed. night at the Napili Kai Beach Resort. It was just over 2 hours, and tickets were $45 each – but worth every cent. I highly recommend it!

(A close second was our last day of surfing at “S-Turns” – glassy, fun, 4-6-foot waves, with an occasional bigger wave rolling through.)