ALOHA MAUI!!!
After almost 9 years, we finally made it back to the Valley Isle. Wait, didn't you just go to Hawaii last summer? you ask. Well, yes. But a Westin Vacations offer arrived in the mail just weeks after our return from our last trip, and still high on plumeria fumes and poke, we decided the package was so good we couldn't afford not to go. And having put a non-refundable deposit down, we were more or less forced to follow through. So we landed at the Westin Nanea Villas, part of the Westin Vacation Industrial Complex in Ka'anapali.
We had a pretty good home base with a condo-style room with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen/living room area. The grocery stores and gear-rental shops of Lahaina are just a short drive away, so we weren't Resort Prisoners (see Grand Wailea and Cabo). There is a ridiculously large pool and a lenient floaty policy, which means the inflatable dolphin from Palm Springs Spring Break 2016 had an encore career this summer. And if you tire of the Nanea pool, you can walk about 10 minutes along the beach and enjoy the equally sprawling pool at the Westin Ocean Villas, or the large pool with the swirling & allegedly 3 story water slide at the OTHER Westin next to that. Or, yes, you could go to the actual beach, but I never had any takers on that one.
Also, they partner with the Sheraton at Black Rock, so we had a base for our snorkeling expedition. After getting pummeled in the south swell, we definitely needed extra towels and a shower/pool for rinsing off. There was too much surf for photos, but once again, I nearly swam straight into a sea turtle there. And it was great boogie boarding:
Because I enjoy protest and whining - and because Daddy's distaste for sunscreen necessitates some non-beach and pool days - we took one day to visit some old favorites from 2009. First up, Paia:
We stopped for brunch at the Paia Inn, which has grown a fair amount since our last visit. They now have a cafe, a lobby and "lifestyle store" serving as the entrance on the main road through town, and a few more rooms. The pedicab sadly is nowhere to be found (we asked permission to go walk the grounds), but the secret path to the beach and outdoor shower are still there.
Because Brennan suffered through some boutique shopping, there was a shave ice reward at the end of the rainbow.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, it was time to head upcountry, so we could...EAT MORE.
Next stop, Surfing Goat Dairy.
Since Lucie loves all sorts of cheesy foods (Mac'n'cheese, cheese pizza, grilled cheese, cheese ravioli, cheese quesadillas, string cheese, shredded cheese, etc), and Brennan loved snacking here as a toddler, I thought it would be a hit.
I was wrong. Oh well, more goat cheese for the adults.
Pro-tip: all the to-go stuff in jars freezes well, and once frozen, can go through TSA check points in your carry-on.
Onward and upward to Haleakala National Park! We stopped to stamp the kids' National Park passports and layer up at the visitor center, and then it was onto the crater and summit.
While Lucie did not like the goat cheese and the winding mountain road to the top, she did quite enjoy taking the goat kid stuffy she sweet-talked us into buying to the apparent edge of the world.
And Brennan really wanted to hold the Observatory in his hand, so here you go:
And who can resist a good "then and now" photo series?
We had a great time on Maui - it only rained once, and that was during the obligatory time share pitch (turns out that was the catch with the great package deal). We took advantage of our big space to have some meals in and movie nights, and we had some fantastic fish dinners at beachfront restaurants. Lucie liked watching a local dance school perform at Whaler's Village, and Brennan got a gelato dish too big for him to finish. I bought a new swimsuit at my favorite little shop in Paia, and Daddy got a lot of shorts, because he forgot to pack any. And our hybrid rental car needed just one stop for gas, on the way back to the airport.
But it's time to hop aboard Hawaiian Air, and head over to Kona for part 2. Since the kids liked the hotel pool most of all, so here are some parting shots from that -
A hui hou, Maui - mahalo!
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