Maui Day 1

We woke up at the ungodly hour of 5AM (Hawaiian time) because our bodies hadn't adjusted to the time change yet. Shortly after sunrise, Jim went for a run and I puttered around our rental house by taking a really rejuvenating shower and completely unpacking before we headed north to our favorite beach, the breathtaking Kapalua Bay. As you can see, it was as beautiful as I remembered it!  It's certainly no surprise that Kapalua Bay was once named America's best beach.

Kapalua Beach

Around noon, heavy clouds started to roll in (wtf?) and Jim and I began deliberating whether we should hang out a bit longer, or come up with an alternate plan for the afternoon. Of course, our grumbling bellies trumped that issue and we decided to check out Maui Tacos in Napili Plaza.

OMG...I'm so glad we did because it was so good! Maui Tacos puts my go to places from home like Moe's and Hot Harry's to shame (I was surprised to learn that there's even one in NYC!). The flour tortillas were really fresh and the salsa bar offered about 10 different options, including things like pineapple  passion salsa,  tomatillo salsa, habanero salsa, chopped cilantro, fresh jalapeno, diced onions, etc. I ordered a soft fish taco and a soft chicken taco (out of fear that a fish taco might not really be my thing). My worrying was for naught (as usual) because the fish taco was hands down my favorite. Now I feel like going there for lunch every day, except if we go back I'll only order one because I was pretty stuffed when we left!  I doubt Jim would object! As a side note, it was SO refreshing to dine al fresco after many months of cold, snowy weather at home.

My fish taco looked just like this one on the Maui Tacos website

We went back to the house for a bit to freshen up and the weather was still questionable, so we decided to do some shopping in Lahaina, a historic whaling village and one of the liveliest touristy spots on Maui. (Lahaina means "relentless sun" in Hawaiian.) On our honeymoon, we never spent any time here during the daylight hours, so it was nice to see things from a different perspective. 

Front Street at night

Front Street was a little busier than we remembered because a cruise ship was docked just off shore, but I still managed to make a few purchases. More importantly, we captured some cool shots of the famous Banyan tree in Courthouse Square.

It was planted in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lahaina's first Christian mission and now stands over 60 feet high and has 12 major trunks in addition to the huge core! To get an idea of how large this tree is consider that it stretches over a 200 foot area and offers shade for about 2/3 of an acre. When you're standing in the middle of the tree, you feel like you're in the jungle...pretty neat!

 

Given my profession, I also felt compelled to take some photos of the Old Lahaina Courthouse, which now serves as a visitor center.

As we were shopping, I noticed that I managed to sunburn the front half of my body even though we only spent 3 hours at Kapalua. That's what I get for only going tanning twice before we left! No matter, it will probably feel better tomorrow. I'll just have to work on the back half over the next few days so I don't end up looking like a zebra. By this time, we were completely worn out and both took a nap once we got back to the house. 

Jim woke me up around 7:00 because he was hungry and, after much cajoling, I got  up and began getting ready for dinner at Hula Grill on gorgeous Ka'anapali Beach. After putting our name in with the hostess, we scored a high-top table in the bar area and quickly placed our orders. Jim tried Barefoot Brew, one of the beers made by the Maui Brewing Company, whereas I indulged in some nice H2O as I am super dehydrated from yesterday's long day of travel. I was still pretty full from lunch, so I ate half of a chicken caesar salad and Jim had the Hawaiian version of fish and chips as we listened to the band play some familiar tunes like Rock with You by Michael Jackson.  Yes, we were a little surprised to
hear that instead of island fare!

Interior of Hula Grill from the restaurant's website

After returning to the house, we both fell asleep before 10:00 with visions of this wacky weather pattern disappearing dancing in our heads.