Maui Day 4

Today, we spent most of the day in beautiful South Maui because Jim had an early afternoon tee time at the Wailea Golf Club (Emerald Course). You may be surprised to learn that I think South Maui is a tad more beautiful than West Maui especially since we've stayed on the west side two years in a row now.

Let me explain...while South Maui has slightly newer resorts and is a little quieter, West Maui is quite simply where all of the best activities take place! Most of the sailing, snorkeling and whale watches leave from Ka'anapali or Maalea and, in our opinion, the best restaurants and beaches are definitely on the west side. Plus, West Maui offers both beach and mountain views. However, a few aspects of South Maui really stand out, including Wailea Beach, the gorgeous beach path and the upscale Shops at Wailea.

Wailea Beach

After Jim left to golf, I bought lunch at a beach side cafe, aptly named "Snorkels," and continued to sun myself. All of a sudden I saw two cameramen flashing away and I knew they must have their sights on a celebrity. After a little investigation, another beachgoer and I learned that it was Kathy Griffin. I was a little bummed because she's considered D-list, but it was exciting nonetheless. My new acquaintance was understandably far more disappointed because last year she saw Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston while they were filming Just Go With It. 

Eventually the photogs moved further down the beach and I decided to go in for a dip. A few minutes later as I was splashing around in the water, Kathy Griffin and the two guys she was with walked right past me. I could've literally reached out and touched her. It made me think she must not be rich enough to have bodyguards 24/7. Below is a photo taken by one of the paparazzi today.  

Kathy Griffin and her mystery man

To be honest, she actually looked much younger than 50 and her "work"  was much more impressive in person compared to on television where I think she looks completely plastic with all the nipping and tucking. The other thing that astonished me was her tiny stature. She couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds. 

After all the excitement, I was able to finish my beach read, The Broker by John Grisham, and check out the Shops at Wailea before picking Jim up from the golf course. I couldn't help but think how nice it would be if we could have open courtyard style shopping at home, but obviously our weather doesn't allow for that luxury.

Since tonight was our one year and two month anniversary, there was only one place we could eat dinner -- Plantation House in Kapalua -- the restaurant where we celebrated after our wedding ceremony! 

2/10/2010

2/10/2010

Traveling up the beautifully landscaped driveway and walking down the long hallway definitely brought back some memories. Before we were seated, I wandered around downstairs and looked at all of the pictures of the famous people who have played the Plantation course, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Joe Torre and more. It's pretty neat to think that my husband played the same golf course yesterday and was pleased with his score given the difficulty level and 40 mph winds!!! I'm very proud of my him! Here's the trophy that is handed out each January to the winner of the PGA Tour Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

While we didn't get the VIP table we had last year, we were still able to secure a window seat with a gorgeous ocean view! I ordered a glass of Australian sauvignon blanc (Dashwood), a baby kula spinach salad and the same entree as last year -- Maui onion mustard crusted Hawaiian catch on roasted Maui onion and Mediterranean couscous finished with fried capers. It did not disappoint! I raved about my meal so much that Jim was probably getting bored listening to me. ;-) It felt SO surreal to eat at the Plantation House again and I'm so glad we did because it was my best meal thus far on our vacation (I'm not just saying that for sentimental reasons..heehee)!

By the time we arrived, the sun had set, but you can still see the ocean below