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.

Birthday Celebration (Part I)!

Today, I woke up to heavy snow and wind. I was  instantly worried that our pre-birthday dinner plans for the night with Julie and Sean would be ruined. Things didn't really improve at all during the day as I watched the blizzard conditions from my office window.  I'm not going to lie; I was pretty devastated. Fortunately, there was a slight break in the storm around 5:00 and Julie and Sean decided it was safe enough to make the trek to our house.

From our house, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants, Mexican Radio. Despite the terrible weather, Jim and the "Exploder" (nickname for the Explorer coined by Sean) braved the trip to Hudson with all of us mindlessly chattering away in the background. I know if it hadn't been my birthday he wouldn't have taken on that Herculean task, so, if you're reading, thanks again Sweetie!

With the exception of a lunch Jim and I shared in Cozumel during our Western Caribbean cruise, I've never had better margaritas or enchiladas in my life! However, having been to Mexico twice now, I'm not such a fan of the country, so thankfully I don't have to travel there to eat authentic food!

Interior of the restaurant

Once we arrived, I excitedly began pointing out all of the decor to Julie.  Then, we delved into a basket of homemade chips and salsa and began perusing the menu.  I ordered chicken enchiladas and opted to go for the healthy side salad instead of the rice and pinto beans. I was psyched to learn that you can swap fillings and sauces, so I had one enchilada with red sauce and the other with suiza sauce. Jim had the seafood chimichanga. We both agreed  that our meals even better than the ones we had the night before Halloween. Julie and Sean both loved it too and  were excited to hear that Mexican Radio is expanding beyond NYC and Hudson to Schenectady this fall.

My enchiladas

The new addition to my kitchen gear!

When we got home, Julie insisted that I immediately open my present and I'm so glad I did. She bought me an awesome Cuisinart fondue pot with all of the accessories. I can't wait to use it! A girls night in is definitely in order (sorry Melting Pot)!

Now, all that's left to do is look forward to the BIG day tomorrow!

Halloween Festivities

Credit goes to the staff at Mexican Radio!

     I'm a little really behind with this blog seeing as it's already November, but better late than never, right? This year, Jim and I adhered to our normal Halloween traditions and added in a couple of new activities to make it one of the best ever! I must admit that we were both a little disappointed that we couldn't decorate like we have in years past, but we're already scheming about how we can make the front yard and porch of our new house positively frightful for the two or three trick-or-treaters who actually decide it's
worth it to venture down our long driveway
next year!

One of the corn maze creatures

     The weekend before Halloween we spent a Friday night at Liberty Ridge in Schaghticoke navigating the haunted corn maze,  Forest of Fear, drinking hot apple cider and checking out some new features, including Cinderella's carriage (as you can imagine, this was one of the highlights for me:-).

      Saturday night we met up with Julie and Beth before heading down the Thruway to the Headless Horseman in Ulster Park (a little over an hour south of Albany). This place is consistently ranked the #1 haunted attraction in the U.S. In addition to a mile long hayride, there's a haunted corn maze, five haunted houses, excellent gift shops and sideshow performers. It is definitely not an experience for the faint of heart! This year the hayride story was gruesome as ever, but we were fortunate to be sitting in the center of the tractor (much to Jim's
chagrin), so we often had  advance warning
when a ghoul was about to jump out at us.

The Cleopatras

   On October 29th, we attended a spooktacular Halloween party thrown by Julie and her roommates. As you can probably tell, I was Cleopatra (a nod to my love of HBO's Rome), Jim was Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Julie was Foxy Cleopatra from the Austin Powers movie. People were surprised to hear that Julie and I didn't plan our costumes in advance. In reality, I wanted to be a flapper all along, but couldn't find any suitable outfits at the local costume shops. Luckily, she was a really good sport about the whole thing! 

       

Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde

        Julie and Jim partnered up for beer pong (as usual), but this time they went 5-0 until their string of victories was broken. It was so fun to watch them and, thus, I have nicknamed them the Hall-O-Famers! Jim came in second place for scariest costume (I think the contest was rigged...the person who won had a pretty half-hearted werewolf costume...BOO). Later that night, another attendee confessed that he's had a crush on Julie for over a year...no he didn't tell her, he told me!!! Who says that to someone's older sister? Was he looking for my approval? It was even more strange because this was the first night I've ever really spoken to this kid and he wasn't even inebriated...how awkward!!!

What a great night!

   The night before Halloween, Jim and I decided to head to one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Mexican Radio. (They have the best margaritas I've had outside of Mexico because they don't use mixers...the base is always generated from fresh squeezed limes - delicious!) The plan was to travel along Route 9S where there are typically a lot of homes and yards decked out for Halloween. Unfortunately, my lack of navigational skills led us astray and before Jim realized it, we were halfway 

to Dutchess County (oops!). The map app 

on my precious IPhone got us back on track 

and we FINALLY arrived! 

Jim's chimichanga

     We chose a great night to eat there because all of the waiters, waitresses and bar staff were dressed in costumes and there were carved pumpkins everywhere, which surprisingly complimented the normal motif. Our meals and drinks were fantastic and I think Mexican Radio is now on Jim's list of one of the best restaurants in the area. I realize that for some of you Hudson is too much of a trek; however, the owners are opening another one in Schenectady in
                                                                          2011, plus there's always the original in NYC.
                                                             

My favorite boys on 10/31/10!

     Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, we didn't have much planned for the actual holiday. Buster agreed to dress up as a pumpkin for the second year in a row and Jim handled the trick-or-treaters. We only had 6 all night, but bought 2 bags of candy. As you can imagine, the candy was gone by mid-week, precisely why I usually refuse to have so many sweets in the house! Til next year...