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

Maui Day 3

This morning, we went back to Kapalua Beach for a couple of hours before Jim's afternoon tee-time at The Plantation Course, the site of the PGA Tour Hyundai Tournament of Champions each January. After getting situated, we walked out to a scenic overlook where we observed a wedding take place last year. (The picture below doesn't do it justice because it was still a little hazy when it was taken.)

 

After working up an appetite at the beach, we decided it was finally time to try a traditional Hawaiian treat that we'd been hearing about -- shave ice! It's similar to a snow cone, but much better because the ice is shaved from a block and real fruit juices are used. Fortunately, we found a cute little roadside farmers' market in Ka'anapali that could accommodate our craving. My rainbow shave ice was SOOO good and surprisingly more thirst quenching than ice cream. No wonder it's so popular with the locals!

After Jim left for golf, I read a few many chapters of my book, The Broker by John Grisham, by our pool. I used to read a lot of Grisham books in high school and college back when I only had dreams of going to law school. For some reason, I'd gotten away from him for a bit, but I am so glad I picked this book up in Maui. I'm completely engrossed in it...quite the page turner!

Once I got tired of reading, I decided it was time for some shopping. The Lahaina Cannery Mall was my chosen destination. The name originated from the pineapple plantation days when the building served as a cannery. As you can see, some of the old factory machinery is still present throughout the mall. Overall,
I wasn't overly impressed with the mall because it was
more of the same wares that you can find on Front
Street, i.e. lots of Hawaiian shirts, crafts and trinkets.

On the way home, I couldn't resist taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers and that ever present red dirt.

Hibiscus

Plumeria

Another hibiscus

 

We wrapped up the day with a fantastic dinner at Kimos, a well known restaurant in Lahaina . I had a mai tai in a cute tribal themed glass and pan seared ahi with thai sweet chili vinagrette -- yum! The wasabi and basmati rice was also to die for. We were too full to order the famous Hula Pie, the dessert sailors allegedly swarm ashore for, but we plan to return for a dessert themed lunch on our way to the airport on Monday.

I've conceded that the humidity will control my hair!

I loved the flower garnish!

Maui Day 2

We spent most of the morning and early afternoon hanging out at Ka'anapali Beach, which is world renowned for its incredible snorkeling. One section called "Dig Me Beach" was named America's Best Beach in 2003. It was our second favorite beach on our honeymoon (next to Kapalua), so there was no question that we would return!

Ka'anapali Beach and Black Rock in the distance

There's a concrete path that runs from the parking areas through Whaler's Village (a high end shopping area) and the resorts' pools all the way to Black Rock, which is a snorkel spot well worth checking out if you want to see hundreds of fish, coral and other critters. 

As you can see, despite the sunburn I received yesterday, I finagled a solution and had no problem enjoying myself :)

Protecting my legs from further burnage

I'm loving life here

Jim set out to snorkel around Black Rock first while I sunned myself and kept watch over our things. When he came back, he said there were even bigger fish than we saw last year, so I couldn't wait to head out.

I snorkeled all the way out to the tip of Black Rock

One of the first things I saw was the Hawaiian state fish, humuhumunukunukuapua'a, or Humu for short. Try saying that 10 times fast (pronunciation: hoo-moo-hoo-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-auhp-oo-ah-ah)!

humuhumunukunukuapua'a

After thoroughly enjoying ourselves, we headed back to the house to get ready for our sunset whalewatch cruise with Teralani. Since the whale season officially ends on April 15th, we weren't quite sure whether our trip would be successful, but we were pleasantly surprised to see some calves and adults during the catamaran cruise. Teralani also had a fully stocked open bar and tons of tasty appetizers, available including an antipasto smorgasbord, veggies and dip, foccacia and chipotle pineapple BBQ meatballs. 

I'm ready to see some whales

Even though the weather was a little iffy when we set out, the captain found the sun and we experienced another gorgeous sunset. What a great night!

Gorgeous sunset through the dark clouds

On our way back to Ka'anapali Beach

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.

Packing

As many of you know by now, Jim and I have an extremely early wake up call tomorrow because it's the day we leave for Hawaii. Yes, it's FINALLY here! We have to be at the local airport for check-in at 4AM -- eek! As I was juggling packing with grading the last 100 bar exams over the weekend, I wondered why I never created a generic packing list. 

Voila...I put one together and am now going to share it with you! Not having to recreate the entire list each time we go on vacation will be an enormous help. Plus, it's simple to
modify if you are going to a colder destination 
or on a cruise, for example. I hope I'm not 
forgetting anything. If I am, it's too late now!

Here it is (you can thank me later!): 

Carry On Luggage

·         Binder containing plane tix, car rental info, hotel info, activity confirmations, etc.

·         Wallet

·         Passport, if applicable

·         Cell phone and charger

·         Gum (to keep your ears from clogging up during takeoff and landing)

·         Camera and battery charger

·         Books (travel, crosswords), magazines

·         IPod

·         Makeup

·         Eyeglasses

·         Toiletry necessities (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, contacts, contact solution)

·         Laptop

·         Change of underwear, one bathing suit and cover-up

·         One pair of sunglasses

·         One pair of sandals

Checked Toiletries

·         Perfume

·         Shampoo and conditioner

·         Body wash

·         Q-Tips

·         Facewash

·         Toner

·         Cotton pads for facial products

·         Makeup remover

·         Waterproof mascara

·         Razors

·         Moisturizer

·         Comb

·         Bobby pins and hair ties

·         Hair products (styling spray, smoothing crème, hairspray)

·         Straightening iron

·         Chapstick

·         Feminine hygiene products

·         Advil

·         Nail clippers

·         Tweezers

·         Tissues

·         Dental floss

Remainder of Checked Suitcase

·         Underwear (including bras and sports bras)

·         Socks

·         Bathing suits and cover-ups

·         Beach hat and baseball hat

·         Beach towel

·         Beach bag (incl. suntan lotion and oil)

·         Sundresses

·         Shorts, capris

·         Shirts (tanks, tees, polos)

·         Skirts

·         Accessories (necklaces, bracelets, earrings)

·         Purse

·         Sandals, sneakers

·         Snorkel gear (including underwater cameras)

·         Camera uploader device

·         Backpack for hiking

Is there anything I didn't think of that you would add to the list?

Photo Challege Part 3

Today (Day#20), I'm asked to post a picture of someplace I'd love to travel. While most of you probably know that I'm hoping Italy will be our next major trip, I haven't really specified why it has piqued my interest. The island of Capri off the southwestern coast of the country!!! Of course, consuming glass upon glass of wine like its my job won't be so bad either :-) 

I know a couple of people who have been to Capri and they've raved about it. In writing this post, I learned that Capri has been a resort area since the time of the ancient Roman republic, especially favored by the Roman emperors, including Caesar himself. Equally interesting is that Capri was known as the isle of sirens in Greek mythology. Thanks Wikitravel! Without further adieu, here are some beautiful pictures of this gorgeous island:

Soaring Faraglioni Rocks in the distance

The uber famous Blue Grotto

Boutiques along a Capri street...plenty of shopping opportunities

Are there any new destinations in your upcoming travel plans?

We Have a Winner

Now don't get too excited...someone (not me) bought a winning Mega Millions ticket worth $319 million at Coulson's near the State Capitol. When I heard the news I couldn't help but think: "it could have been me" since I walk by that icky newsstand twice each week day. However, since "you have to play to win" and I haven't bought a lotto ticket since 2007, it's unlikely I'll be winning Mega Millions anytime soon.

Still, it made me consider what I would do with my winnings after taxes and this is what I've come up with:

1.  Tell Jim, hyperventilate, check the numbers a 1,000 times, joyfully dance around the family room and hunker down for a few days while we plot our strategy. Make an appointment with my financial advisor and CPA. 

2.  Retire! This would certainly go a long way to helping me read all of the books I've accumulated over the years. Maybe I would even splurge on a Kindle!

3.  Pay off the mortgage and my student loans. Six years out of law school, I still owe the government $89,000 and am not projected to finish paying off the debt until 2027! Also, pay off Julie's student loans, which amount to slightly less than mine, but she has to handle them on a teacher's salary :(

4.  Book trips to places I have been dying to go (in preferred order): Italy, Australia, National Parks in the southwestern US, Greece, a wine tour in Napa Valley, a safari in Kenya or Tanzania, Spain, Yellowstone National Park, Iceland, Alaska, Fiji, Brazil, and the Maldives for starters. Egypt is near the top of the list too, but because of the civil unrest, I wouldn't be booking it at this moment.

Return to some places I fell in love with: Bora Bora and Moorea, St. John, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and, of course, Hawaii.

5.  Go on a furniture and house decorating shopping spree. It would be so nice to buy anything I wanted at stores like Stickley, Neiman Marcus and Thomasville with no strings debt attached. The living room, study and guest bedroom are in desperate need!

6.  Hire a personal trainer and set up a true workout space in the basement. Buy some new equipment, including an arc trainer, elliptical and weight bench.

7.  Buy new, used cars for Jim and I. His Exploder has 111,000 miles at last count and my Accord has just over 90,000 -- ouch! Yes, I think we would still buy slightly used even if we were millionaires. I just can't justify the depreciation that happens the minute you drive a car off the lot. Jim's eyeing a purchase this fall, whereas I may hold onto my car a bit longer because I can't seem to find anything in my price range that I love. The two cars in the running are the Acura TL and Lexus ES, but I'm just not overwhelmed by either. My dream car is the Infiniti G37 coupe...not a smart plan considering that family expansion is a future goal.

Dream car

8.  Enroll in an interior design program. If I could have a redo (and assuming I could be as secure financially), I think this would be my career of choice.

9.  Buy an oceanfront home in Maui and spend the cold winter months there. I think we would probably choose to live in Kapalua (West Maui) or Wailea (South Maui).

Check out this view...this house on the market in Maui for $3.3M

10.  Donate a certain percentage each year to charities near and dear to my heart: environmental protection, wildlife preservation, Red Cross, those to benefit children and any that help deserving students offset the costs of college.

 C'mon dream with me...what would you do?