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This trip was delayed by a year and a half. I was about to get on a plane in April of 2020… and we all know what happened in March of that year (no really, it was a global event). Me and my friend who I was going to be visiting in Maui had been talking about risks starting in late February, keeping our finger on the pulse of the pandemic and trying to decide if it was going to be safe enough… and then it was all decided for us. The state of California, where I live, shut down on March 19. So the trip was cancelled… but Hawaiian Airlines was willing to give everyone with a cancelled flight credit and the opportunity to rebook for a later time at no charge. So on December 30, the day before the deadline to take advantage of that credit, I booked my flight to Kahului for October of 2021. And that is when I took this trip.

It was a beautiful week with light showers here and there, but otherwise the weather was great. The temperature was in the 80’s most of the time. I was so happy to be wearing sundresses. I spent a lot of my time hiking and doing my best to relax.

I’ao and Waihe’e Ridge Trail

The first place I went to was the I’ao Needle State Monument, right after I got off the plane and got my rental car. It was only 9:30 in the morning, so I took advantage of that time before heading over to my friend’s house in Kahului in the late afternoon. After a quick trip around I’ao, I drove around back and forth on a sketchy narrow road, searching, searching, and finally found the start of the Waihe’e Ridge Trail. For most of that hike, I was gasping in awe at the views that just got better at every turn of the trail. After a day enjoying my first hikes in Maui, I headed to my friend’s house in Kahului.

La Peruse Bay

That weekend, my friend and her two kids hung out while daddy-o was working on a video assignment. On Saturday, we went on a tour of the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, followed by a goat cheese tasting and then goat milk cheesecake for dessert. Then on Sunday we went for a seaside hike at La Perouse Bay, where we found lots of lava rock, wild goats, and a lot of inspiration for paintings and other types of art. The beautiful sunset at the end was the icing on the cake.

Waterfalls and Chocolate

On Monday morning, my friend joined me for a tour of the King’s Garden, where we learned all about the history and the plants of this beautiful garden, along with a lesson at the end of the tour on how to make chocolate sweets. We were the only ones on the tour, which was luxurious, and our tour guide was great. I had no idea there were so many types of ginger!

Lahaina and the Kapalua Coastal Trail

From there I headed to Lahaina, where I found the Kapalua Coastal Trail, which meandered behind all the resort hotels and ended at the Mahana Ridge Trail, which was a surprise bonus as I had not seen that in my search for hikes in Maui. I was excited to try this mystery hike, so I embarked, and I saw only 2 other people the whole time I was walking. At one point, the grass grew as tall as me! Despite the warm downpour of rain that I got caught in on the way back, it was a wonderful day of walking and discovery. I even saw two weddings happening along my journey.

And after all the hiking, I went to my hotel in Lahaina and chilled out. I had reservations at a good restaurant that evening, but I didn’t feel like moving my car out of the really full parking lot there for fear of not finding one when I got back, and it was raining anyway and there was a restaurant in the hotel. So I went the easy route and had dinner there - a nice dark porter and seafood chowder. Nice way to end the day.

The next morning, after some brekky, I went over to the pool and proceeded to burn the skin on me that sees the sun about once every 3 years. After I checked out at 11am, I headed to the public beach right in front of the hotel and relaxed for about another hour. I even went in the beautiful water! Anyone who knows me well knows what a big deal that is - I’m not a fan of the ocean. But I went in and it was glorious. After a day of beach and goofing off, I met my friend and her family for dinner at 5 Palms in Kihei.

Haleakala

Of course I had to. I have already been here twice, but it’s just something I had to do while I was here. I went further than I did on my previous hikes, but I still did not get to the first cabin. Maybe someday I’ll accomplish that. This place was just as mesmerizing as always, and I even saw a strange little bird that came right up to me. At the top it was pretty cold. I found a nice young man to take a picture of me as I shivered and thought about my warm car below, which I scurried to right after that picture was taken.

Oh, and I was in poke heaven for like, 3 days. I went to Foodland twice and my meals were mostly poke and wakame, with Hawaiian beer to wash it down (when I was not driving). I discovered the one made with oyster sauce, that was my favorite. It was my main motivation to climb out of that valley for 90 minutes which was hard a.f. I kept thinking to myself, when you get to the car, your reward is poke and coconut water, and to take my shoes off. It absolutely helped.

My motivation. I could not eat enough poke!

Kula Botanical Garden and the Lavender Farm

My last two visits in Maui filled my eyes with flowers. Kula Botanical Gardens was magical… I felt so at peace there. I was all alone to wander, finishing my botanical tour with a nice extended moment of relaxation on a bench under some trees dripping with flowers. Meditative. Peaceful. Grounding. Beautiful.

Parting Shot

When it was time to head back to the airport, I decided to wander around for the last hour and see if I could find just one more surprise neat-o thing. Well, I found it, in a local beach that was right behind the airport. There were racing boats lined up, one of then with the name Miso Phat Sushi, a sushi restaurant that was on my list of great places to eat but was hard to get into because of its popularity. I’ll have to try to get there next time.

I wish I had found this earlier. It was so chill. It felt like a beach that was truly where the locals go. I mean, this is where they keep their racing boats, so… that’s my guess.