Luau

The company treated us to a private luau. It was just for our group of about 30.
They set us up on the lawn down near the beach, served us great food including a suckling pig. The night's entertainment was a Samoan Fire Dancer.The sunset was beautiful.

My Biggest Maui Disappointment

Bubba Gump.

Everything I'd heard about eating at Bubba Gump was positive. I love the movie, which I was told would be playing on a continuous loop throughout the restaurant, including at my table. It wasn't. There were two TVs in the bar. One was playing college baseball, the other was playing college softball.Our party of two was seated at a table for 8, so if we wanted to "Stop Forrest Stop" it would have been a lot of trouble reaching the sign. The food was mediocre accented by the fact that Mike doesn't really like shrimp.

I finally found Forrest Gump playing on a tiny TV in the waiting area on mute with subtitles.

Moral of the story: Don't rent a car, drive 40 miles, and pay $4.40 for gas on Maui just to eat at this restaurant!! Across the street was Longhi's where we'd eaten before and it was packed. Bubba Gump was mostly empty. Guess I should have taken that as a sign. Oh, well, lesson learned.

The one thing Bubba Gump had going for it was the view.

Tedeschi Winery

Maui is the home of exactly ONE winery; Tedeschi Winery. It is located Upcountry (which means on the top part of Maui, away from the beaches). When last we visited (in 1992) they were only producing pineapple wine. Happily, they have discovered that grapes grow quite nicely on Maui.

We arrived just in time to take the winery tour...which is very short since the winery is small.Our guide was delightful. She's worked and lived here more than 20 years.It was a gorgeous spot for a wedding.We lunched across the road at the Ulupalakua Ranch which serves the World Famous Elk Burger.

You already know the birds joined us for lunch.

Sugar Cane

The last Hawaiian island to process sugar cane is Maui. The locals say it won't last long since it's much cheaper to produce sugar in Cuba and Brazil.

Flora and Fauna

The flowers came in red and pink.The Koi Pond was beautiful.Birds waited anxiously to share every meal.

I didn't know tropical islands were affected by drought, but they are.Even the table deocrations were green.Not all the fauna was still alive. But it was delicious!

I'm telling you now

On May 15th, I gave a little information about our upcoming trip to Maui.

I have as many details as I think I'm going to get, so here it is.

We get to fly from Las Vegas to Maui (and back!) in coach. I looked into an upgrade to First Class but $1000 EACH seemed like a lot of money for a wider seat and a meal.

A Limousine will pick us up at Kahalui Airport and transport us to the Fairmont Kea Lani, where we'll spend 5 nights in a Deluxe Ocean View Room.

They'll feed us breakfast every morning in the cafe. We will attend a luau on Wednesday and eat at Spago at the Four Seasons Resort on Friday night. We have a Spago in Las Vegas. It will be fun to compare.

I've already told you I'm going to the Spa Kea Lani. I can't wait. There are also three pools. And a waterslide. I'll be trying them all because that's just the kind of kid I am.

My mother is coming to stay with my kids for a few days.

Then they're headed to a friend's house for the weekend.

Souvenirs and thank you gifts will be purchased. Leis will be worn. Fruity drinks will be consumed. A good time will be had by all (or at least by me!).

I've scheduled automatic posts while I'm gone since I won't have access to the internet. Enjoy.