Posted on April - 21 - 2011

Hawaii: An Inspector’s Notes, Part Two

Kihei Beach,Maui Read Part One

After my weekend off I booked a flight from the Big Island to Maui…  There was no security or screening here as everyone piled into a small nine-seat turbo-prop plane.  It was a fun flight as you could see into the cockpit and the pilot would look back every once in a while to see how everyone was doing.  The view from this plane was really neat as it flew a little lower and slower than commercial flights, especially when we came into Maui along the northern shore with many waterfalls and junglelike landscape.  Once in Maui, I picked up my rental car and found my way to Kihei.
Kihei is a wonderful place.  Beach access is easy no matter where you are staying and if you like to snorkel you can pretty much do it anywhere along the beach.  The Maui Surf Shop offers rentals and they even organize snorkel excursions.  Just a little south of Kihei is Wailea, where there are numerous luxury style hotels and fine dining restaurants.  Some “Wow” factors here include the Four Seasons new serenity pool (for age 21 and up) with underwater music and bubble beds.  They also pride themselves in having the largest collection of limited prints and sculptures in the state.  The Grand Wailea has a wonderful pool area for children and a restaurant with a very unique atmosphere called Humuhumunukunukuapua… try saying that three times fast.
  
One of my favorite restaurants in Kihei/Wailea is Nick’s Fishmarket – wonderful service and if you go you have to order the Strawberry Panzini.  This is an amazing display of food art that begins when the server comes out to your table with a silver tray of items. Firs,t she placed a plate in front of me and then she put a scoop of brown sugar onto the plate.  Next, she mashed down the brown sugar with a fork and even took a little time to bring it all back into an oval shape… which I thought was a little obsessive at the time, but didn’t say anything.  Then she took the white sweet crème sauce and, using a serving spoon, drizzled the white sauce around the oval of brown sugar.  Next she took the chocolate sauce and drizzled both horizontal and vertical intersecting lines, the drizzle drew a few small curved triangles on the top, and I came to realize she had created a pineapple on my plate! 

She then presented the tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries.  With two glasses and a little Grand Marnier she lit the liqueur and poured it from one glass to the other with one glass high and the other glass low, resulting in a long pour of blue flame.  After doing this a couple times she poured the flaming liqueur over the strawberries and instructed me to wait until the blue flame dispersed (she told me the longer I waited the sweeter the strawberries)  and to dip them into the brown sugar, crème and chocolate mixture on my plate. They were awesome. 

I also enjoyed dining in Spago, Sarento’s on the Beach and Maui Thai (go with the sticky rice) restaurants for dinner.  For lunch I enjoyed Joy’s Place and Fred’s Mexican Café.  For breakfast the Big Wave Café.

Lahaina, Kahana, Kaanapali, Napili, Kapalua
Fun, fun and more fun!  Have I mentioned that I love my job?  Anyway, moving north on Maui I got to do an overnight stay at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, a Five Diamond resort.  I was treated like royalty and their staff seemed to hit every point on our service evaluation.  As soon as I arrived, valet promptly opened the door and introduced themselves. They asked me my name once upon arrival and from that point on everyone addressed me as Mr. My Last Name.  Even random housekeeping staff I would come across in the hallways knew my name. 

If you are wondering how this is possible, I will tell you – everyone was wearing a little earpiece with a radio connection to the front desk.  When they see a guest come out of a room they can instantly radio to verify that guest’s name.  When I was checking in I was making small talk with the front desk agent about a restaurant I had really enjoyed (This was the Cheeseburger in Paradise, Lahaina) and when I was all settled in the room this same front desk employee called to verify everything was to my liking and offered to make me a cheeseburger should I wish.  This stay was amazing and unforgettable, as all Five Diamond hotel stays should be.

A few things I enjoyed doing on Maui are the Haleakala sunrise bike tour, an amazing experience where you take a bus ride to the top of this mountain, watch the sunrise and then bike down the mountain, some 30 miles.  I also went on a snorkeling adventure through Maui Dive – very fun experience and you can even rent an underwater digital camera to take photos or movies with — reasonably priced as well.  I also made the drive on the Road to Hana.  Being a “professional driver,” and an AAA employee, I know about driving fun roads.  Until this experience, my favorite drive in the U.S. was the Columbia River Gorge drive in western Oregon. 

This one beats it and is full of adventure along the way.  Be careful though, as the drive consists of 59 bridges (46 of which are one lane), over 350 curves – some hairpin with no visibility- requiring you to honk as to avoid oncoming traffic.  This adventure runs alongside jungle-like vegetation and postcard-quality views of waterfalls, valleys and the ocean. 

Just about seven miles past Hana is the Haleakala National Park with the Seven Sacred Pools and  Waimoku Falls, a dizzying 400 foot waterfall with absolutely amazing landscape- a truly awe-inspiring experience.  The hike to the falls is about 2 miles, with plenty to see along the way.  It is mostly uphill and passes through a bamboo forest and over bridges.  Bring a pack with plenty of water, maybe some bug spray and a lunch to enjoy by the falls.  One word of advice – when making the drive on the road to Hana keep in mind that the average speed is 20 mph. (read more here) I would highly recommend driving early in the morning, through Hana to the Haleakala National Park, have lunch and then drive back around 1 or 2 in the afternoon so you don’t have to be on this road at night.  Lahaina is a very fun place to go with many great restaurants and shops.  Kaanapali also has some great shopping and beaches.

Overall I enjoyed my working vacation and got to see many exciting things.  I think it will be hard to beat this work assignment, but who knows, there is still so much I have yet to discover.  Hawaii was always a place of mystery to me before with misconceptions that everything is really expensive and high end.  While this can be true if you want it to be, Hawaii is also a place with many free scenic beaches, roads to drive on, landscaping and tropical flowers to enjoy and full of lodging options for the budget minded traveler.    

Similar Posts:

Share

Tagged Under : Part, Part Two

No Comments
Read More

Post a comment