Today is bittersweet. It is our last day on Maui. We are leaving the condo today and the island tomorrow. Like so many others, we just hate to leave this island that we have grown to love so much again, in this short two week visit.
We are going home to California. When you really look at it, that is not a bad place to be going home to, right? What if we were someone who had to go back to ice, snow, below zero temps, after a trip to Hawaii? Now that, to me, would really be worse! I used to live in the midwest and to be truthful, I don't miss the above mentioned weather issues at all. Mama, had to go back to Nebraska in the beginning of December, so she has the "woe is me's" much worse than I do, so I guess I need to put it all into perspective.
We just love the islands so very much, and like everyone else, we are planning our next trip before this one is over. Walt and I have been blessed to of visited at least one or two times, each island except for Lanai. We love each one for varied reasons. We always have said over the last few years, that the Big Island is our favorite. We even renewed our wedding vows there, last year in a sunset beach ceremony. BUT....after not visiting Maui for about 9 years, this trip made us re-adjust our feelings.
From the first steps off the plane, the first breath of fresh Maui air, feelings arose that just resonated so strongly in our hearts and souls. Something was just not the same as Big Island or any others that we have visited. Those of you who live here or love to visit Maui, as we do, know what I am talking about. It is hard to put into words, but you just feel it!
Maui No Ka Oi
When we talk about our favorite island, to us, it means the one that we want to settle on hopefully in our not so distant future. We loved the Big Island's grand land mass, the diversity of the various regions, that fact that it is so big and we never felt we would ever get what people call island fever there. BUT...our last two visits there, have shown us a really bad case of vog. Yes, it is mostly in the Kona Coast area, but that is where we were contemplating our move to. Vog is not a healthy way of life and it became kind of worry-some for us. There were very few days in both trips, in Sept and Oct that it wasn't present. That is why we wanted to come to Maui this year.
We knew the first few days that we were here, that this is the island we would like to call home. It just felt right! So after all these feelings and realizations, you can see why it is bittersweet today. We have to wait a whole year to return, but we will return. I have already started researching our next year's trip, so........on with the last blog report for this trip!
We had packed our bags last night, so we decided we would sleep in a little. NOT!! None of us could stay in bed past 7 am and we were all out on the balcony with coffee in hand and the last of the bagels, cream cheese, papaya, and other left-overs in the fridge. We savored the tastes while watching and listening to the waves crashing, watching the turtles play in the ocean, seeing the clouds lift over Molokai, and waving to the kayak people that we watched race by us every day! We were really going to miss this. We visited and planned for the next trip. Mama wants to try to get just my brother and sisters together for a trip in 2015. Walt and I are trying to decide if we want to come next year during Halloween again, or not. Before we knew it, is was 11 am and time to load up the car and skedaddle!
I had a surprise location planned that mama and Walt did not have a clue about for our last day on island. I had planned and paid for it about 3 months prior to our trip, and I was even able to keep it a secret....that is very hard for me! I was bursting with excitement to share our last day at this special place.
Once in the car Walt said, well where to? I just smiled and said I will tell you how to get there. He looked at me sideways and said "ya right". I am the one who gets lost all the time if I don't have Garmin hooked up, but I was confident, that after toodling around the island the last 2 weeks, I could get us there easily and direct him where to go.
First we took a leisurely drive thru all the resorts in Kaanapali, then we went on toward Lahaina. We turned on Fleming, I think is the street, to go the long way down Front Street. We slowly drove by the various sites, we had visited, places we had dined, watching the boats in the water, and giggling and laughing about all the fun times we had and things we had done. Then we talked about places to eat at or visit that we had not seen this trip. It was starting to sprinkle a little but we paid it no mind. Once we had devoured, just one more time, all we could of Lahaina, we headed out the highway.
Head toward Paia, I instructed Walt and off we went! Once in Paia, we parked and walked around town for about an hour. We grabbed an ice cream cone and finished our walk back to the parked car.
Ok, Walt said, now what? I told him to get back on the highway toward Hana, and he stopped, turned to me and said, "we aren't going back to Hana, right? Tell me that isn't your secret spot!" I giggled and said no, silly, just drive on the road a little and go kinda slow. I have to watch for the turn off.
Well, you all probably have figured out that I had made reservations at Mama's Fish House Inn, but they were still both clueless. When I saw the sign for Mama's I instructed him to turn in and he said, lunch time? I said, no this is the surprise. We are staying in one of the cottages here, and we have dinner reservations for tonight!
I had reserved a two bedroom garden cottage for the night. The ocean cottages were a bit over my budget. Actually the garden one was a bit over too, but I had saved for this special treat for my mama and honey, and we were finally here!
Alot of people have mixed emotions and feelings about Mama's Restaurant. It mostly stems from the price of the food here. Walt and I have always saved X amount of dollars for a last nice meal on every vacation. I just had to save a little more this time, but believe me. Once we had our meals, and we saw the cottages and grounds.. I had no regrets!
Onaga or ruby snapper is a fish that is caught in Hawaiian waters. That was the name of our cottage!
 |
| Entry way to our cottage |
Look at what we found on the kitchen counter when we got here! Very nice touches like this, made mama feel so special!
 |
| Mama's Birthday Cake Decoration |
 |
| Mama settling in |
 |
| Fruit, Coffee and Banana Bread Supplied for Breakfast |
 |
| Walt chillaxin! |
We semi-unpacked what we would wear for dinner tonight and on the plane tomorrow. The rain was starting to stop so we wanted to get out and see the grounds of this lovely place. We were impressed thus far.
 |
| The Owner's Home on the property |
 |
| The Restaurant |
 |
| Views of the Property |
After checking out the property, beach and views, it was almost time for dinner. We went back to the cottage to change and get ready for dinner.
 |
| Mama, at Mama's! |
 |
| Special Birthday Card on the Table for Mama, from Mama! |
Mama and I decided on the "signature dish" at Mama's which is Mahi Mahi that is stuffed with lobster and crab. OMG, I have had Mahi Mahi before, but never has it been prepared and taste so good as this dish was! This was worth the wait and the price in my opinion.
 |
| My Meal |
 |
| Mama's Meal |
Walt chose a fish called Opah and it was prepared with tomatoes, grilled maui onions and black rice. He loved it. We sampled the other's dish, and we all were extremely pleased with our choices!
 |
| Walt's Meal
Time for dessert. Mama got her's included with her meal for her birthday. I had another idea for me and Walt tho........The Black Pearl! Oh my was it delicious and so pretty to look at!
|
 |
| Mama's Dessert for her Birthday |
 |
| Yes....she's flirting again! |
 |
| Walt and I shared the Black Pearl Dessert............YUMMO |
Well, my friends and family! This is the end of my travel blog! I am so sorry that it got strung along for so many weeks, but circumstances couldn't be planned or helped. I am anxious to get back on TA and catch up with all that I have missed since my departure. Thank you all for reading my first blog, for your kind comments and help along the way!
I look forward to starting my plans for our next trip in 2014, which will be of course, Maui, along with a side trip to Lanai possibly. Walt is thinking maybe we should do a 3 or 4 day addition to Kauai as well!
May all of my family and TA Friends have a wonderful New Year!
Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Aloha!
Cin
