On Monday, I will finish our Maui trip with pictures of sand, surf, and the resort we stayed at. But today, let’s travel around town. We all ready traveled to a volcano, a lavender farm, a waterfall and ate at Mama’s Fish House.
But we did much more. And nothing at all. I feel like we spent so much of our trip relaxing, but the following pictures showed we actually got around the island, too. It was the perfect trip.
We ate breakfast one day at Kihei Caffe. This still remains my very favorite breakfast spot. It is insanely inexpensive (for Maui) with huge portions and the food is just darn good. Greasy. Buttery. Good. Comfort food.
Upon the recommendation of the owner (I believe the man is the owner. He is always there. Has a command of authority. And is always smiling), we tried this pastry thing. It was filled with cream cheese frosting. It was groan-out-loud-but-not-in-a-“When-Harry-Met-Sally”in-a-public-restaurant-good. I am still thinking about it. It was amazing, like a homemade Toaster Strudel.
We all enjoyed our meal and the kids were happy they split their ginormous plate of pancakes.
After going ziplining last year, I knew I was going to be sitting out of the family’s ziplining excursion this year. That is, unless L.B. was one of the instructors. I told my family I would join them if he was there to catch me. I am nothing if not a team player.
Alas, L.B. was not working. Some other lovely young men were.
I stayed on the ground and took pictures of my family in the air.
It was actually very peaceful. I did not regret not ziplining. Heights are just not my thing. It was my son’s favorite thing he did on Maui. They had a blast.
We also ate at The Monkeypod Kitchen on this trip. Twice. This restaurant is very good. The buns on my pulled pork sandwich are made on the premises. Everything there is fresh and proudly created in their kitchen. My kids could not get enough of their fish and chips.
We had a bottle of my favorite Firefly Red Flash wine left over on our last night in Maui (we bought six bottles of wine at the grocery store when we got there. Five Barefoot Pink Moscatos and one Firefly. This was such a cost saver. Our room had a small refrigerator and came with a wine opener). We did not want it to go to waste, because we could not bring it home. Even though it was $25 to uncork it at the restaurant, it was still cheaper than a single bottle of wine there. We are so unbelievably fancy.
We will pay $25 to uncork a $6 bottle of wine. But that is how much we love that wine.
It was worth it.
We have tried different shaved ice places on Maui. The best one? Ululani’s. Hands down.
I am boring. I know what I like. And I always get the same thing.
Strawberry and blue raspberry syrup (made on the premises from their sugar cane) over vanilla ice cream and shaved ice.
It is heaven. The tables even have holes so your ice cup can rest on the table and you can very ladylike shovel the delectable treat into your mouth.
We ate here so often that we filled a punch card and got an icee free. If you go to Maui, you have to have shaved ice. It is not the same as snow cones or shaved ice near you. I promise.
We went to a luau at The Marriott in Wailea.
I wore a Free People dress I purchased last summer and my Forever 21 Floral Kimono.
The food was delicious.
The drinks were all included and I liked them… Maybe a little too much.
The show was entertaining. We were seated at a table with four teenage girls and a separate party consisting of two honeymooners. It was an interesting dynamic. We had a good time.
I loved the couple’s dance they incorporated for the adults that were together.
We brought back so many memories from this trip. But like most experiences, my being cannot process them all at once. They simply combine together into one simple feeling: pure happiness.
What has been your favorite vacation destination? Is your favorite part the food? Or the experiences?
you look like a such a Hawaii girl! Glad you had such a great time. The food all looks amazing. Of course, because I’m an utter glutton, the food is always the favourite part of a trip. It’s very important to me!
Thank you Rachel. I consider the food a huge part of the trip, too. It is might be my favorite part. It is what I am mostly thinking about at all times. What are we having for dinner?
Have a great week!
Jenni
Nice!! Your trip looks like so much fun! Kihei is always where we stay and I LOVE Kihei Cafe… it’s my fav breakfast spot too 🙂
Thank you Kara! Kihei is so relaxed and cool! I love it. And Kihei Caffe is great! I always worry I won’t get a table but miraculously one always opens up. They are so efficient!
Have a lovely week!
Jenni
awww this reminds me of my honeymoon (we went to maui and the big island). i’ve wanted to go back since the moment we got home! this looks amazing!!!!
Thank you Sarah. Once your kids get a bit older (babies with sand is no fun at all. I remember being shocked that they wanted to eat it!), you should definitely go! It will not be the same as a honeymoon, but I think it is a great place for families. We are deciding if we can swing it next year or if we are going to do something different. I always book in September, so I have a bit of time to figure it out.
Have an easy and fun week!
Jenni
Food pics! Yay!
My favourite vacation destination would have to be Bali. I haven’t been there for a few years because it takes so long to get there from North America but I’m hopeful that I’ll be back there eventually. I can’t choose between experiences vs food… Can I just say that I consider food to be an experience too?
Thank! I hoped you would like the food pics! : ). My cousin lives in Bali and I keep meaning to go. The souvenirs from there are the best! My dad brought me back amazing treasures! I do not want to take the flight with the kids either, but we are seriously considering it. Food is definitely an experience!
Have a yummy week! ; )
Jenni
It looks like you had such a lovely time! I have never been to Maui – but I definitely want to one day. I really want to try ziplining – it is a little intense like you said but (so far) I enjoyed experimenting with heights so we shall see (:
Also, I wanted to let you know that I reached out to Julie Brown Designs re the bow clutch I featured in my latest post! They said that if you are interested in purchasing the clutch you can give their office a call 212 764 4929 x 102 and ask for Susan. They said that usually the clutch is around $80 but they would lower it to $50 for you! Just wanted to give you a heads up since the clutch isn’t available online (:
– Deniz
Thank you Deniz. You will love ziplining. Especially if you go in with an open excited spirit about it.
Wow! That is SO awesome about the clutch. I love it so much! I spent my small June budget on Anthropologie’s tag sale. But, oh, I do love that clutch! Why must a budget exist? : (
Thank you again! Have a great week!
Jenni
Oh my, that all looks SO good! I think I would eat the entire cream cheese pastry myself! Sweet baked goods are my kryptonite!
I am hoping to take a family vacation this summer. Normally we spent all our vacation time visiting family in Michigan, but now, we actually have a chance to go somewhere!
Thank you Alicia! Oh! I hope you have a wonderful time! I cannot wait to see pictures. Your boys are the perfect age to start remembering things they experience. So cool!
I did end up eating almost that entire cream cheese pastry myself. It was amazing!
Have a great week!
Jenni
Wow such a great time and trip.
It is very hard for me to pick my favourite vacation. I’ve been lucky to have quite a few. Stellar moments might be staying in a chateau in Bordeaux for 5 days and our trip to Australia where we went caving and stayed on Kangaroo Island with our own private guide.
bisous
Suzanne
Thank you Suzanne. Oh your vacations sound amazing! Kangaroo Island?! That sounds intriguing. You have traveled so extensively. I love that!
I hope you are having sweet dreams!
Jenni
Love looking at all of your pictures! I would not go ziplining either. My fear of heights is getting worse as I get older.
My favorite vacation was when Freddy and I eloped. We went to Harbour Island. Your pictures remind me of that vacation.
I love that you eloped! I definitely think that is the way to do it. I am not a big wedding girl. I don’t get spending so much for just one day!
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Jenni