|
Vacation at Kanapali Beach, Maui
by Brad Maxwell
 We landed at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui and were greeted by lovely Hawaiians who presented us with flower leis as part of our travel package. It's such a fun way to start a vacation; flowers right off the plane. We collected our bags and jumped into a taxi for a ride over to our hotel on Kaanapali Beach. Although there are many hotels to choose from, we decided to stay at the Westin Maui Resort. It's a very nice hotel in the middle of Kaanapali Beach, right next door to the Whalers Village. There is even a great pool, including a water slide for my son.
 Hawaii has many islands that are each very different than the next, providing a great opportunity to visit two or three on the same trip. But when we decided visit only one, Maui seemed the obvious choice. With beautiful forests much like those on the Garden isle of Kauai, exciting beach activities like those at Waikiki on Ohau, one of the best Luaus of any island, and a Volcano to top it off, the choice for Maui was clear. In addition, Kaanapali Beach has snorkeling and we were ready with our gear -- a whole suitcase full of nothing but snorkeling equipment which would allow us to snorkel at any time.
 Since we got in late, it was already time for dinner. So we checked in the hotel and headed over to the Whaler's Village to find a place. There were quite a few choices, but the restaurant that caught our eye was the Hula Grill and Barefoot Bar. A very casual restaurant with tables and chairs right on the sand, where we could eat with our feet on the beach. As the sunset painted the sky, a small stage was filled by a hula dancer and a couple of musicians. It's just so hard to describe that first night, sitting back in the sand, dusk to dark, family all around and the air filled with a hula sound. We were so happy to find this place that we ended up eating at the Hula Grill three times during our one week stay.
 For our first couple of days, we decided to take it easy right there at the hotel. A few chairs by the pool and a cool drink in the hand seemed to work wonders. We would bring our snorkel gear down to the beach and snorkel right in front of the hotel. We soon found out that there were some better underwater views up the beach to the north, next to the black rocks in front of the last hotel. It wasn't until the end of the second day that we started getting antsy. So, we walked down the beach to where they offered parasailing and signed up the whole family. Each parasail will hold two people so we all rode together. Since there are five of us, I had to ride twice - darn!
 On our third night, we had reservations at the Old LaHaina Luau. And as it turned out, it was a good thing that I called months prior to our trip. I found out that the Old LaHaina Luau can sellout months in advance. It's well known as one of the best luaus of the islands. Not at a hotel, but at their own location specially setup for a traditional luau. There is even old style seating on the ground close to the dancers, which is where we chose to sit. To begin with, they present you with a lei, a drink and you watch them remove the Kalua Pig from the ground. As the evening begins, they explain the migration of the Polynesians across the Pacific. Everyone takes turns at the Hawaiian buffet and the show begins.  The dancers are spectacular and the evening is enchanting. What's a visit to Hawaii without a luau?
After quite a few days in the sun, we decided to take a road trip around the island with two main destinations in mind; the Hana Highway and the Haleakala Crater. Although we did both in one day, I would certainly would not recommend it anyone. We got up early and drove up to the crater -- a steep drive up a volcano with a spectacular view from the top. We really didn't stay to long before we jumped back into the van and headed towards the Hana Highway on the west side of the island. On the way we stopped for lunch at Mama's Fish House, a converted beach house with a tropical Polynesian decor.
As we made our way down the Hana Highway, it was clear that this was going to be a favorite part of our trip. We have always loved road trips and this one goes right through some of the most spectacular shorelines in all of Hawaii. The Hana Highway goes right along the coast -- where the rain forest meets the ocean. There are beautiful beaches on the coast side of the road and intriguing waterfalls and pools on the other side. And at the end of the road is Haleakala National Park, or the Seven Sacred Pools. If I had it to do over again, I would spend a whole day on the Hana Highway. 
Well, too much time away from the sun and you just got to go back. So, we jumped in the van and drove up the rode a way to where the surfing school was. The younger members of our family all took surfing lessons while I lived up to my responsibility of taking pictures. Nobody ever said life is fair. All it took was about an hour and everyone was up and surfing. When I saw my two daughters on their boards, I kept thinking of Gidget Goes Hawaiian. After a day of surfing, we went into LaHaina Town and ate at Bubba Gumps. Now I know that its not really the most Hawaiian place on the island, but my son loves it. We all love shrimp. 
On our last day, we did a drive and snorkel up the coast to a little spot called Honolu'a Bay. This was clearly the best snorkeling so far and we saw the best fish of the trip. That evening we went back to our favorite Hula Grill for one last sunset dinner. It's tough leaving paradise.
For more information visit:
www.mamasfishhouse.com
www.oldlahainaluau.com
www.visitmaui.com
|
