Neil's Wine, Food and Travel Journal: Maui, Hamilton, and the end of Summer

I can't believe that it is football season and that summer is about to end. I am disappointed at all the non-sense that has engulfed the Rutgers football team.

Maui
We went to Maui again. We stayed at the Marriott in Wailea http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnmmc-wailea-beach-marriott-resort-and-spa/ for 5 nights and the Eldorado, an Outrigger condo, in Kaanapali Beach http://www.outriggermauieldoradocondo.com/?src=LeadQual_ppc_MER_20150921_Google_Brand_50S_MER_OCC_Condo-Brand-MER-Maui-Broad_c_g_Maui_Hawaii_2015BC5PromoCodeFOUNDERS_Ad-2_SpaciousKaanapaliBeachCondos_Startingat13OffBookby1027&sctp=ppc&scvn=google&scsrc=google_search&scgeo=MER&sccrtv=Brand&sckw=%2Bmaui%20%2Bel%20%2Bdorado&gclid=Cj0KEQjwnMOwBRCAhp-ysqCwypkBEiQAeSy1-cd7wU5ev9zE7AXIiOywqoix9xf-ifdm-Z_5DClf4zQaAvnO8P8HAQ for 3 nights. The weather was strange. A few hurricanes have narrowly missed the Hawaiian Islands and the weather was quite humid and hot as the hurricanes have surrounded the islands blocked tradewinds.

We love Maui. Everything just works for us from Costco to Mana Foods from Hana to Kapalua. The low season starts in mid August so things were not that crowded when we were there. The Marriott is very well situated and the hotel works. Nothing incredible but very nice. The hotel is between 2 very nice beaches and the hotel really does nothing for you if you want to be on the beach. They have some old rusty half chairs that you can take along with towels. The chairs worked and they were an improvement from the last time we stayed at the hotel.

The food at the hotel should be better but... We did not eat at Mala but there was no buzz and the prices are very expensive. Migrant, is Asian fusion and it was reasonable and decent. You can eat outside overlooking the ocean so that is great.

The beaches are great. Beaches in Hawaii are clean and most have facilities such as parking and bathrooms. Many have lifeguards. The ocean was calm except at the shoreline where there were beach drop waves. These are large swells that just drop on the beach and can be quite dangerous. In fact we went to Big Beach and the lifeguards basically chased us away with all of their warnings they broadcast on a PA system.

Since we have been to the island so many times, we had no agenda. The one thing that we did was to take a minibus tour around the island past Hana. The road past Hana was one of the few roads I had not driven. The tour was long but fun. The scenery is breathtaking and the road scary. We had lunch at the Travaasa Hana Hotel. The lunch was lousy but we love the hotel and it is in the process of being renovated. We hit a flash flood on the way home on the tour. A main road was blocked near the Maui Winery. There was no way around. Going back would have meant about 5 hours of travelling.

Maui's Grand Canyon.

This "stream" crossed the road. We finally drove through it after some locals showed that it was possible.

We visited Paia again. Mana Foods must be one of the best health food stores anyway. Eclectic and good stuff with fair prices. Passion fruit was $1.59 a pound so I was in heaven. I love the fruits in Hawaii. At a roadside stand near Leodas Pie Shop, near Lahaina, I bought some mangoes that were the best mangoes that I have ever eaten. They were green and had pale yellow interiors but so ripe, juicy and tasty. I also bougt a pineapple crumb pie at Leodas and it was real good.

We also went to Makawao but the Komodo Bakery was closed both times. We did eat at the Market Bistro for lunch. The food is always pretty good there. We had a pulled pork sandwich which was a special of the day. The place is quirky but good.

As you can tell we had good food in Maui and did not spend that much. Breakfasts are a challenge but you can find some places in Kihei that are reasonable. The Cheeseburger place in the Wailea shops has a breakfast special for $8.95 that is OK. The Marriott breakfast buffet which they give to elite members of $24.95 looked gross. No local fruit.

Costco is old reliable as they have some great wines and their food is mainland prices. They are also great for sun screen and other beach stuff. Costco also has discount gift certificates for island businesses. You can save on boat trips and dinners. We bought gift cards for Mala and Honu Seafood and Pizza in Lahaina for 20% off.,We rented an umbrella from Boss Frogs for a week for $15. It was a Costco umbrella but Costco sells it for $25. There is also a Whole Foods in Kahului. The store is OK . We did buy some Big Island steaks which were great and reasonable. We also picked up sandwiches there for our plane ride home as the store is near the airport.

Blow hole.