World United States Hawaii Kaanapali

12 Days in Paradise: Maui, Hawaii

Day 2- Leisurely day in Kaanapali May 26, 2008

Thanks to a gain of 6 hours, I easily woke up at 5am Maui time. I was feeling the aloha spirit and proceeded to prepare myself a delicious breakfast consisting of fresh local papaya, mango and honey yogurt with almonds. Brett and I sat out on our lanai and enjoyed our breakfast while listening to the calm waves of the early morning low-tide and discussed what we wanted to do that day. To break in our first full day, we decided to head to Kaanapali Beach in front of Whaler's Village for a lazy beach day and lunch at Hula Grill. First, though I took my morning run along Front Street, before the heat from the sun was too overwhelming and the streets were jam-packed with tourists. Once I got back, showered off and we drenched ourselves in 50spf, we headed to Kaanapali Beach. Brett "played" in the ocean while I laid out with my Maui Babe browning lotion and strolled the beach. Lunch was Hula Grill. YUM! I had a Mai Tai, Ahi Sashimi and their fruit taster- jam packed with fresh locally grown pineapple, papaya, strawberries, banana, lychee and pina colada dipping sauce. Brett had a sunset margarita and a bacon/blue cheese burger with fries. We enjoyed Hula Grill's "barefoot bar"- it is their outdoor lanai with a floor of soft, cool sand and a spectacular view of Kaanapali Beach. We shopped a bit, but didn't buy anything and headed back to the condo to do the dreaded rental car "exchange"- ugh .. "the price you pay for getting a good deal and then adding an extra day" - or so I was told by a Hotwire.com hating Hertz representative... While waiting for Brett, I went running again and learned why running along Front Street must be limited to early morning. People were crowding the streets and they become so encompassed with their surroundings that they forget other people are in their vicinity. Run, stop..jog, stop... ahhh, in Maui, you really can't complain much- and really, you can't blame anyone for drifting off into La-La Land while in Lahaina. I admit it, we do it too sometimes:) We cancelled our dinner reservations at Mala and instead decided to stroll along Front Street to check out the annual Canoe Festival taking place under the Banyan tree. There were people constructing intricate canoes and vendors displaying jewelry and paintings. For Dinner, we decided on the "new"(to us), Mai Tai Lounge (http://www.lahainamaitai.com/). Two years prior, the restaurant housed Blu. We enjoyed it, but decided to give Mai Tai Lounge a try. We were guided to our seats on the roof, overlooking the gorgeous Lahaina Harbor. A perfect oceanview setting as the sun began to set. The Mai Tai Lounge had probably the most unique drink menu on Lahaina- we decided on the "Fog Cutter" and the "Tahitian Scorpion Bowl"- don't ask me what is in them, but they are served in vintage glasses- each glass coordinating with the chosen drink. I recommend the Fog Cutter, but didnt care for the Scorpion Bowl- not a bad drink, just didn't realize that it was a frozen drink, and I don't particularly care for those.. The menu really is pretty great. There are several sushi options, unique pupu's and some several options for dinner. I ordered the Ahi Rainbow Tower (Ahi prepared poke style layered with rice, mango, pineapple and avocado topped with masago and served with wonton chips and a wasabi-ginger drizzle) Brett ordered the Wonton Nachos (crisp wonton chips smothered in pepperjack cheese topped with a pineapple-mango salsa, tomatoes and scallions) After dinner and a long stroll, we made our way to Scoops Ice Cream Shop for Coconut Macadamia Nut Fudge Ice cream and shared it on the Lahaina Harbor while watching the sunset.

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