Lounging in Kihei

As we’d hoped for, today was the first of a few more relaxing days on the wonderful island of Maui. Feeling good about our last two days of adventure, we were looking forward to a slower day with some local food and more time in the water. Unfortunately, this makes for a less exciting entry by way of photos and stories, but I still hope to offer a few highlights of things to do and places to eat (some of which are taken from recommendations offered to us).

Unsurprisingly, we slept in more than the last few days – making it to a very reasonable seven o’clock. We knew, in how we wanted today to go, that we intended to take the beech walk to the neighboring town of Wailea for some Happy Hour experiences. However, we were not certain where the beech walk was, how long it would be, or what kind of footwear was best. So, as I’d been feeling like running

anyway, I set off down the road towards the Grand Wailea, the resort we would be checking into tomorrow and spending the rest of our time on the island. The resort was about 2.5 miles away by road, and my run there followed the sidewalks accordingly. The run was quite simple, requiring only 1 turn and 1 hill. Interesting, it was clear to see the difference in the two towns. As soon as I passed the sign for Wailea, the area became greener and lusher. The houses and buildings were larger and more extravagant, the vegetation was fuller, more vibrant, and greener, and it was clear the this was the town of the resorts.

As planned, I made my way to the Grand Wailea, but had been looking for a cut-through or road down to the beach. Most routes went through hotels or private property, so I was less confident than I’d hoped to be. However, at the Grand Wailea I asked at the valet desk and a gentleman named Muso (spelling?) offered to walk me through the hotel and down to the beach path. This was a welcome rest and I got a sneak peak at my lodgings for the next few nights. “Oh My God!” It was immediately clear how much fun this place would be. The architecture was lavish and as we walked along outside we passed pools of Koi fish, elaborate river-like “activity pools,” the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a (one of the high end dining places) and all of it’s “Tiki-Hut” seating, and more. Since we’ll check in tomorrow, I’m certain this list will grow. Muso walked me down to the cobblestone beach path that ran between the sandy beaches and the resort proper, and could be followed up the coast, along the other resorts on the coast, until I returned to Kihei.

And so, I said “thank you” and began my run back. This was my “research” towards the beach walk we’d take back for some happy Hours this afternoon. The run/path was

gorgeous. For the stretch that spanned the major resorts, the path was paved or cobblestone. The route cut through “golf-green-grass” (grass that is both the green color of well-kept golf grass as well as the short cut of a golf green), through large hedges and between pools and the smooth, sandy beaches. Eventually, as I neared the end of the resorts, the path turned to a loose sand that cut through hedges, and deposited me off on the sandy beach itself. I continued for a ways along the beautiful coast, remembering how much more tiring it was to run on sand than pavement… This beach run took be back to the Kihei Surfside Resort, the last large establishment before the path became slightly less defined. From here, it was maybe another 0.25-0.5 miles along the coast to our hotel, but the route cut through some rocky trails and shrubbery as opposed to the beaches or the more pure coastline. All in all, the route was absolutely worth doing and I was excited to walk this way back in the afternoon.

Once back, Archer and I set out to find a local spot for breakfast and make some plans for the next few days. Initially we headed to the Kihei Caffe, but it was packed and we were not interested in waiting that long. Instead we found Café @ LaPlage, which was a great place to sit inside, and eat some bagel sandwiches. While eating we agreed that we wanted to look into a snorkeling adventure, as well as some more appropriate footwear for our afternoon walk. We finished our food and headed next door to a Boss Frog's. While there we booked a guided ferry to the island of Lanai for some snorkeling on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any footwear that would offer us a bit more support on a beach walk, so we drove back to the “Shops at Wailea”. Here we both picked up a pair of Abeo sandals, which would be great for trekking through the ocean tides, but also offer support on the rocky parts of the walk. We returned to our condo to relax in the pool until about 1, when we got dressed and set out on our walk.

The route and scenery is as described previously, so I will omit that again for the most part. However, it was super windy! We were grateful for this as, unsurprisingly, it was also very hot. As for wildlife, we saw a couple crabs scurry away from us, but I was not able to get close enough for a picture. Our walk took us back the “Shops at Wailea” (adjacent to the Grand Wailea) where, based on recommendations, we entered a Tommy Bahama’s for Happy Hour. We were not disappointed. Collectively, we enjoyed their Mai Tai, Mojito, Margarita, Fish Tacos, Coconut Shrimp, Pork Sliders, and Seared Scallop Sliders. It was all …

delicious, and quickly blended from just Happy Hour, to also our dinner. Everything was delicious, but our favorite remained the fish tacos. Fun fact – their center pieces were the bud vases from Heath Ceramics, which we enjoyed seeing as that is the new dishware we are acquiring. After dinner we enjoyed a quick visit into their store and bought 2 shirts (a purple and a teal… perfect for us) and a new pair of linen shorts.

With our Happy Hour/Dinner trip finished we took the beach walk back to our lodgings in Kihei. After dropping off our stuff, we headed back out to the ocean, just as we have every night. While it was relaxing at first, we had an unfortunate ending to this swim as we believe Archer was stung by a rogue jellyfish tentacle. We finished our relaxing evening in the jellyfish-free pool at our condo and then headed inside to go to sleep.