Day 5: Trick-or-Treat [Maui 2025]
Today is Ayla’s most anticipated day. It’s trick-or-treating on Maui day! We haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate Halloween with her, but with her being in preschool and being around older kids she has been very into everything Halloween and spooky this year. We knew we would have to participate in some festive activities this year on Maui. Before we left Spokane we asked her what she wanted to be and she was 100%, non-negotiable, set on being a spooky ghost. We thought she would want to be princess or a character from a show she likes, so the ghost idea was a total left field choice, but we happily complied. When we went costume shopping the only ghost costume we found was one that went all the way over her head and had two mesh eye holes to see from. We had her try it on at the store, she said she liked it and would wear it, so we got that and a trick or treating bag. She insisted on getting a pumpkin bag, luckily they had one small and light enough to easily pack into our suitcases.
Now, back to our day. We started our day heading to my favorite beach, Maluaka Beach. It was another calm water day, so we all spent most of the day swimming in the ocean. Ayla has been getting a lot of practice in the pool going under and looking for pretend fish and turtles. So while the waters were calm her & AJ swam next to coral and she was able to SEE fish! She was so excited. After a nice morning beach day we headed back to the condo to get ready for all the spooky activities.
Tonight’s Halloween activity was at the Maui Ocean Center. Afterhours they were hosting a Fins & Frights night with trick-or-treating throughout and various kids’ activities. We started out with dinner at Point Break Pizza & Panini (a client recommendation) and boy was it good! The harbor area was extremely windy. But the way the restaurant is situated you can sit outside to enjoy the view and not have any wind on you. I ordered the Hale Ensalata and it was the best salad I have had on island. I would go back there just for the salad. It tasted very fresh, the dressing was light and the veggies on top were plentiful. It also has to be noted that the bread that came with it was one of the most flavorful breads as well. We ordered the Boss Hog pizza to share; it was so good we ended up eating the entire thing. We’ve had a lot of locals recommend Hula Cookies, and right across from our dinner spot was their ice cream shop, so naturally we had to get dessert too. We got the Keiki’s Fav ice cream sandwich and the coconut/pineapple waffle cone to share. All were delicious and we will be making a return trip before we leave. (Side note: Foodland also has a Hula Cookies display case in Kihei for the same price as the ice cream shop in case you wanted to stay in the area).
Now that we were all well fed, we were ready to get our spooky on. Ayla put on her ghost costume and we were off! She LOVED finding all the candy stations and doing the keiki activities. Her favorite was digging for shark teeth, and getting to keep the tooth. Because this event took place afterhours the various aquarium had their evening lights on and the fishes were pretty dormant or completely hidden. However, the lobster tank was extremely active. Usually during the day the lobsters are pretty hidden, so it was a treat to see them so active. The other surprise was the seahorse tank. They were swimming around and being very active. I had never seen a seahorse swim before, so it was a highlight of the night for me. Because this event was geared towards kids of all ages, they also opened up the humpback exhibit. This is an exhibit we have not been able to enjoy since Ayla has been too young to go in. It’s a 3D sphere theater that allows you to feel like you’re swimming with humpback whales. It was done really nicely, and Ayla kept saying “they’re going to hit my head!” and covering her head and ducking down. We were just as entertained with her as we were with the movie. To our surprise Ayla kept her costume on the entire night (except during the movie) and when it was time to leave we told her she could have one piece of candy during the car ride home. She ended up falling asleep with the candy in her hand. It was a really fun experience with a lot of local families in attendance.
Because Ayla loved trick or treating so much we decided tomorrow we’ll participate in Wailea Keiki Halloween event, so stay tuned for those fun stories!
