Today was a very quiet day around on the island. We started our day out at Po’olenalena beach. This is a great beach if you want to avoid any crowds and enjoy some quiet rest and relaxation. When you park you want to stay to the right, follow the trail around a rocky point until you see the beach. This beach has some of the best sand, it’s tucked back enough you don’t typically get hit by the trade winds and because it tends to be a locals beach, on weekdays you will be one of the only people using it. Beach goers beware though the far end of the beach is a nudist area, so avoid this beach (or just that area) if that makes you uncomfortable. After the beach, we hit the condo pool until it was time to get ready for dinner. We decided to have a nice dinner at the condo. So we headed to Foodland to pick up steaks and poke. If you want to enjoy some delicious poke, Foodland grocery store is one of the best spots for this. After dinner and a colorful sunset it was off to bed to get rested for a busy next day.
Today was a fun-filled, busy day. We started out our early morning day heading to Komoda Bakery in Makawoa. They have the best sweet treats around. We always get several donuts on a stick, malasadas, and anything else that sounds good for that day! The shops of Makawoa typically don’t open until 10am; however the ones open early are fun to browse. We bought some watercolor artwork from the local artist Sherri Reeve. The shop owner also gave Ayla a dog Christmas ornament from the artist. We took our Komoda goodies and headed to Ho’okipa Lookout to watch the surfers and enjoy breakfast. Ho’okipa beach is also a popular place for turtles to lie in the sun, so keep an eye on the beach too, they come out of nowhere! When we got there we didn’t see any turtles, but, by the time left, there were about 11 HUGE turtles laying in the sand. Next stop was Mahalo Aleworks in upcountry. This brewery has good beer and AWESOME views of both sides of the island. They have a second story lanai that is the best to enjoy a beer or a flight on. After Mahalo we headed to Hali’imaile General Store in upcountry for lunch. This is a farm to table establishment the offers not only great food but good drinks. If you go, you must try the crab pizza, it was the winner for our group! After we refueled and hydrated we headed to the Maui Ocean Center. This is a must-do every time we visit. It gives you a true look under the ocean and offers informative displays to help educate you about the local marine life. It has indoor and outdoor exhibits and it ends with a tunnel aquarium (including a glass floor) that you walk through that has all the large ocean life. It truly is an experience everyone should have at least once. After the aquarium, I was zonked and ready to get home to enjoy sunset with a glass of wine and then off to bed.
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