Four days back, and still having difficulty with the return transition... finally decided to commence the trip report %26amp; traumatize myself some more!
Fri -
Flight was uneventful, with the exception of my gf making friends w/ all the flight attendants, so they would choose to waive their ';magic FA wings'; over her should we have problems in the air... (grade III flight paranoia - maybe she should have just taken ONE Valium..) At ogg, I hopped off the plane, and went straight to Alamo while gf waited for luggage (and made friends with the Hare Krishna%26#39;s, who%26#39;d pray for our safety on the way home...). Details on Alamo deserved a thread of their own...see the carnage here: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29220-i86-k123028…
After grabbing the gf at the terminal, we headed straight to Costco and grabbed a number of things to properly stock the Villa (inc a 1.75ltr of Kettle One!) Prior to leaving Costco, we just had to get the Dog %26amp; soda for a buck fifty - I knew this would be our only chance to grub this cheaply! We arrived at the Kapalua Ridge Villa%26#39;s and parked in our covered stall just steps from our place...wonderful ! The place was immaculate, just remodeled w/ granite, laminate/berber floors and the views were incredible from BOTH floors! Oh..and the grounds here are impeccably maintained and spectacular! We also have full use of Pool %26amp; facilities at the Ritz! Also, I finally found the stash of beach chairs, mats and water accessories!! Great!!!
Sat -
We made this a pool day - north pool at the Ridge has a great party area with a complete kitchen, fridge w/ icemaker and two of the cleanest gas BBQ%26#39;s I%26#39;ve seen - the water was pretty darn warm here, great for gf (she prefers bath water temp..), but a bit tepid for me.. The high pressure system over the island did not disappoint, it was HOT!! After soaking the rays, we headed to Lahaina and to Kimo%26#39;s, where we had some libations and waited for a table on the rail upstairs, which ended up being perfect! I asked the server about the Prime Rib, since on my last trip it was a bit tough (usually ONOlicious!!) and he said it was great tonight! GF ordered stuffed MahiMahi which was excellent; however, the PR, although massive in appearance, was cooked about med-well... Since I%26#39;d ordered med-rare, I pointed this out to server who then brought me a really nice light pink CHUNK of beef....only this one was less than 100 degrees....just above room temp... I grabbed server and told him to feel a piece I%26#39;d cut off the PR, and he apologized and said that he guessed that was what came up for ';rare'; this evening....huh? Anyway, I thought it best to try another item at this point %26amp; ordered the sirloin. It came out hot, flavorful and cooked perfectly, but it was like chewing a piece of gum - very tough! I ate about half, and told the server I%26#39;d given up... Several minutes later, Jack Starr, Kimo%26#39;s ';director of Aloha'; (he%26#39;s been here since early 80%26#39;s) came up to apologize, he mentioned that I%26#39;d first asked about the PR and then to have this happen was awful ! He asked when we were leaving, and proceeded to set us up to come back the following Friday, prior to Warren %26amp; Anabelle%26#39;s which we had booked. Kimo%26#39;s is one of my favorite dining places in the world, not for the food....but, the place has sentimental value to me %26amp; just screams: ';I%26#39;m in Maui !'; So I left a bit disappointed...
Sun -
We hit Napili beach and it was even hotter than Sat!! Merc said 98!! We met a couple from ';Boring Oregon';, not a statement, but an actual city! HA! After a great beach day, we made plans to meet Dan %26amp; Lisa, who brought their teenager and 8yo son, for an ';adults'; dinner -- they really needed a mommy %26amp; daddy night out! Since this was their first trip to Maui, I decided to bring them to the Barefoot Bar at the Hula Grill... Got a table in the sand, and our meal was simple, but great! Now, the libations part was another story.... Lisa %26amp; Teri (gf..) commenced to getting completely schnokkered!!! I limited myself to 3 MaiTai%26#39;s, and decided to take them for a stroll down the beachwalk to mellow the girl%26#39;s out a bit... great idea... Soon as they heard the waves, Lisa makes a bee line for the ocean (she%26#39;s former Navy %26amp; Dan was a Navy Seal..). I think Teri was quite worried about Lisa in the ocean, %26#39;cause she was having much trouble walking, let alone navigating the waves!! We got lisa back on the beachwalk %26amp; walked all the way down to the Hyatt, where Dan proceeded to toss Teri into their pool....then I tossed him, Lisa tried (unsuccessfully..) to toss me, but ended up being tossed in again...during all of this, we%26#39;d set our stuff on a table right near the beachwalk, and away from the pool....one of the maintenance guys that was setting up the tables for an event the next day (by this time, it was after midnight..) brought all of our stuff over to a table right next to the pool, he said it%26#39;d be safer here, smiled and went about his work!! What a guy!!! I had the feeling he%26#39;d have liked to join us in the pool! Shortly after this, as Lisa was exiting the pool, she slipped and did a total face-plant on the flagstone by the pool....this was a bit scary, and I thought it best we attempt to navigate our way back to the Whaler%26#39;s village where the festivities began, which took some time, as the females needed to be ';walked'; so they wouldn%26#39;t fall.. What a night!!
Mon -
Had the morning 100% Kona beans on the wonderful Lanai %26amp; realized how much I%26#39;d miss this simple pleasure in the near future... Packed a great lunch %26amp; (NON alcoholic) drinks in the soft cooler we%26#39;d grabbed at the ABC store, and took the short drive to Napili beach....WOW, was it HOT that day!! No trades at all... Left Lisa %26amp; Dan a msg, hoping she was ok after all the commotion last night, but we never heard back - bad influences (us..) is my guess!! The waves were ripping pretty good for Napili that day, south swell from %26#39;da big island I suppose, it made for some great boogie boarding! Went back to the Villa %26amp; decided to BBQ some awesome Miller dog%26#39;s we%26#39;d got from Safeway at the pool, they%26#39;re about 10 bucks for a pack (not much cheaper at home..), but totally worth it! I call them ';OnoDogs!'; HA!
Tues -
Rose early %26amp; hit the line at the Gazebo, which was close to an hour. Had the french toast %26amp; Teri got an omelet - pretty good! While we were in line, the cook hit the button to drop the giant spider on the table right next to where we were standing!! Good think we weren%26#39;t sitting at that table, you guys would have heard the gf scream all the way on the mainland!!! Decided to take a journey south to Wailea shops/resorts. Stopped in Kihei at several of the make-shift souvenir bazar%26#39;s....encountered several %26#39;interesting%26#39; individuals here! Headed to Wailea Shops, which were totally boring....same stuff back home, just in smaller quantities there... Parked at beach access just past Grand Wailea and was amazed at the poor condition of the public areas on Wailea beach! The bathrooms were awful, and there was garbage all around the grass here, not at all what I remembered on my last trip here. Toured Grand and Four Seasons, which was nice (as a 5-star resort should be!) GF thought the Grand was amazingly obnoxious!! Crowded, loud, kid%26#39;s screaming and running all over the place - not her idea of paradise, and both of us DO have kids!! We drove up past Big %26amp; Little beaches to some of the mega-estates of Makena. Some decent %26#39;crib%26#39;s%26#39; around here, eh?!? We packed it in and decided to stop in Kihei for a bite. Spotted LuLu%26#39;s from the blvd %26amp; remembered someone on TA mentioning this joint. We had salad%26#39;s %26amp; buffalo wing pupu%26#39;s, which were pretty darn good - actually we split a salad (believe was called the ';cheap salad';) which was mondo-sized, I thought they%26#39;d charge us for two! LuLu%26#39;s is a cool %26amp; reasonable place to hang %26amp; grub! Hamburgers looked MASSIVE!!
As we make our way back up north, Lisa %26amp; Dan finally called %26amp; said they%26#39;d missed our msg. Lisa had two black eye%26#39;s and most likely had broken her nose on the Hyatt face-plant. Poor girl was totally embarrassed and wouldn%26#39;t take her shades off for nuthin%26#39;! We made a date to meet at Pizza Paradiso in Honokowai for some grub. We arrived and waited quite awhile, until Dan finally called %26amp; I realized he%26#39;d driven all the way to Lahaina! I thought I%26#39;d given pretty good directions, but the poor boy was cruzin%26#39; up %26amp; down the 30 looking for us! They finally found us %26amp; we had one super meal at the Paradiso!! Pasta was awesome and this place has the BEST pizza on the island (bar NONE..sorry, BJ%26#39;s..), gf actually wanted to franchise one in Norcal !! After pounding down 80 bucks worth of pizza/pasta, we headed back to the Villa for a couple%26#39;a night caps... This time though, nothing got too out of hand...
;-)
If you have the tolerance....stay tuned for part II !
MauiNKO
Trip report 5/18 - 5/28 Part 1 (yep...it's a long one!)
Sorry about the length...remember I%26#39;m trying to heal myself!
;..-(
Trip report 5/18 - 5/28 Part 1 (yep...it's a long one!)
Lotsa eatin%26#39;, lotsa drinking, lotsa togetherness, sounds great so far. Thanks for the report and glad you had a good time. A little worried about the Kimo%26#39;s experience, which I was planning on making as one of our dinner stops in July.
Poor Lisa! Sounds like a great trip so far for you guys though!
Sounds like you all had a good time!! Thanks for sharing: )
always looking for a good deal on a great property,approx. what did you and the gf pay for the condo/villa?
ridge realty has the standard...... ';FROM'; 150.00 nt. on their web site
maybe they were breaking in a new apprentice cook(rosie o%26#39;donnell????) on your dinner at kimos.
enjoyed the trip report!
tqluvtotrvl, I wouldn%26#39;t worry one bit about Kimo%26#39;s -- any place can have an off night, and the second trip totally made up for the 1st!!
As I%26#39;ve said, after twenty-some trips to Maui, there are many things I can skip on a visit, hitting Kimo%26#39;s ain%26#39;t one of %26#39;em!!
Loved the report. Keep it coming.
Kimo%26#39;s is on the list of ';must dine at'; places for my first visit.
And yes, Boring Oregon is a replace. And believe it or not, it lives up to it%26#39;s name! ;)
donboy, check your inbox....sent you a pm
MauiNKO
Damn, great report! Wish I would have had the chance to party with you all. Looks like you didn%26#39;t need the caddyman.....I%26#39;d give a $20 to dive in the pool and then later get two black eyes from a face plant.
As Homer Simpson says, ';Oh please Lisa....Lisa';! (Does he really say that?
I can%26#39;t wait to read ';Maui Report Part 2';. Maui looses his pink speedos in the Pacific and scares ';the girls';.....HA HA!
....why does my head hurt????
