A Spectacular 4th In Lahaina, Maui (2022)

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As an A Lister on Southwest, I board pretty early so I was able to secure the front row on the Max 8 to Maui from Sacramento!

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Southwest has a special snack pack for flights to and from Hawaii.

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I enjoyed stretching out with the extra leg room in the front row as I enjoyed my Wild Turkey and Coke Zero.  I have plenty of Southwest drink coupons too as a frequent flier!

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Before we landed, they served a second snack which was Brownie Brittle.

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This is the Maui coastline as we entered the airspace over the island.

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That's HNL!  Yeah, we got diverted since we had a mechanical issue and could land safety in Maui.  They put us on another plane within an hour and a half.

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Once we got our luggage which was on "island time," we took the tram over from baggage claim to the rental car building at OGG.

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Since I am Executive Elite with National's Emerald Club, I can pick any car I want.  I took a Mustang convertible!

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I loved driving that Mustang!  We are headed to our resort here in Lahaina from the airport.

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These mountains seperated the western coast of Maui from the airport area.

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Despite the diversion to Honolulu, we made it to our resort just in time to watch the beautiful sunset in Lahaina!

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After taking in the beautiful sunset, we walked down to Paia Fish Market in historic Lahaina.

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I ordered ahi tuna for my entree.  The food was great!

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I had to get Hawaiian shaved ice on our first night back on the islands!  There is ice cream at the bottom too!

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I had an early morning drive the next day to get to the harbor in Kihei for my snorkeling trip.  The drive between the western shore and Kihei is beautiful!

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My snorkel adventure took off from Kihei Harbor.

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Our first stop was going to be in the old volcanic crater, Molokini, but the water was too rough for us to snorkel there.

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The crew ended up taking us to the second spot called Turtle Town off the coast of Maui instead for the snorkel.

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The water was pleasantly warm as I went in to see turtles.

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There were lots of turtles in that area!

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I bought this photo from the underwater photographer who captured me with the turtle!

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Our catamaran is behind me as I surfaced after a nice snorkel!

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Time for a pina colada!

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We went to Safeway once we got back to get some groceries for our kitchen at the resort.  They had fresh poke there too!  They were delicious!

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After I got back to the resort, I made a fresh pina colada using the local Kula toasted coconut rum that we got at Safeway!

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This ain't a bad place to enjoy my pina colada concoction!

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We had the Old Lahaina Luau later that night!

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This is a popular luau and sells out quickly.  We had to reserve this months out, and the only date available during our trip was on that Sunday!

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We are posing with this wood carving outside the luau entrance.

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They le'id us with a fresh flower lei, and then we were shown to our private table.

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I don't always drink fruity drinks in Hawaii, but when I do I drive a mai tai!  LOL. - The Most Interesting Man in Hawaii, Anirban Roy!

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Prior to Covid, the luau had a buffet.  Now, they have a five course meal served at the table.  This is the traditional Hawaiian starters including the taro chips and coconut pudding.

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Joy is trying to do the hula here during a lesson.

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We saw another beautiful Lahaina sunset at the luau!

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Before the main show started, they had shorter hula dances performed during the dinner service.

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The main course had chicken, beef, and fish with a taro mash.

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This was a beautiful shot I took off the luau area with the ocean in the background.

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The dessert was delicious!  The chocolate cake had coconut flakes and was served with candied macadamian nuts.

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The show was done really well!

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We posed with one of the dancers at the end of the luau!

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We went for a walk the next morning to get Maui coffee.  On the way, we went past some historic buildings including this church.

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This information booth was once a service station back in 1947.

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This was a school in Lahaina that is named for one of the old Hawaiian kings.  Hawaii was a monarchy prior to us making them a territory and later a state.

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Score!  We found great Maui coffee.  I am in Lahaina harbor here.

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We walked back to our resort via the beach.

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Joy is posing with her coffee too near our resort.

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Our resort, the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort is pictured here from the beach side.

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After getting cleaned up, we headed out to Mama's Fish House in the Mustang Convertible.  Mama's Fish House is located in Paia, which is close to OGG Airport.

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Upon arrival at Mama's Fish House, the valet took the Mustang.  It started raining as we got to that side of the island.

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Despite the tropical rain, the view was amazing as we headed down from the parking lot and upper reception area to the restaurant.

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Mama's Fish House is one of the most coveted restaurants to get a reservation at.  Dinner reservations are 5 months out, and lunch is 3 months out!

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These are some of the famous people who ate at Mama's Fish House including Charleton Heston (my "President"), Hillary Duff, and Dierks Bentley.

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Look!  Kenny Chesney ate there also!

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All the beautiful flowers at the restarant are grown on site.

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As the rain stopped, we had some time to walk down to the beach area at Mama's Fish House.

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Here is the front of the restaurant.

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The menu changes daily!  Moreover, the name of the person who caught the fresh fish is displayed too!

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Our table was amazing!  Look at our view!  My guess is the reservations service tracks our spending and knows Joy and I spend a lot!  LOL.

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I prefer my drinks shaken not stirred as well like Bond!  LOL.

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Mama's Manhattan was the best Manhattan ever!  Prior, I thought the Meatpacker Manhattan at Catch in Las Vegas was the best.

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We started out with grilled octopus and crab cakes!  Even the bread was great!

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The soup course was a chilled mango and lobster soup!  Delicious!

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I had a crab topped mahi mahi served with a 3 oz Tristan Island lobster tail!  Tristan Island Lobster is known as the best lobster in the world!  It comes from about 1,500 miles off the coast of South Africa!

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We got sorbet for dessert.

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We spent around $300 for lunch with the tip!  Not bad!  LOL.

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We went on a 4th of July Fireworks Cruise from Lahaina Harbor later that day after lunch at Mama's Fish House.

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We set sail around 6:00 that evening.

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The channel between Maui and Lanai is so beautiful and fairly calm.

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Joy and I are enjoying our cruise as we display the red, white, and blue on our clothes on the 4th!

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The views of the coastline from the ship were amazing!

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The sunset from the ship was amazing as well!

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There was live music on the ship too!

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Here is another boat that passed us.  There were lots of boats out to catch the fireworks from the water!

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The fireworks in Lahaina were great!  2022 was the first time they had fireworks for the 4th since Covid began since Hawaii had crazy lockdowns as well like other "Blue States."

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I got some more Hawaiian Shaved Ice with Lappert's ice cream after the cruise.

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Lahaina has lots of chickens all over town.  I just kept thinking these would make great huli huli chicken!  LOL.  This was on our walk to the submarine adventure!

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We went on an Atlantis Submarine adventure the day after the 4th.  We had to take a tender over to the submarine.

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This Atlantis submarine was the first built for the US market.

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Joy and I are standing on the bridge of the submarine here!

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Joy is going down inside the submarine.  Check out the hatch!

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We are inside the submarine here!  Oh, I forgot to mention!  No stupid masks anymore in Hawaii since March of 2022!  Yay!

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We started seeing fish as we dove down.

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Here is a cool sunken ship we saw from the submarine.  Atlantis bought this ship and sank it on purpose to make a reef.

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After we dove down to around 130 feet below, we ascended.  Look at the bubbles as we went back up!

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Here is the cockpit of the submarine.

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We got to see the submarine dive again as we went back on the tender.

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Joy and I went to the Maui Pineapple Store for fresh juice and soft serve!  She is making all the stuff fresh from Maui pineapples with no added sugar!

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Joy loves her fresh pineapple juice!

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I loved my pineapple soft serve!

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After the submarine, we headed up the coast to Ka'anapali.  We enjoyed lunch at Duke's Beach House.

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This Duke's was smaller than the one we went to in Waikiki.

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I got a spiked smoothie with Hawaiian rum!

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We loved our view from the bar at Duke's.

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I got an island fish plate with a scoop of rice and macaroni salad.  We also got some poke tacos!

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The beach near Duke's was really cool!  I loved the water temperature!

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We stopped at the Black Rock Beach also.  People jump off those cliffs by the black rock!

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I went back to the beach at our resort when we got back from Ka'anapali.  The water was beautiful!

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I took these pictures from the water with my underwater 4K adventure camera.

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The water temperature was fairly warm!

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The Lahaina Shores Beach Resort is behind me!

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Checking out the eye candy and Lanai too from the shore.  LOL.

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We walked over to the Hotel Lahaina which is the home of the acclaimed Lahaina Grill for dinner with our friends.

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The Lahaina Grill has won many awards including being named the Top 4 restaurant in the US!

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We are waiting for our friends to arrive at Lahaina Grill.  They flew in the day before we left Maui.

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We are seated at our table here at the Lahaina Grill.

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I ordered their scallops for my main course.

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We got a sugar free creme brulee and a flourless cake for dessert!

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Here is a beautiful picture of us with our friends at Lahaina Grill.  We enjoyed dinner with them a lot!

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 The next morning, we found another cool local coffee spot for our morning beverage.

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This banyan tree in the Lahaina park near the old Courthouse is actually one tree!  It has aerial roots which go into the ground to secure the large tree!

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We are getting ready to head back to the airport here from the resort!  We loved our trip!

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We stopped at Tasaka Guri Guri near the airport for this frozen treat!  It was delicious!

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I had lounge privleges at Hawaiian's Premier Club as a Priority Pass member.  They only had the juice and snack mix from their in flight service for the most part.

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Our usual car service sent the Lincoln MKT to get us at Sacramento Airport when we got back.  That is how the Roys roll!  LOL.

    After about two and half years of last visiting the Hawaiian Islands, Joy and I headed out for our amazing trip to Maui in July of 2022.  During the Covid bull shit, the liberal governor of Hawaii had done his best to keep tourists and the valueable dollars we bring out of his state.  There were major restrictions to entering Hawaii including having not only the Covid vaccines but even negative tests at certain times.  Moreover, they masked like crazy over there prior to March of 2022.  After their governor lifted the bull shit restrictions and mask order, Joy and I booked not one but two trips to the islands for that summer of 2022.  Maui was our first trip to Hawaii that summer.  We were both really excited to return to such a beautiful state!

    We departed Sacramento on Southwest on July 2nd on a direct flight to Maui-Kaulini Airport on a Max 8 aircraft.  Since I am an A Lister, we checked in as usual through the VIP check in, and I also boarded among the first passengers so I was able to secure the whole front row for Joy and me.  I think due to the ETOPs protocols, Southwest can not fully sell these flights since if there is an emergency over water, the pilots would have to speed up to get back to the mainland or punch it to probably Honolulu for an emergency landing.  Our flight was great, and we loved the great service on board.  The flight attendants once again seemed more relax now since they did not have to monitor the mouth diaper rule that the CDC illegally put into place.  Southwest gives Hawaii passengers a decent snack pack with crackers, cheese spread, their usual snack mix, jelly beans, and some Tic Tac mints.  I ordered my usual Wild Turkey and Coke Zero, but the flight attendant did not even want my drink coupon for the first round.  Mid flight, I had another one too.  LOL.  Prior to landing, we got some Brownie Brittle snacks also along with coffee service.  Due to the three hour time difference, we would have landed in Maui in the early afternoon, but we had a small emergency where the flaps were not working correctly so the pilot diverted us to Honolulu since their runway was longer so the plane could stop safely.  We did not know about the emergency until we landed in Honolulu.  Within about an hour and a half, Southwest had us on another Max 8 for the twenty five minute flight back to Maui.  We ended up getting $200 in travel vouchers each for the short delay.  However, we were happy the pilots were skilled enough to land us safely.

    After we arrived in Maui, I was offered my choice of any car from National's Executive section as an Executive Elite member.  So, I asked where the convertibles were.  We were in Hawaii after all!  So, we picked a white Ford Mustang convertible.  On our last trip to Hawaii, we got a Chevy Camaro convertible, but the trunk was way too small for all of our luggage.  The Ford Mustang had a much larger trunk.  We departed for our resort in Lahaina afterwards.

    I booked a Destinations by Hyatt property called the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort for this trip.  The beautiful property is right on the water in Lahaina.  With the top down, we got great views of the ocean and the green mountains as we made our way to Lahaina.  Life is great!  One should not have to worry about stupid shit!   Just enjoy life!  Fortunately, despite Biden's inflation, Joy and I were doing really well still.  Very few Americans make what we do, and my awesome company even announced that they would pay us an extra inflation bonus each paycheck for the third quarter even though people in my high pay grade do not really need it!  My company is awesome!  We checked into our studio suite residence at Lahaina Shores, and we had time to unpack before venturing out to watch the amazing Lahaina sunset!

    We walked into Lahaina's small strip of shops in the historic area after the sunset.  For dinner, we went to the Paia Fish House.  The place was packed, but it was worth the short wait in line.  I ordered some amazing blackened ahi tuna with half Cajun spiced rice and half potatoes.  We were both impressed with the food at Paia Fish House.  Afterwards, we walked over to a place advertising Dole Whip where we found some local ice cream and shaved ice!  So, I had to get the Hawaiian shaved ice with some ice cream at the bottom!

    The next morning, I woke up bright and early around 5:15 AM to head to the harbor in Kihei for my snorkel adventure to Molokini and Turtle Town.  Since there is a three hour time difference, I was actually not too tired.  I got amazing views of the morning ocean as I made my way back over towards the airport in the Mustang!  We departed on a catamaran from the harbor for Molokini crater.  They served us a decent light breakfast on board with fresh pastries, fruits including pineapple of course, and coffee.  Once we got to Molokini, the captain decided that the water was too rough for us to get in the water.  It was really windy!  Molokini is an old volcanic crater that is now surrounded by water in the channel.  So, he took us over to Turtle Town which is off the coast of Maui.  In Turtle Town, we had much calmer waters to snorkel and see lots of turtles and fish too.  The water temperature was perfect!  Afterwards, we were served lunch on board the boat.  We stayed longer at Turtle Town to make up for not going to Molokini.  Once we got back to the harbor, I put the top down on the Mustang, put on Bond vs Oakenfold, and I drove back through that curvy road along the ocean to Lahaina.  I did a short selfie video of me with the Bond music playing since my drive back reminded me of many scenes from Bond movies.  LOL.

    Once I got back, Joy and I went to Safeway to get some groceries for the fridge and stuff to make pina coladas since we had a full kitchen in the studio suite.  I found the local Kula Toasted Coconut rum from Maui that everyone recommended at Safeway!  We also saw that the Safeway sold fresh poke too!  It was delicious!  Once I got back to the room, I made my fresh pina colada with coconut juice, fresh pineapples, ice, and the Kula rum!  I took one of my Yetis too so I could keep my frozen drinks cold when I went down to the pool or beach area.

    That night, we went to the Old Lahaina Luau.  This luau is so popular that we booked months in advance, but we could only get reservations for that Sunday.  The ocean front outdoor luau was a short drive away from our resort.  After parking on site, we were welcomed by the greeters who showed us which entrance we would be using to enter the venue when they were ready.  We were greeted with a fresh flower lei upon entry into the luau area.  Once we got in there, we could see the beautiful views of the ocean.  Prior to Covid, they had a buffet, but now it was a five course set menu that was served tableside.  All alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks were included too.  I made sure to order a Mai Tai for my first drink that evening as we were in the islands!  Our first course was shortly after served which included taro chips, a hummus made with kalo and beans, pineapple, and special Hawaiian coconut pudding called Haupia.  I loved that coconut pudding!  Joy loved their hummus and taro chips.  For my next drink, I got a Blue Hawaiian.  The drinks were somewhat weak however.  The next course was the salad course with fresh baked bread.  Afterwards, we got a Hawaiian course with Poi, Kalua Pork, and poke.  For our main course, we got chicken, beef, and fish with sweet potato mash.  As we were served the main course, it was time to take in another beautiful Maui sunset!  For dessert, we had an amazing mango coconut chocolate bombe cake!  Throughout the dinner service, they had hula dancers come to the stage in the middle to perform shorter dances.  After dessert was served, the main show started.  This show was more tame than other luaus that I had attended.  There were no fire dancers.  However, it was nice.

    On Monday, we started off Independence Day with a nice walk to get iced Maui coffee at Bad Ass Coffee in Lahaina.  Afterwards, we walked back to the resort via the beach.  On the way, we saw the Atlantis Submarine tour so we inquired about it, and we booked one for the next day!  What's money after all!  LOL.  My mother always said that one should not budget or be cheap when traveling.  Life is short!  Just enjoy!  We headed out to Mama's Fish House for lunch after our nice walk.  As we drove to Mama's Fish House, we had to put the top up since it began to rain on that side of the island.  Mama's Fish House is so exclusive that reservations are three to five months out depending on if one wants lunch or dinner.  By the time we booked this trip, only lunch was available.  The menu is the same however.  Upon arrival at the fantastic oceanside venue, the valet took the Mustang.  Then, a beautiful hostess up top directed us down to the main restaurant to check in for our table.  On the way down, we could see the amazing oceanfront scenery!  We had some time to wander around and take pictures by the beach area before our table was ready.  Our table was amazing.  We had a view of the water!  I started out with Mama's Manhattan which was shaken for me tableside.  This was the best Manhattan that I ever had!  Prior to this, I thought Catch had the best Manhattan, but this one out did that.  I know what one must be thinking!  Catch?  Mama's Fish House?  You know people are struggling now under Diaper Boy Biden?  LOL.  Yes, but I did not vote for that asshole.  So, since Joy and I are fortunate enough to have the financial resources to enjoy our life, we will!  I am so sick of these leftist Democrats trying to ruin our country with their green bull shit agenda and terrible economic policies such as those dumb stimulus payouts during the Covid times.  That is what caused the bull shit inflation!  Anyway, back to lunch!  We started off with some amazing crab cakes and grilled octopus.  Then, I got a chilled mango and lobster soup.  For my entree, I got their crab topped mahi mahi served with a three ounce Tristan Island lobster tail!  Tristan Island lobster is from a British dependencies about 1,500 miles from South Africa.  These lobster are known as being the best in the world.  No, it was not cheap.  LOL.  The lobster was delicious!  For dessert, we went light and just got fresh sorbet.  We dropped about $300 on lunch that day!  LOL.  It was well worth it!

    That evening, we took a 4th of July fireworks cruise from Lahaina harbor to go watch the fireworks from the water.  The cruise included a buffet of heavy appetizers and non alcoholic drinks, but we could BYOB.  I got a mini bottle of rum to bring with me so I could get a pina colada on the cruise.  There was also live music on the boat.  We cruised for a while and took in yet another gorgeous sunset and a rainbow too over the mountains in Western Maui before the fireworks started.  This was the first time they had the fireworks since Covid.  After we got back to shore, I got more Hawaiian shaved ice with Lappert's ice cream in the bottom.  Lappert's is a famous Hawaiian ice cream.

    We walked down to the Atlantis submarine adventure the next morning, but we found a good coffee place too by the harbor first.  Atlantis took us out to the Atlantis IV submarine via a tender since the submarine can not be in shallow waters near the harbor.  From the tender, we boarded the submarine, and within minutes, we dove down to as much as 130 feet below!  From the submarine, we saw lots of fish and reefs, but there was also a cool sunken ship too!  I highly recommend this tour!  Afterwards, we drove up to Ka'anapali to get lunch at Duke's Beach House and take in the views of the beaches there.  We also stopped at the Black Rock Beach too.  I ended up spending most of the afternoon in the water near our beach at the resort.  The water temperature was great!

    That evening, we met our friends from Redding at the Lahaina Grill for dinner.  They had just flown in that day so we made plans to meet up.  Lahaina Grill has many accolades, but it is currently ranked #4 top restaurant in the country!  We could see why!  The ambiance, service, and food were all amazing!  Children under twelve are not permitted to dine there.  The owner even walked around and greeted all the guests.  I started off with Whistle Pig Farmstock Rye.  We had a great dinner that started out with a beet and goat cheese salad for Joy and I.  I got the scallops for my entree.  Joy got the seafood special which was a special Hawaiian fish that the waiter said is the best fish in Hawaii.  We also got a few desserts to share at the end.  We dropped over $500 that night.  LOL.  It was well worth it!  I highly suggest this restaurant!

    We went for another walk the next morning to find another coffee shop, and we found one tucked away in a small alley.  I got my Nutella based latte drink made with macadamanian nut milk!  Afterwards, we enjoyed the rest of our morning in Lahaina walking around before we had to leave for the airport.  On the way to the airport, we stopped at Tasaka Guri Guri!  This is a famous Japanese frozen dessert place near the airport.  One of the nurse practioners I meet with suggested it!  We were so impressed with it!  Afterwards, it was time to return the rental car and head back home!  We loved Maui, and we can not wait to return!  Oh wait, we will be returning to Hawaii in September, but we are going to the Big Island then!  Aloha for now!

Last Updated:  July 17, 2022 3:51 PM
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