Maui Getaway

I don’t post a lot of travel photos here, but I know some of my readers enjoy them, so I thought I would share a few recent ones. Last month my wife and I escaped the cold of Indiana and made a trip to warm and sunny Maui. It was our first trip anywhere in two years, since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. We gladly endured wearing our N95 and KN95 masks for the 20 plus hours we spent in several airports and planes en route to one of our favorite vacation spots. That part wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected, though the long day getting there always leaves us a bit exhausted. Thankfully we got there on schedule and without incident. The Kahului airport had colorful signs reminding everyone of the mask requirement.

sign in Kahului airport

Once there, it was refreshing to see that the state of Hawaii was taking Covid-19 seriously, with masks required in businesses indoors as well as in places like farmers markets outdoors. My wife and I have both had three shots of the Pfizer vaccine, and are doing our best to stay well and virus-free. Wearing a mask seems like a small price to pay as far as I am concerned. We also visited the large Maui Swap Meet where around 200 vendors had a variety of things for sale, and masks were also required there.

Whenever we travel we try and stay at places that have kitchen facilities so we don’t have to eat out all the time. In Hawaii our typical breakfast is enjoyed outside on our lanai, where we can see and hear the ocean while we eat. We find local papayas and apple bananas at the farmers markets, and add fruit to our Homemade Dry Toasted Muesli that we bring with us. A cup of good local coffee completes the meal for me. A brisk walk before breakfast also helps to whet the appetite. The beach where we stayed is a popular spot for both canoes and kayaks, and we saw humpback whales almost every day we were there.

We also went for a great hike one day at the Waihou Spring Forest Reserve near Makawao. The Forest Reserve was created by a proclamation from the governor of the Hawaiian territory in 1909, and today both locals and visitors like to use this cool, refreshing upcountry trail loop for exercise and trail running.  The forest has been planted with a variety of tree species, including a lot of pine trees. At a bit over 300o foot elevation up on the slopes of Mount Haleakala, it was cool and not too crowded for our late morning walk. After our hike, we headed for lunch in nearby artsy Makawao town.

While we do usually eat breakfast and dinner in our condo, we typically eat lunch while we are out and about. Fresh seafood is abundant in Hawaii, and we get it while we can. We had fish tacos several times on our trip, and our favorites came from a place called Coconut’s Fish Cafe. They had set up extra tables outside, and we made a meal of their tasty fish tacos which features 17 ingredients.  The mango salsa adds a tropical taste, while the wasabi coleslaw adds crunch.

We also enjoy getting fresh fruit and vegetables at the farmers markets. We visited several during our stay, and there was a diverse assortment of goodies on sale. We stock up on veggies, and enjoy them roasted or stir-fried with our meals.

It has become our custom to put my camera on a mini tripod to get photos of my wife and I together wherever we go. We also try and get a ‘last day’ photo of us. This time, we were posing for our photo when a kind gentleman out walking on the beach offered to take one for us as well. Our colorful shirts were dyed by my artistic wife, who also shared some (okay, many!) of her photos with me for this post.

Our trip ended too soon, and then we were back home at Happy Acres to the usual cold winter weather. We had a truly enjoyable time though, and I hope we can return there in the future. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of our recent travel pics, and I’ll be back soon with more adventures from Happy Acres.