September 2015 my hubby and I were invited to a close friend's wedding on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii. Of course when we saw the invitation we RSVP'd yes because, of course we'll go to your wedding! And take a vacation while we're at it. I shopped around online and was able to find us the best prices for flight, car and hotel while on the islands and away we went!
We stayed at the beautiful Hyatt Regency in Lahaina on the West side of Maui. In the morning we would go for a 2 mile run, grab some coffee and then head to breakfast. It was the best way to start the day. Over the 4 days we spent on Maui, we found some amazing places that not many people have heard about, and being the explorers we are, we took on the island! Here are some highlights and recommendation for your trip to Maui.
The Nakalele Blowhole
North East of the island there is a blow hole that will blow your mind! You park your car in a small lot and walk down a hill full of low grass and island dirt. The view from here is fantastic! There is a warning sign at the top of the hill that is serious but still made me smile. Here's a photo of me displaying the hole blowing sea water into the sky:
Ocean Vodka
Ever gone vodka tasting? Ever taken a tour of a vodka distillery? Well, if you have time to go into the center of the island south of the airport in the "country" there is a vodka distillery that makes make all their vodka with sugar cane, yep, that's right, sugar cane! The tour was very informative and you will get a good understanding of how vodka is made and the history of the brand. The provided a tasting that included a specialty water, that you can only buy in Japan, that tastes sweet. We tried the vodka straight (tasted like nail polish remover) and with the water and it was much better. Still, the vodka needed to be put into tonic or something.The view from up there is phenominal!
Surfing Goat Dairy
Okay - This place was SO fun! You show up and everything is themed with goats this and goats that and they take broken and donated surfboards to line the fences. This farm is full of beautiful goats that roam free, produce milk and are available for adoption! You take a tour for $12 and you get to feed the goats by hand while learning about them and about the farm. We took so many photos of the goats is was really hard to narrow down ones to print and share. You also get to taste a number of cheeses made from the goat milk. Goat cheese for me tends to be a little tart and tastes like barnyard floor, so I was very hesitant on the tasting. Well, all of them were pleasantly delicious and worth it! Side note - when we showed up it was bright and sunny and a half hour later at the end of our tasting there was rain that caused, what my southern California mindset says, a flash flood. We got drenched going back to our car.
Next Blog about Hawaii I'll touch on the top Food places you have to try! #EatLikeaLocal!
If you have visited any of these locations let me know what you thought of them!
