Friday, December 14 - Saturday, December 15, 2018
We had been invited to join our long time friends Mark and Susie Johnson, along with their daughters Sophie and Mallory, for a week's stay in their condo in Kihei on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
It was an offer that we
could not refuse
I dressed the part of the
Hawaiian tourist on our flight
Our Friday started in the wee hours as our flight from LAX departed at 7:00 a.m.
It was a bit of a bumpy ride but we arrived at Maui's Kahului Airport none the worse for wear.
After grabbing a taxi to the condo, as the Johnson Clan was not scheduled to arrive for another four hours, we were ready to explore Kihei on our own.
This was our third trip to the 50th State, all on Maui and our second Hawaiian yuletide vacation with Mark and Susie. We had been here with them in 2016 as well.
The view from the Johnson's
condominium lanai in the
Kamaole Sands complex
About a two minute walk
from the condo
Vistas in Paradise
Laurie WAY overdressed
for island life
It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a
walk in Kihei
Unexpected internet news about
dropping Holiday Bowl ticket prices
Not to worry, Rose Bowl ticket prices for the Ohio State-Washington game are still high.
Soon after sharing a good pork sandwich at the 808 Deli, I know that it is hard to believe that I shared food, the Johnson's arrived.
We unloaded their bags and were off to Costco for a Christmas shopping spree where I saw . . .
. . . another omen about my
impending departure to Varese
Also from the internet, a reminder
that the Skorpions U16 team was
playing in an opening round
playoff game at home on Sunday
Saturday morning sunrise
Our hosts, L. to R.:
Mallory, Sophie, Susie and Mark
We hit the road at a decent hour to do, what else, shop!
Where there is smoke,
there is island BBQing!
Mark knew exactly where to go first off as this roadside BBQ stand is only open on Saturdays.
One Whole Chicken and
One Whole Slab of Ribs please
Mahalo!
Giving us two delicious ribs to gnaw on as parting gifts for stopping by was a nice touch I thought.
They were BUSY at this early hour
While we would save our order for a late lunch back at the condo. The aroma, every time we got back in our rented SUV of the BBQd meat, definitely qualified as Cruel and Unusual Punishment as defined in the U.S. Constitution in my opinion.
Of course we stopped at the Saturday
Arts and Craft Market on the campus of
Maui Community College
How I pass about 50% of every
vacation on every continent
Of course Laurie found several trinkets that we just had to have to make our home even more museum-like.
Colorful fruits and vegetables
were also for sale
At the massive
Da Warehouse store
Da Warehouse specializes in buying used furnishings of all types from Hawaiian hotels going through remodeling projects and then selling them to people like Mark and Susie who are still furnishing their condo.
Although they are well known to the owners of Da Warehouse from what we saw, today the only transaction was the purchase of a nice lamp for a mere $5.00 USD.
With this sale, Da Warehouse now only had about 30 more of the exact same lamp to unload.
After devouring the BBQ food for lunch and then spending some quality time at the condo complex pool, we were off for the short walk to find a dinner spot for some local fish based cuisine.
Nice sunset on our walk to dinner
Hey, that's our Condo Complex!
Our approximately one mile stroll led us to one of our son Andy and his wife's favorite places to eat on Maui . . .
. . . this is their place!
It is Coconut's relatively new second location in Kihei that I do not think that Andy and Jenn have visited.
The food was just as outstanding
as it was at Coconut's older location
two years ago
It was the seared, blackened Ahi salad for me and the coconut shrimp for Laurie.
It was great but wee still needed something more to complete our meal.
A walk of but 50 meters did the trick . . .
. . . a small cup of ice cream
at Cones on Kihei was the perfect
way to end another day in
PARADISE with good friends!
What adventure will Sunday bring . . .
