Coming from the cold summit of Haleakala, we felt toasty entering the comforts of Kula Lodge, which was five minutes away from the Haleakala park exit.
Note on the photo above: Mr. G likes his coffee with either cream or milk. I usually take mine black with 1 tbsp. of brown sugar (except when I'm having instant coffee, in which case I prefer San Mig's 3 in 1).
I ordered waffle with Kula strawberries while Mr. G had his favorite, bacon. There was nothing great about the meal but the restaurant was the sort of homey place you'll find in Baguio so we felt right at home. The highlight of our visit was going to the Kula Marketplace a few paces away from the restaurant. Here we found handcrafted works of art, mostly from local artisans. I particularly liked the pieces of jewelry on display.
The sales clerk offered us a taste of the coconut candy, which was similar to bukayo but they use scraped instead of grated coconut. I bought two small packets of candy and a pair of porcelain earrings for myself. Mr. G bought a Haleakala cap as souvenir.
We planned to proceed north to Makawao and skip the Tedeschi Winery, which is south of Haleakala, but since we had so much time in our hands, we decided to retrace our steps. We arrived at the address indicated in the GPS but found no winery. We drove on until we arrived Ulupakua Ranch Store and Take-out Deli. Tedeschi was just across.
The winery opens at 10a.m. If you arrive early like we did, there are tables at the deli to sit on and lots of souvenirs to check. Mr. G found a moss green Ulupakua Ranch mug to bring home.If we weren't stuffed from breakfast, the winery would have been a nice place for a picnic. Maybe some sandwiches and a bottle of wine. There were picnic tables outside and the temperature was comfortably cool.
Mr. G won't say no to a glass of wine, or two. The lady at the counter said he could try four so all the better. Although he's into full-bodied reds, he loved the Rose Ranch Cuvee best and Splash second.Our last stop was the the paniolo town of Makawao, which had some really interesting art galleries. I would have loved to see the glass-blowing demo at a glass shop on Baldwin Ave. but there was none scheduled when we arrived.
5. Make time for swimming at Kaanapali
We never got to do this because we dozed off after our drive to Upcountry. By the time we got to the beach, it was late afternoon. The view was amazing. We walked from Sheraton to Hyatt and got to survey the restaurants and accommodations. I regretted not booking at Kaanapali Beach Resort, which was my first option. I changed my mind when I read that the seat of the action is in Lahaina. We're not necessarily party people but we like to stay at a central location for when we're in the mood to listen to a band or have a few drinks. I was afraid Kaanapali would be too quiet. I was wrong. This is where the tourists stay. The restaurants were packed, and Whaler's Village had some great shops (although I have a feeling prices are at the high end).
Come early for cocktails and make dinner reservations. Enjoy the sunset. And remember, this is a public beach so you can frolic all you want even if you're not booked in any of the hotels here. Just park your car at the beach access parking near Sheraton like we did.
6. Shop around Lahaina
We saw some nice shops on Front St. And the huge banyan tree was quite a sight.
7. Try out Kobe's Dynamite
We dozed off one late afternoon and woke up at 9p.m. By the time we stepped out, most of the restaurants were closed. Surely, Hard Rock is still open, we thought. But when we arrived, it too was closing down. At 15 past 10! Even the ABC store, which we relied on for late-night munchies, was closed.
Just when we resigned ourselves to hunger that night and retraced our steps back to the resort, we saw the red neon sign of Kobe still on. Only the sushi bar was open, which turned out to be great news, because otherwise we would not have discovered their superb casserole-like dish called Dynamite. Enjoy it with steamed rice. Yum.
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