Had been planning on hiking through the bamboo forest to several waterfalls, but the weather wasn’t cooperating, so we followed the sun upcountry to the Makawao Forest Reserve to hike the Kahakapao West Loop Trail (approx 6 miles), with our friends Rayne & Mark.
Trails are very well marked
This is the first time I’ve ever hiked in the reserve; though, last fall, this is where I went horseback riding– on the East Loop, with my friend Karin.
It’s a beautiful place to hike; a slow steady climb up; Eucalyptus, Tropical Ash and Cook Pine trees surround you. Very peaceful.
Only one area with a view, and even that you have to walk off the trail to enjoy.
We headed up in the late afternoon, so the temperature was perfect.
Hmmm, they said they were having fun.
On the way back to rainy Haiku, we were greeted by a magnificent rainbow—from the photo I took, you couldn’t tell how dynamic it was, & I opted not to post it; so you’ll have to use your imagination.
If all goes well, next week I’ll be riding a bike…. yeah, it’s been years!
Steven and I headed over to Kapalua this week for the Coastal Trail walk. (OK, our real motivation was that we had to deliver art at Maui Hands in Kaanapali, but it was a good excuse to also have some fun.)
The Kapalua Coastal Trail is similar to the Wailea Coast Walk; as you may have guessed, it runs along the ocean. It starts at the Kapalua Bay Beach, and ends at D.T. Fleming Beach Park; round trip it is 3.5 miles.
Hiking boots are definitely not needed. Good tennis shoes are perfect, but flip-flops would also suffice. There is a small bird sanctuary that you can walk through. We went on a weekday, in the late afternoon, and it wasn’t crowded.
Newlyweds that we met
We briefly met a lovely newly wed couple and then farther down, came across a wedding on the beach.
Wedding ceremony near Fleming's Beach
Love is in the air in Kapalua.
At the end of our walk, we stopped at Merriam’s Restaurant that is perched right above the Kapalua Bay Beach; was looking forward for their Smoked Taro Hummus pupu (pupu is not what it sounds like, it is Hawaiian for appetizer) Don’t worry, if you aren’t vegetarian, the restaurant is quite carnivore friendly. We sat out on their patio to enjoy the view, but after waiting 15 minutes, when no one bothered to acknowledge us we decided to head home. I have heard the food is great, so if you are over in the area you may want to check it out. (Remember, my year long journey is learning to have fun, I never said anything about learning patience too)
Sign at the head of the trail
If you’d like more info, click on the Kapalua activities site – www.kapalua.com/activities. It’s the same site I posted on Day 29 for the Mahana Ridge Hike that Kathy and I did. Though as you can see on the video, compared to that one, today’s was pretty basic; park in beach parking lot, walk on concrete path that overlooks ocean…walk back. Hard to get lost. It was a very pleasant outing. And actually I may return one day in the summer to go boogie boarding at Fleming’s Beach.
Also for those of you visiting or living on Maui, the weekend of April 21st & 22nd is the Taro Festival in Hana; not sure we are going to make it, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up. Here’s a link to the site for more info www.tarofestival.org
And I should mention that I also did not attend the Easter egg hunt up in Makawao last weekend. The thought of hanging out with 500+ kids just didn’t seem wise to me. But for those of you with little ones, think about it for next year – click here for more info http://makawaocommunity.org
Belated Happy Chinese New Year – apparently depending on the calendar that you follow it is currently the year 4710, 4709, or 4649. (It is also referred to as the Lunar New Year.) This year, Chinese New Year was actually on the 23rd of January, but the celebrations here on Maui were delayed until the weekend of the 28th.
Steven and I headed up to Makawao to feed the dancing lions red envelopes with money inside.
Dancing Lion in search of red envelopes
Why, you ask? Well, for good luck and prosperity for the coming year of course.
There were other lion dances and festivities around the island, but Makawao is close to home and I truly love that little town. As usual, on our now weekly outings, we bumped into friends that we haven’t connected with in sometime; and we really enjoyed the festivities. It was a fun day! (Yes, I am having fun!)
Maybe I’ve lived in Hawaii too long, but I’m assuming some of you on the mainland also went to Chinese New Year celebrations. Yes/No?
Chinese New Year has always been big here on the islands. It is the most important of the Chinese holidays and the celebrations last for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival where “sky lanterns” are lit—also in hopes of good fortune and prosperity, and sent floating up into the night sky.
This year is said to be extremely auspicious because it is the year of the dragon. So what exactly does that mean? Well, I am not an expert on Chinese astrology so check out this site, it’ll give you an idea of what to expect in the year of the dragon, http://2012dragon.com/ And this site will give you information about the personalities of those born in the year of the dragon, as well as the other 12 signs. http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/Dragon.htm
I also want to mention that if you live on Maui or are planning on visiting, make sure you stop by BAKED ON MAUI. They are one of the best bakery/restaurants you’ll find on island.
Baked on Maui - Trish & Kayla
The owner Trish is an amazing baker!!! They are located at 375 West Kuiaha Rd, in Haiku. They are open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; accept on Sundays they close at 3:00. For more info call them at (808)575.7836, or click here, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baked-on-Maui/129933167088460
Okay, now that I’ve made that plug…and by the way, it is a very sincere plug, back to Chinese New Year; if you want more info, here are a couple of sites you can check out.
Day 16: Yes, I’ve been having one day of fun every week for 4 months now…a quarter of a year. Now I can honestly say, my how time flies when you’re having fun.
Last Friday evening Steven and I went up to Makawao’s Street Fair.
Love the horse sticking his tongue out.
Because of the holiday season it started with a parade that had plenty of horses, ukulele players, and Santa driving a tractor.
You may have notice the irony of the songs lyrics on the slide show, you know, the part about “oh what fun…” and all you saw were kids with expressions of embarrassment and anxiety. Couldn’t help feeling like they were going to need therapy when it was over.
Once the parade ended Maui’s creative locals emerged to share their talents; artist George Allan demonstrated his painting technique in front of View Points Gallery and Sue Perry was in front of Makawao Fine Art Gallery. Some seriously good musicians performed on both of Makawao’s streets. (There are only two streets in the town & no stoplights.)
For me, Makawao holds the upcountry paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) spirit of Maui, just as Paia embodies the soul of a surfing community. Story has it that back when Casanova’s Restaurant was Club Rodeo, cowboys would ride their horses into the building right up to the bar.
Steven with Panna, owner of Maui Hands
These days its cowboy atmosphere has merged with high-end boutiques, gift shops, galleries and several excellent restaurants.
Fine dining with our friends Rayne & Mark
We opted to purchase our dinner from one of the outdoor booths. The food was quite good, though seating wasn’t an option so we found a nice deck and plopped down.
I’ll be curious to check out one of Makawao’s Street Fairs later in the New Year, see what it’s like without the parade and holiday atmosphere.
I’d like to thank Karin for letting me know about the parade, it made the slide show a lot more fun to put together.
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