Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 17
5/21/2014
We miss Kimo! We miss his little barks, growls, the way he plays, the way he stands there and just stares at Patty when he wants something. But any thoughts of bringing him with us to visit Maui were met with a good dose of reality yesterday as we were talking with a resident at Wailea Beach. The hassle and cost just wouldn't be worth it--unless we were moving here.
The day started off as most had, with peanut butter toast and coffee on the lanai. After that, it was time for more beach combing! Today we started at Napili Bay, then worked our way south to Honokowai, Hanakao`o, Wahikuli, Puamana, Launiupoko and 14-mile beach (someone should name this beach unless someone already has!) before ending up at the Ma`alaea Shops.
Napili Kai Resort
Sea House Restaurant
Napili Bay
Napili Bay
Honokowai Beach Park
Hanakao`o Beach
Wahikuli Beach
Puamana Beach
Puamana Beach
Launiupoko Beach
Beach near Olowalu
14 Mile Beach
After ending up in Ma`alaea, we briefly considered stopping at Porto for lunch, but we were 15 minutes early and didn't feel like waiting. Besides, we would be going there for dinner tomorrow. We had both enjoyed what we had from Leoda's yesterday, so it was a fairly easy decision to stop there again. Once again, we had a great lunch!
After relaxing throughout the afternoon, we drove down to Wailea and our dinner reservation at Joe's Bar & Grill. We had read many reviews of this place owned by Bev Gannon and wanted to see if the hype worth it. And it was--for the most part. The atmosphere here is very nice, despite the setting overlooking the Wailea Tennis Courts. So, as you dine, you can hear the whacking of tennis balls nearby. However, this isn't nearly as intrusive as I thought it would be, and it was sort of fun watching amateurs' attempt at playing tennis!
Service here is perfect--they don't overdo it, servers are friendly and the delivery of your ordered items is done in a timely fashion. Servers here are anything but snooty, in contrast a bit to Pulehu and Bistro Casanova.
As for the food, my Southwestern Caesar was interesting--and very delicious! The much heralded meat loaf, however, fell somewhat short. The beef mixture was very good, but the BBQ sauce rather overwhelmed the whole thing. It was too much. The bed of mashed potatoes was perfectly done, however.
Patty started with the Prime Rib Quesadilla and really enjoyed this appetizer. She also liked her Joe's House Salad featuring a fruit vinigarette dressing.
While we were dining, Patty suddenly exclaimed "Hey, is that Tony?!" I turned and looked and it sure looked like him at a distance--Tony was our Hike Maui tour guide on the Haleakala hike. Eventually, he worked his way over to us--possibly because my head was craned and I was staring at him a bit.  It wasn't too busy in the restaurant so he was able to spend a few minutes chatting with us about the hike we had been on.
On the way out, we noticed several pictures of Bev posing with various celebrities. One of these "celebrities" was former governor Linda Lingle. Republican governor, I should say. Bev could have left that picture off the wall, but it's her place, after all.
The overall verdict on Joe's was good--Patty liked the food more than I did, I liked the atmosphere a bit more. It was a little breezy from the nearby open window, but felt refreshing. She didn't think the atmosphere was great because it "wasn't oceanfront", prompting the question "Would you rate the atmosphere at Bubba Gump's higher because it's right on the water?". She would. I wouldn't.
While dining at Joe's Bar & Grill, you can watch tennis!
Patty's prime rib quesadilla at Joe's
Outside of Joe's at sunset
Previous: 5/20/2014--Our Trip to Maui (2014)--Day 16
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