Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip To Maui (2016)--Day 2
5/15/2016
Restaurants
To view our ratings of the Maui restaurants we visited, click here.
Getting to Maui
2 a.m. comes too early! It certainly did today and that damn alarm clock was not a welcome sound. After groggily drinking some coffee and woofing down a banana and some yogurt, we checked out of the Best Western Dakota Ridge and caught the 4 a.m. shuttle to the Minneapolis airport. We were concerned about recently reported delays in the security lines and being able to find our departure gate in time for the 6 a.m. boarding for our flight to Los Angeles. These fears turned out to be unwarranted. We arrived at our gate before 5:00 with plenty of time to kill. We met a goodly number of passengers who would be continuing on to Maui on Flight 417 from LAX, so fears of a tight connection in Los Angeles were likewise unfounded.
While waiting to board, we took up conversation with a nice couple who was traveling to Maui with their two keiki (Hawaiian for "children"). They are first-timers and had questions on where to go, what to do, etc. We promptly overfilled their heads with information which hopefully will make their stay more enjoyable. They are staying at the Hyatt Regency in Ka`anapali, so we gave them advice on where to eat in that area (Hula Grill, Leilani's and so forth). We could feel the excitement they felt on this impending trip and remembered our own excitement prior to our maiden voyage to Hawai`i in 1996.
This plane (an Embraer 175) was quite comfortable. It featured a 2-2 seating configuration (nice), but has limited overhead space (not quite nice). Not a problem for us, however--our bags slid neatly into place. It was a very good decision on our part to downsize our carry-on luggage to a slightly smaller size. The old luggage barely met the 45 linear inch limitation. The new luggage gave us a few more inches to spare, and allowed us to fit our bags lengthwise into the overhead spaces. Much better!
Also, since we were among the first to board from "Group 3", we were soon in our seats watching many people finding insufficient overhead space for their bags. Some folks needed to check their bags due to this limitation. Sucked for them 
The MSP-LAX flight was uneventful, as you always hope it will be. Once we landed in L.A.. we taxied around for at least 20 minutes before finally hooking up at Gate 81. Mr. Four-Person-Family followed us on a brisk walk to the tunnel, through to Terminal 7, and ending up at Gate 77. It was near the end of Terminal 7, but still wasn't a particularly lengthy stroll. They were already boarding the plane by the time we arrived, so we hopped into the line in Group 3, got on the plane quickly, stored our bags and got settled into our seats.
Near the Rocky Mountains
Ready to board our plane in Los Angeles
About United Airlines and how they board; all we've previously known was Delta and they board by what are called "Zones". In their case, everyone mills about in one one general area--there is no specific line, so people just hang out until their Zone is called and they all rush the ticket-taker in what loosely resembles a "line". It's rather chaotic. United is more civilized, more sophisticated in their approach. There is a separate line for each Group, and this works out quite well, especially if you are one of the first people in line! No jostling for position, you get in line and move forward in an orderly fashion when your Group is called. Nice!
This Boeing 737 was not nearly as roomy as the Embraer, but could hold many more passengers We were seated in Row 31, me on the window (as is custom), Patty in the middle. The gentleman seated next to her (he had the aisle seat since this is a 3-3 seating configuration) was seated across the aisle from his wife, so they talked back and forth, pretty much keeping to themselves for much of the flight.
As we approached Maui, activity in the aisle became quite busy with people standing in line to use one of the two bathrooms at the rear of the plane, stretching their legs and basically anticipating arriving on the Valley Isle. We were likewise getting excited. It had been several hours spent being concerned over what could or might go wrong and what not. At the same time, there was a general relaxation on my part with knowing that we were on our way and in a few hours would be kicking back at our favorite hotel looking out at the Pacific Ocean and the distant island of Lana`i!
I was able to shoot some nice video of our descent onto Maui and our arrival at the Kahului Airport. Upon landing and departing the plane, we were told our checked luggage was at Carousel 5, and then there was a follow-up announcement which contradicted this and sent everyone scurrying to Carousel 2. Patty sat on the sidelines as I waited for our uniquely colored copper bag to come tumbling down the carousel's ramp. This took quite a while, but eventually we were reunited with our essentials and off we went to the line behind the terminal where a large group of folks were just boarding the bus to Alamo/National.
We had been lucky in the past with short lines on most of our bookings through Alamo Rent-a-car, but this time appeared to be the exception until we got to the Alamo office and realized that most on the bus with us were actually going to National car rental. We were fourth or fifth in line at Alamo--since they have five representatives working, the short line moved very quickly. We opted for the CDW (Collision Damage Waiver), which we understand is a major ripoff at $29.99/day and a huge revenue source for car rental companies. But here is the thing--you can't put a price on peace of mind. Well, yeah, you can; that price is $29.99 a day!
Our car is a silver Nissan Versa, and we astonished that this is now considered an "intermediate" sized car. It was considered a compact two years ago. What the hell is an economy size now...a tricycle? But this is a nice vehicle with just under 10,000 miles. We departed Alamo in our Versa and proceeded down the Dairy Road toward Highway 380.
They are redoing the roads heading to the airport and now have this thing built called the "Airport Access Road". Eventually this will make accessing the airport and car rental places more convenient once they incorporate all the car rental agencies into one common area. We'll see how it goes the next time we return to Maui! (Note: by 2018, the construction hadn't been completed) This new road veers away from the Dairy Road--we eventually ran into the intersection and turned right onto the new highway. From there we were well on our way to Lahaina.
I will never tire of doing this drive from the airport to Lahaina. Never. Especially in the daytime. The sun was out, it was a warm 87 degrees with a very nice trade wind blowing, and traffic was relatively light, it being a Sunday. The west side beaches such as Ukumehame, Papalaua and Laniupoko were crowded with local residents, many of them surfing. We wound our way north to Lahaina, turning onto Front Street and eventually seeing the Lahaina Shores in the near distance. We pulled into the registration parking area at about 1:30.
Bill, Allison and Ann were all working--Bill and Allison were nearing the end of their shift, Ann was just starting hers. It was nice to see familiar faces at our favorite hotel. Kaulana is still working there, also. Chase N Rainbows was still prepping our room and hadn't called the front desk yet to release our room keys to us. So we waited out by the pool area; not a bad place to be if you're kicking back waiting for your room to be ready!
Just before 3:00, Ann gave us our keys even though the call hadn't been made yet, telling us it would be 3:00 by the time we get up to our fifth floor room.
We took our first look at the room and were extremely impressed! They renovated this room last summer while the hotel was closed for five months due to a complete plumbing re-do. The old carpet had been replaced with tile floor. There is a new two-person "booth" adjacent to the kitchen. A new king sized bed had replaced the old twin beds and was extremely comfortable. All the kitchen appliances are new including a refrigerator with an ice/water dispenser. This will come in handy on activity days or when we're just laying out in the sun. The bathroom is likewise new, with a large walk-in shower (no tub). There is a ton of drawer space in both the bathroom and living room. The closet is smaller but is still sufficient size with plenty of hangers for shirts, etc.
Overall, we couldn't be happier with how this room has been transformed but it's questionable whether it warrants the new daily rate of $295.
After getting our bags unpacked, we rested for a short time (hard to do in the excitement of the first day here!) and then drove over to Safeway to load up on groceries. Now we're ready to vacation!
I showered and then we walked over to Prison Street Pizza, an appropriate name since it's on Prison Street. We had some trouble finding the place because we didn't pay close attention but eventually we did. This is a small hole-in-the-wall type place but has a neat character for such an eatery. We were seated outside at one of the tables initially, but moved to one of about a half dozen inside tables. Service was excellent and friendly, the menu is extensive enough to satisfy most people with a variety of custom pizzas (you can build your own if you so choose), calzones, salads and appetizers. We ordered a large (16") pizza with sausage, pepperoni and onions (on one side since Patty doesn't like onion on her pizza) after sharing an order of tasty garlic bread with a marinara dipping sauce. One of their specialty pizzas is called the Serpico's Special, and I asked the waitress if it's related to Serpico's Restaurant in Pukalani. It is--these two places are owned by the same person! We had dined at Serpico's in 2012 and fairly enjoyed the experience.
I wanted to like the pizza but it fell short of expectations. There was just something off-putting about the flavor of the pizza we shared. Would ordering a different kind of pizza make a difference? Perhaps.
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel with our leftovers (we only ate half the pizza), witnessed a decent sunset and relaxed. We were both asleep by 8:30.
Previous: 5/14/2016--Our Trip To Maui (2016)--Day 1
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