As the saying goes...."time flies when you are having fun" and this week was no exception. Much sooner than I was ready for it...our last day in Maui had arrived and I found that I was more than a little saddened by this fact! As our last day dawned I found myself reliving the past week in my mind. It was absolutely wonderful in every way! It was so wonderful in fact that I found it difficult to leave the view from our lanai! It was like I wanted to burn the memory of the view into my head to keep with me during the long winter months in Ohio!
One Last Walk Around the Grand Wailea Resort
We had asked for and received a late check out for the day. Our flight didn't depart till 9:30 PM (which is very common for flights to the Mainland from Hawaii) so we had the entire day to enjoy the Island. Once I was finally able to drag myself away from the lanai...I wanted to take one more walk around the beautiful grounds of the Grand Wailea Resort just to enjoy the place that we had called home for a little more than a week. Here are some of the parting shots that I was able to take.....
Heading back to Paia
Once we got on our way from the resort we decided to head back up to Paia to catch some more of the big waves and watch the surfers. When we got there we were greeted with lots of vehicles in the parking area by the beach. Turns out we were there just in time to watch a Kite Surfing Championship! Now that's not something you see in Ohio!
The sadness of leaving the resort quickly was replaced by the excitement of watching World Class Kite Surfers handle some big waves!
The sights and sounds were like nothing I had ever experienced. The bright colors of the kites....the warm breezes...the deep blue of the water...the sound of waves crashing. There is nothing like it! Here are some of the photos that I took....it doesn't do it justice but perhaps will give you an idea of the beauty of Paia!
Of Pineapples and Bringing them Home
We had time to head out to dinner after watching the kite surfing and then before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport for our flight. Just a couple things to remember when you head to the airport in Hawaii...get there ahead of time. Your baggage must go through a US agricultural inspection which is an extra step in the process. You cannot pack produce in your bags. However...there are ways to bring a bit of Hawaii home with you. If your friends are like mine....they will appreciate the fresh pineapple you can bring home! There are a couple of ways that you can do this. You can purchase your pineapples ahead of time and pick them up to take as a carryon on your flight home or you can have them shipped home. There are pros and cons to each method. We were bringing a dozen Maui Gold pineapples home with us so carrying on was really not an option for us. We read other travelers advice and headed to Mr. Pineapple.
Mr. Pineapple
Oahu has the Dole Plantation so it's really easy to find a way to ship some pineapples home. Maui is a bit of a different story. They sell the Maui Gold Pineapples but it isn't real convenient to find someone who sells and ships. We found a brochure for Mr. Pineapple. It was near the airport....you could buy and ship home...sounded perfect. We actually went a day or two before we left and placed our order. First of all Mr. Pineapple isn't exactly easy to find. It is true that it is near the airport. You will see a van parked in the parking lot. The actual store is above a gas station in a small room. Once we located it...we headed up and spoke with Mike who was running the store. He was the only one there and was frantic with phone calls and other customers. We waited our turn...tried the samples that were out and finally were able to place our order. Now...the price of the pineapples isn't too bad....the cost to ship them home is slightly on the outrageous side...like about $100.00 or more so be prepared. We wanted pineapples so we paid for the shipping. We paid and headed off.
Once we got home the pineapples arrived as scheduled. There were two 6-packs taped together. I opened the top pack and started passing them out to friends and family. They were great...beautiful...fresh. When I opened the bottom box...which was leaking (my first clue that something was out of whack)....four of the six pineapples were rotten. I was able to save a little from each pineapple but certainly wasn't able to give them out as gifts. I made a couple of attempts to contact Mr. Pineapple since their brochure indicated "satisfaction guaranteed" but alas...no one ever returned a call or email. Left me feeling a bit rotten about Mr. Pineapple I must say! So buyer beware...maybe it was a fluke...maybe not. Just be careful if you are using Mr. Pineapple to
There are also stores to purchase pineapples (same Maui Gold) in the airport. I do not know if they ship them or not but certainly if you wanted to purchase a small box to carry on the plane it is possible to do that at the airport.
The Long Flight Home
So once you get to the airport it's time to prepare for the long trip home and it is long....even if you live on the west coast you still have a 5 hour flight back to the mainland. Luckily our flight home was uneventful and our flights were on time unlike the trip there so about 15 hours after we left Maui we arrived in Cleveland. This included our 5 hour layover at LAX. Once again we were very happy that we has used the miles to upgrade to First Class so that we could at least have more room to stretch out and get some rest on the way back. It's a long trip to Maui (or anywhere in Hawaii for that matter) but it's a trip that will always be remembered!
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