Then we got ready for the dressy dinner (hubby wore khaki dress pants and a black polo - I wore a black dress with sandal heels) at Teppanyaki - we got there 15 minutes late and missed our reservation - this place is like a show so they close the doors if you don't show up - the room seats 24 people and there are 4 tables with 4 chefs - The chefs are cooking on a huge grill in front of you and they flip stuff around and chop really fast and fancy, etc! It was awesome (we got in for Thursday night so more to come on that). We ended up eating at Jasmine Garden on standby which is right next door and it was fabulous. This restaurant overlooks the piano bar area so we had live music to keep us entertained and it was very romantic.
We had shrimp and grilled fish, and then we got out of there fast to see the Volcano lava glowing onshore. That was awesome! With binoculars you could see the lava tubes flowing just like a faucet, and when it hit the water it would spark and pop, AMAZING! We took a bunch of video and stills but they all turned out horrible. With such low light and the boat moving, I would imagine it is pretty hard to get a good photo of that, so bring binoculars and just stand there amazed!
That night there was an Illusionist show, Scott Alexander. It was entertaining - a little racy for the kids in the audience with girls dripping with water and dancing around provocatively, etc., but I am sure my husband loved it!
They had Karaoke night, country western night, wine tasting, Mardi Gras party, welcome aboard variety show, Broadway comedy, silent auction, Disco night, 50's night, Photos with the Captain (formal night) - we didn't do any of these so I can't report on them but they were offered and looked fun.
MAUI - Wednesday, May 30th 2007
Had breakfast at Alizar this morning and had fresh cinnamon rolls (yummy)- pineapple parfait, omelet, hash browns, bacon, etc. They had a wide array of breakfast items available and it was nice to sit down and be served. We took off to find our rental car shuttle and just missed the Dollar bus so we hopped on the next one that came and guess what - we had to hoof it a quarter mile to get to the Dollar desk. Note to reader: take the right rental car shuttle in Maui. We finally get there all sweaty and there is no line (they were all over at Alamo with the boat reservations) and we pay for our $30 a day (including taxes and fees CHEAP!) Dodge charger and get out there - walk past a sweet little convertible Crossfire - and see our ride for the next 2 days . . . Drum roll please . . . a PT Cruiser. Now all of you PT drivers - don't take offense, but these have to be the ugliest cars on the planet, so I was a little disappointed. My hubby was a lot disappointed. We swallow our pride and unload and sit down, the GPS is stuck in Japanese, I can't figure out how to change it because the manual is in Japanese. Well I can't read Japanese, so I take it inside and they give me a different one. We get it outside, and it has a cord that keeps falling out and turning the unit on and off. (I never thought I would get sick of hearing "aloha, welcome to Hawaii") so I go in again and get a new cord and mention how cool that little convertible is outside. So for $40 bucks more a day I could be riding down the Maui coast with my hot husband in a speedy convertible that could fit inside my Suburban at home.
So we leave in the speedy convertible sports car with big smiles on our faces. Cut to the GPS - total JUNK! The dumb thing has some stupid safety feature that won't let you do anything with it while you are driving. And, the abc keyboard is so tiny I am spelling kahghhienc instead of kaanapali beach and it doesn't understand when I put in the GPS coordinates from the map. So we ditched it and went back to navigating the old fashioned way - arguing about wrong turns until you find your destination by mistake!
That worked fine for us because we soon found ourselves in Lahaina and right in Whalers Village parking lot. We got out and looked around and found the Sheraton where we were told to go and snorkel along Black Rock Beach. We were hungry and I wanted to try another top recommendation -- Aloha Mixed Plate (www.alohamixedplate.com), so we found it pretty easy and had the traditional mixed plate. My hubby tried the poi (he added a pack of sugar as some lady on the plane informed him to do) and thought it was "not that great".) My food was fabulous, I had the grilled mixed plate and loved the fish and the potato salad. Right next door is the Old Lahaina Luau (www.oldlahainaluau.com) which is supposed to be one of the most authentic Polynesian Luaus on the islands. Book early - when I checked they were 2 months out. They also have a breakfast thing - so that might be something to see if you can't get into the sunset one.
Anyways, we drive into town and see that huge Banyan tree in all the guide books. (I loved my Frommer's Hawaii 2007) Hello . . . it is more than 50 feet tall, has 12 major trunks and shades two-thirds of an acre in Courthouse Square. Very cool! There are tons of little shops along the main drag and we went to the cheap ABC store and got a bunch of little trinkets and souvenirs for our 3 boys at home! Then we headed off in our speedy little car to the Black Rock Beach. There is a teeny parking lot for beach access users in the Sheraton white garage tower, we were lucky enough to get one of 10 spots in there and walked to the beach along the golf cart path. Decent beach. not too crowded and the snorkeling was awesome! My husband saw the biggest turtles there and lots of fish in crystal clear water. This is also where you can do some cliff jumping if you are brave enough.
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