Author Topic: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16  (Read 3174 times)

Offline mechayamom

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2011
  • Posts: 270
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« on: May 22, 2022, 09:55:18 PM »
FYI -  Posting from an active Bubby and Zaydie point of view.

Bought Maui Revealed book and app.  The app was great for driving around the island and getting ideas as to what is to be seen.  However, I felt that I really needed to know beforehand what was coming up because by the time they said pull over we may have sped across the site.
Bought Shaka Guide – really did not care for this.  They are from a local point of view and not presenting options that Maui Revealed might bring up. 

Flights
Turkish Airlines 15000 miles RT economy transferred from Cap1 Venture.  Booked United flights
No business class found from east coast.  Booked about two months out found Economy Saver space, then transferred miles to Turkish.  Really am not proficient in best way to use my miles.  Could really use help with that on our next trip. 
UA EWR-DEN-OGG   (2 1/2 hr layover)
Return
UA OGG-SFO-EWR    (50 minute layover)
Paid upgrade economy plus one leg of each route.  DH very sweetly asked if they could move us up to a closer row.  Got economy plus and exit rows for the legs we didn't pay for.

Turkish Airlines booking domestic ticket
Had to call in since there were two legs and they were not showing up in Turkish Airlines Star Alliance award section.  This was the first time booking tickets using Turkish Airlines miles.
1)    Most agents had no idea how to book Star Alliance tickets told me they couldn’t find it on Turkish airlines site.  Had to HUCA quite a bit and train them
2)   While HUCA lost out on award availabilities that disappeared so needed to be flexible
3)   At one point the website was routing me OGG-ORD-IST-EWR.   What????
4)   You have to submit feedbacks that they answer several days later customer service awful
5)   Once they finally did get the itinerary, you need to call back to pay on your credit card used UA Mileageplus to pay taxes
6)   They got our birthdates wrong.  Took 2 days to correct via feedback.  Couldn’t pull up the UA itinerary.
7)   In the end United was able to correct the birthdates.  The luggage does not show up as free perhaps booking partner awards and paying taxes doesn’t get it??  Or Turkish just doesn’t speak the same language to United and didn’t pass some info.  Would love to know how others did this.

Luggage:
Did not automatically get the free MileagePlus bags.  Had to do at the airport.  In EWR took a long time but got it done.  Customer service rep at Airport had to call in and work with reservations.
In OGG lady was really nice and did it right away.

Hotel:
Marriott Residence Inn in Wailea.  301,000 points 8 nights.  Points actually went down after the devaluation for a period of time so canceled original 340,000 one and rebooked.
We found it suited our needs nicely.  Nice location.  Fine pool.  Not a resort facility but we needed the kitchen facilities more and they provide many kosher items on their breakfast menu.  Dated rooms.  We got upgraded to a 1 BR instead of the studio.
By the way Chabad moved to Wailea and it is 1.5 miles away from this hotel.  We were the first shabbos at their new place.
Gotta say that was probably one of my highlights.  Rabbi Mendy, Reb Mushky and their children were lovely.
While there weren't enough people for a minyan it was great to daven and meet new people.  They even put together a nice little kiddush even though it was their first week in that house.
Gorgeous house, view of the beach.

Car Rental:
Costco with Avis.  Booked and cancelled over 20 times.  Originally it was 1200 for a mid size SVU (like Rogue).  At one point it went down to 425 and thats what we ended with.
We got a Kia Sorrento which had 4WD and it drove great.  Not as high clearance as a Jeep but gave us more comfort to drive the West Maui loop and back roads to Hana.

Weather:
The prior week had severe storms from Kona that literally took out a section of the road between Kaupo and Kipahulu.
We were told by the local facebook group (Road to Hana) the roads were closed.  They were for a few days until they closed off the broken section and made a slight detour.  When you got out of Oheo Gulch there was a road sign saying local traffic only and must have 4WD.  But the locals kept posting and re-iterating the roads are closed.

Rest of trip had glorious weather.  It rained for ½ an hour in Hana at one point.  That’s it.

Day 1
6:15 AM flight early start to day.
Arrived in Maui about 2:40 PM, got our luggage.
Didn’t realize AVIS had a preferred counter downstairs.  Ended up waiting in the regular line.

Went to Costco, and Target to stock up on items and drove to the hotel.

Ice cream at Costco-Take this with a grain of salt and ask your LOR.  The mix they use is OU-D and they only put vanilla ice cream in the machine.  I asked to see the box, lady thought I was nuts but obliged.  1.99 for a cup of soft serve ice cream.

Checked into hotel and unpacked.

Day 2
Got up early and jogged to the Wailea Beach Path about .75 mile from Residence inn and jogged down the beach path.  Watched sunrise over Wailea Beach and saw the hotels from the beach path.
Back to Hotel for breakfast.   I had called and asked before what they had gluten free and they told me Udi Muffins, Cereal, yogurt and fruit. When I got there they did not have any muffins the whole week and the lady felt so bad she kept coming over and giving me honey nut cheerios.    The yogurt and other cereals were kosher.  They had hot cocoa mix, coffee, jellies, cream cheese, fruit.  The bagels were kosher and not gluten free.   
We had brought cooking utensils so we made omelets upstairs and filled in with the breakfast from the hotel.  Was nice to have that in the mornings.  Actually cooked and brought all my own meals for dinners.  Tuna and PB sandwiches for lunches and snacks.


Today is Over the top West Maui Loop day
Going till Olivine Pools no big deal.  Up and over the top is way scarier than Road to Hana.  Beautiful scenery, wind very strong up here, but one way very narrow sections with blind blind curves. After this, RTH was a joke.   DH drove this one.  Really just drove and soaked in all the views.

Stopped at:
1)   Scenic Lookout
2)   Saw McGregor Pt light house from road
3)   Explored Lahaina parked in free lot was here by 10:00 am
        a.   Walked the streets
        b.   Banyan Tree
        c.   Lappert’s ice cream
        d.   View of the waterfront
4)   Stopped by some lookouts to checkout the beaches
5)   Saw snorkelers in Honolua Bay
6)   Nakalele Blowhole
        a.   Went down the path but not all the way to the blowhole.  Path below was more slippery than we were comfortable       with and the wind was kicking
7)   Great views of Kahakuloa Head
8)   Olivine Pools – water seemed quite wild so didn’t go all the way down.  No people swimming there
9)   Drove the hairpin turns, past the Turnbull studio and back to Wailea
Made ourselves dinner in Residence Inn and headed back out to Lahaina for:

Warren and Annabelle Show:
Booked this two months ago.  Magicians were Dana and John.  Shows were a mix of magic and comedy.  I thought the tricks were awesome, DH is somewhat into magic so he knew some of the tricks.  Dana was much more interactive and funny.  Both of their magic skills were at a high level.
Very enjoyable show.  We did not eat dinner there so we showed up at 6.
Parked at Outlets of Maui.   At this point they were not charging for parking.  This had been the case during COVID, but they may charge now and you would get validated by the show anyway.

Days 3   and 4 - RTH over 2 days stayed  Hana Maui resort
Took this slow.  Left Paia at 11:30.  Basically this was awesome very few people on the road. Stopped in Mana foods looking for Kosher Gluten free items.  Jackpot.  They even have a large selection of Katz gluten free cakes and Udi breads and other brands.  I brought all my stuff from home cuz couldn’t take a chance.  We let slower cars pass so we could soak in the scenery.  Had no issues getting into any pullouts or the tiny ones on the one way bridges.  Got lots of shots of different waterfalls, beautiful coastline views, not many fruit stands open.  Many of the waterfalls detailed in the Revealed book and some of the other items are no longer open to public.  On Haleakala, Sliding sands horseback riding no longer available.  Blue Pool no longer.
Seems many people have complained about locals driving recklessly and fast because they do not like tourists hogging their roads.  BH we did not have any of that experience.  We let people pass and were looking out ahead of the one lane bridges so we had clearance.
Booked reservations to the Black Sand Beach and that was beautiful.  Did about a mile of the hike of the coastal trails until DH had enough. Gorgeous vistas, blowholes, sea arch, mix of lava rock, greenery and wild ocean.  Nice lava tube.
It did not rain AT ALL during the RTH.  So lucky
Drove to Hana Bay and saw what seemed like a sign for the Red Sand Pocket Beach but the trail looked sandy without good footing and I saw the signs saying danger keep out.  So I took a picture from a distance of what I think it was.

Sights:

Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees
Waterfall views from the road turnouts
Ke-anae Peninsula views
Quick stop at Ka’anae Arboretum- mehhh
Wailua Valley State Wayside – walk up the stairs to see the waterfall in the valley
3 Bears Waterfall
Pua-a Ka-a State Park – 2 waterfalls
Hanawai Falls
Makapipi Falls
Black Sand Beach
Black Sand Beach Coastal Trail
Lava Tube on Black Sand Beach
Hana Bay
Red Pocket Sand Beach - Not

Overnight in Hana Maui Resort
Booked on Hyatt 25000 points.  These were going for over 700 a night.  Dated room we had garden one did not get upgraded I think the place was booked solid.  Good enough.  Very large room  Bedroom with a living area, kitchen bar area with a mini fridge.  We asked for a microwave and they provided.  Tub, shower...etc.  A nice lanai to sit on.
The grounds are really pretty and very laid back.  No restaurant on site, no place to get coffee except the mini espresso maker in the room.
The infinity pool was great. Had a nice swim after watching sunrise over the water.  Not a soul there.  They have an exercise room, tennis courts, a spa but we were there so short.  There was NO AC in the room.  You had to open the windows to get air, there were 2 ceiling fans.  It was comfortable.  No TV knew about that one.
Checkout is 11 asked for late they said 12 only.  We just checked out early the next morning and headed to PipiWai Trail.

Pua-a-lu’u Falls



Pipiwai Trail
One of the highlights of our trip.  Great trail.  Conditions were great except for some slippery rocks toward the end of the hike by the big waterfall.  You get to see two waterfalls, bridges, a bamboo forest,  wooden platforms to walk on, a creek and just really nice.  2 miles each way.  Took us 3 hours to hike it.  There are alot of steps along the way.

Makahkuku Falls   

Bamboo Forest

Waimoku Falls


Oheo Gulch
I either missed something here or it is extremely overgrown.  There is a 1/2 mile trail going the other direction from Pipiwai Trail.  Took that and saw the bottom part of the waterfall and some really smashing rough waters.  But as I walked up the path, it is fenced off and so overgrown I could not get pictures.  Did I miss something here and go in a different entrance?

Oh by the way, we got the senior lifetime pass for $80.  Used it for this and Haleakala.  That way wasn't tied into doing Haleakala within 3 days of Hana if it didnt work out.


Back Road from Hana.
I had no issues with RTH either front or back end.    I know it has been said you don't need a 4WD and can drive this road on a Mustang.  I hear ya, but from a Bubby perspective and with the roads in disrepair from the storms we felt more comfortable with a 4WD with higher clearance so as not to take the bottom off the car.
Remember trying to do Polihale on Kauai with a Mustang and DH quit after all the moon craters and we never made it through.  Also Mahalepu at the southern end of Kauai so pitted we ended up just walking the whole trail.
You just have to do what is comfortable for yourself.

Saw waterfalls, drove to the Laulima Farm Stand interesting place.  No garbage, but she has a compost bin  .  No Splenda but she has organic sugar.  Found many local places didnt carry any artificial sweeteners.



Huialoha Church

This one needs 4WD. Even then I thought we were toast.  Revealed book says great view of tortured lava rocks with water twisting around.  Also said it had bathrooms  .  Chain is locked but no worries go and open it.   So we did and drove down.
First part not so bad until you hit the moon crater potholes.  Got to the end..Had to turn around in place.  Got to see the lava rocks.  By the way after all that the bathrooms were locked  .

Drove the rest of the back road.  Unimproved part had also many blind turns.  These are really blind.  You can't see around the bend to see what is coming up the road.  One lane roads.  We were pretty lucky and didnt have to back down the road.

Great scenery...cows, wind turbines, rough seas, view of Haleakala.

Sunset on Makena Beach
Shops at Wailea – More Lappertt’s Ice cream

Day 5 – Down Day

Chill on Makena Beach

Drive to La Perouse Bay
    Did not do the lava trail
Note:  From the spot to the right you can see a beach with 3 beach chairs.  That’s Jeff Bezos house 
    Lunch at hotel and pool
   Dinner at our room
   
        Drive back to Kaanapali Beach for chill and Sunset
   Haagen Dazs in Whalers Village – parking is validated with $15 purchase.  That reallllly easy.

Day 6 – Scuba Diving with Maui Dreams ( Maui Diamond)
2 tank dive to Molokini Crater and some other shallower site
DH did both dives.  I hurt my ears trying to equalize on the first dive.  Was at 62 feet for 39 minutes.  Were novice divers that kept kicking me in the head, so spent a lot of time trying to distance myself from them.  Saw Shark, fish, octopus….cool stuff.

I sat out the second dive DH had an incredible one saw lots of marine life, moray eels, sharks, etc.

Took a visit to Urgent Care Center to check ears.
Note:  Never get sick on Maui.  Doctors on my plans didn’t answer phones.  Urgent care doesn’t take insurance.  I had taken out travel insurance and submitted bills to them.
They prescribed steroids which they fill for you for $34 for 6 pills.  Second check up 3 days later prescribed more steroids.  Asked if I could fly, they said no problem.   ENT afterwords said I should not have…..oh well..More steroids now.

Shabbos  - Rest

Went to Chabad 1.5 miles away.  Rabbi Mendy and Reb Mushky’s first week in the new location.  Got to meet some nice people from Colorado Springs, LA and Maui.  Davening with them and having a small Kiddush with fahrbrengen vorts really elevated our Shabbos.

Back to hotel for lunch, nap, chill until after Shabbos

Day 8
Haleakala Sunrise
Left Wailea at the witching hour of 3 AM.   About 1 ½ hour drive up the mountain.

Made reservations earlier for this.  Had bought the lifetime national parks pass and used it.
Parked in the lower visitor center and took the trail up to White Hill for Viewing sunrise over the crater.

Beautiful watching the sun come up through the clouds and then light up the canyon.

Drove up to the upper visitor center for different view of crater and pix of the observatories Science City from Red Hill.  Saw Silverswords plants.

Magnetic Peak

Kalahaku Overlook – Cinder Cones

Leleiwi Lookout

Hosmer Groves – Nature Trail
   Grossest outhouses I’ve seen


Kula Botanical Gardens – not worth it
   Nice flowers but a storm in December damaged it.  Small family owned business.
               Following things not available:  Koi Pond, Aviary, Covered Bridge, Nene Birds died,
                  Placards identifying flowers were destroyed.  So pretty flowers but no descriptions.
               $10 admission – go see a better run one

Maui Ocean Center Aquarium – Nice Diversion 
Sunset Makena Beach

Day 9
Iao Needle
   130 steps up to the lookout
    Nice nature trails to waterfall
    Bathrooms out of service, porta potties

Costco Gas up and last ice cream
Head to airport

Take aways:
1)   Nothing is a “must do”.  Do what you want and stay safe within your parameters
2)   Don’t feel pressured to do trails and other things because others said so
3)   Build in down time.  We didn’t do enough.  Thank Gd for Shabbos
4)   Take in the beauty
5)   Would have liked to go horseback riding.  The ranches were booked for 2 months out.  Didn’t think to reserve this in advance.
6)   Will need to explore snorkeling in the future while DH does the diving.  Frankly the rough waters and exit/entry on some places was a cause for concern for me.  Diving easier 
7)   Target and Costco have so much stuff.  Somebody gave me advice to change the location on the Target and Walmart app to the Maui zip code, then you can see what products they carry and are in stock.  I know this seems simple, but I just didn’t even think of that.
8)   Don’t fret leaving stuff that you bought behind.  Cost of vacation.  Wish I could have gifted to somebody.
9)   Check updated Maui Revealed updates.  We just bought a new book.  Several of the things I had thought to do using my 6th edition book are no longer valid.
10)   Probably should have walked in and out of hotels to see their beauty.

Comparison to Big Island and Kauai
   Big Island
      More adventure rugged nature from what I remember.   You can go back and read TR.
      We did helicopter over volcano national park, hiking, diving, driving around island.
       Were only there a few days
        Kauai
                 Chilled beautiful Nature.  The quietest vibe of the 3 we visited.  Lush foliage.  Waimea Canyon hike, beaches, GHR        gorgeous,  Also see my trip Report

         Maui
Felt kind of a more vibrant Kauai vibe.  Very ritzy areas in some parts, Hana is a totally different vibe.  Was really enjoyable to spend a night there and totally unwind.  Lots of gorgeous beaches, a lot of activities.  Probably lots of celebrities but we didn’t see any.

Which did I like the best?
   All of them
Thanks for reading through this giant story

Testing putting an image in.  Was trying to insert it into the proper places in the post.
Do you want me to photobomb with pictures?

Scenic Lookout on West Maui Loop


Wailea Beach Sunrise jog



Interesting - a group of natives greeting the sun in a prayer ceremony on the beach



Lahaina

Banyan Tree


Local wares:


Honolua Bay Snorkelers



Wrecked Cars



Nakalele Blowhole







Olivine Pools












Warren and Annabelle magicians of the night








Road to Hana Pix

Mana Foods









Beach




Rainbow Eucalyptus




Waterfalls and gorgeous vistas:




























Black Sand Beach


























Hana Beach Park and Red Sand Pocket Beach (not)









Sunrise on Hana Maui Resort and Chill

























Pipiwai Trail and Back end of Hana






























Oheo Gulch views














Back road of Hana continued




































Had enough?  Have I spammed too much?
Let me know if you want more

Ok here's more:

Sunset on Ulua Beach














Shops at Wailea for Lapperts ice cream






Down Day too much driving already...


Dumps Nature Reserve just took pics








 
Drive to La Perouse Bay - did not do lava hike.  You can take the bottom of your car out here.  Some guy really bottomed out bad





















Makena Beach










Sunset on Kaanapali Beach (and dessert and Haagen Dazs Whaler's village)




























Scuba Diving with Maui Dreams






































Haleakala Sunrise










































































Kula Botanical Garden


































Maui Ocean Center Aquarium











































Iao Needle




























Marriott Residence Inn Wailea








































« Last Edit: May 23, 2022, 12:25:12 AM by mechayamom »

Offline TimT

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 20K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 22077
  • Total likes: 7130
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 12
    • View Profile
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2022, 10:20:04 PM »
Do you want me to photobomb with pictures?
Would love to see more pics

Offline yungermanchik

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Nov 2018
  • Posts: 2668
  • Total likes: 2047
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: Previous Signatures: If you chapped hana'ah from a post, like it; You think you know the answers and things are the way they seem.. it just ain't so -The Rebbe from Lublin-
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2022, 11:23:40 PM »
If it's not too hard, it would be nice if you could insert the pics in the narrative. It gives context and makes the TR more enjoyable. Thanks.
Small people talk about other people.
Average people talk about things
BIG PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IDEAS.

Offline mechayamom

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2011
  • Posts: 270
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2022, 12:21:00 AM »
I tried it ended up posting them all at the end...thats why I put them all at the end with narrative.
Feel free to link to Master TR thread

Online ushdadude

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 6301
  • Total likes: 925
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
    • View Profile
  • Location: NY
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2022, 10:04:31 AM »
הִלֵּל מְחַיֵּיב אֶת הָעֲנִיִּים, רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן חַרְסוֹם מְחַיֵּיב אֶת הָעֲשִׁירִים, יוֹסֵף מְחַיֵּיב אֶת הָרְשָׁעִים
Mechayamom michayiv es ha-bubby's

Offline Divora M

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2018
  • Posts: 637
  • Total likes: 124
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2022, 01:23:55 PM »
Looks like you had a wonderful time! Thanks for taking the time to write up the TR!

Offline mechayamom

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2011
  • Posts: 270
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Bubby Mechayamom's Maui TR May 8-16
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2022, 09:19:29 PM »
Thanks for your help and advice