QUICK thoughts on some of our favorite places/things.

I'll take more time on all  of these places in the future, but for now here's a quick run-down:

Maui Revealed! 

Great guide book, it was a very valuable tool. Well written and maps are easy to follow, and quite thorough.

Pa'ia

Very cute little town, on the Road to Hana, but not far from Kahului (where you fly into). Lots of neat little shops. GREAT pizza at the Flatbread Pizza place (right on the main drag through town), and Charley's was yummy for breakfast on our way to Hana. It was a bit breezy in the restaurant, and the food chilled down quickly, but other than that, GREAT. TIP for the road to Hana... stop off at the Pharmacy in Pa'ia for these little Indonesian ginger candies. Quite strong (only give the kids 1/4 piece - they are spicy), but helped my car-queasiness immediately) More on Hana in another post.

Ho'okipa Lookout

Just past Pa'ia, a great place to hang out, tide pool, and watch the "real" surfers do their thing. I guess the windsurfers come here too, but we didn't see them on our visit. Bring good shoes, though, pretty sharp rocky lava/coral walking if you want to really explore the tide pools.

Aloha Mixed Plate - Beachside Grill

On the very north end of Lahaina, next door (literally) to the Old Lahaina Luau location, and behind Safeway. Our very first meal on the island (and we returned later that week as well). I great way to jump start our island experience. Good food, great outdoor ambiance.

Wailea Beach

We found this beach to be a great beach to just hang out. The boys LOVED to boogy board, and this was a safe beach in which to let them play. Sandy entry, so we didn't worry about stubbed toes. Some days were better than others for the amount of waves... but generally great every day we visited. On calmer days, it offered great snorkeling off the south end by the rocky points. In fact, this is where I swam with a giant turtle (SOOOO cool!). 

Ulua Beach

Great snorkeling, and would be great for beginners, or with the kids (they can float on a boogy board and just duck their heads in if not really "into" the snorkel-thing). MUCH more on snorkeling later.  We really liked Wailea Beach for general beaching, so after the snorkel adventure was over, we packed up, grabbed lunch, then returned to the beach at Wailea.