Day 5: Kayaking, Makena beach

On the road I bike. In the water I kayak. These are 2 of my favourite sports (the 3rd one is golf) The first time I learned kayaking was in Pacific ocean near SF 16 years ago. I have kayaked in lakes but not in ocean since then. I was so happy to ocean kayaking again, and in Pacific ocean too! I still remember I had to wear wet suit because it was cold and the water was rather rough. My double kayak partner and myself were both exhausted at the end. The water in Maui felt completely different. It was warm, calm and clear. I spent an hour kayaking along Wailea and Kihei.

I rented the kayak from the hotel directly for $25/hr. I read that the rate was much cheaper down at Makena ($40/day) And that's our area to explore in the afternoon. We drove along Makena Alanui and visited Makena Landing and the Big Beach. The latter was a real popular spot. We turned around where the road got narrow. There were lots of dark lava rocks and goats on both side of the road.
After a bit of shopping and shave ice at Lahaina, we were unable to find parking space for dinner there so we went back to hotel for more fun at the swimming pool again. Dinner was take-out from Subway. I went to sleep early (9pm) to be prepared for the activity next day. Stay tuned for more details!

Day 3: Road biking at Kula, Lahaina

One of my top priorities at Maui was road biking. There were 2 famous bike routes: (1) up from the shore to the 10000 ft summit of Haleakala, (2) the road to Hana. I ended up biking a less traveled but still scenic and challenging (incl. a category 2 climb) route around Kula, guided by Maui Cyclery at Paia.



I booked the tour way before my trip and have been eagerly waiting for this day! I brought my own jersey, shorts, shoes and pedals while Maui Cyclery provided the most high-end bike I've ever ridden: a Titanium Litespeed with Ultegra gruppo! This was the first time I did a guided bike tour. Even though I lost some bragging rights because the route wasn't as famous, I was still glad that I joined the tour. The leader from the shop was a really good rider so I have never ridden harder than this in order to keep up. Bikers get better by riding with better ones. In addition, I just don't feel brave enough to ride on my own in unfamiliar territory. The whole tour minus the leader and the driver were just me and another couple on their honeymoon (which were nice folks BTW. Both were very fit.) The bikes were loaded to a truck which also serve as SAG (support and gear) at the shop and we were driven to our starting point, Kula Community Center. We actually drove by the town of Kula the previous day as it's on the way to Haleakala. However, instead of biking towards that, we rode down Kula Highway and then Kalama Park Rd towards the south side of Haleakala. It was very windy but we got an awesome view of the islands (Kahoolawe and Molokini) We took the same route back and the final few uphill miles required quite a bit of work. The rewards were pastries at the end point, Grandma's Maui coffee.
I rejoined the family back at the hotel around 1:30pm and started our trip to West Maui. The kids will probably remember Lahaina for the shave ice place.

Maybe the big banyan tree too:

I will remember Lahaina because of Betty's Beach Cafe. I love its signature dessert, which is a huge mud slide (mango ice cream with brownie) This restaurant is probably more well known for being able to watch luau (performed at the restaurant next to it) without paying the price of luau than its food though.