Pineapple Wine, Surfing Goats and Dinosaurs!!!

November 13th, 2010
The rest of Day 3

We continued on our journey through “upcountry” to Ulupalakua where the Tedschi Winery is located. There was a cute little country store with a restaurant inside so we wandered around in there while we waited for the winery to open at 10am. This must be a record for us- arriving everywhere before they even open!!! We went ahead and did our wine tasting first thing. Yes, we were ready for wine at 10am! They have a couple of grape wines, several pineapple wines and a raspberry dessert wine (delicious). Then we went on the guided tour (which was really interesting), bought a bottle of pineapple wine and some coconut cookies and headed back down the road the way we came in. This is the last stop before heading to an unpaved section of road that eventually takes you to the road to Hana.


The grounds at the winery

 We decided to skip the lavender farm on the way back- we were all a bit ready to get back to the condo and still wanted to stop at the Surfing Goat Dairy. Once we arrived at the dairy we did a cheese tasting and decided to get a sampler plate with 6 of the fresh soft chevre they produce. This dairy has won many awards for its cheese- their feta and “udderly delicious” fresh chevre were even used during the inauguration dinners for President Obama in Washington DC! We let the kids feed two of the baby goats some hay then headed out again. Check this place out http://www.surfinggoatdairy.com/  if you love cheese as much as we do!!! I think my favorite was the Ole- with jalapenos, artichokes, cilantro and lime juice- a 3rd place national winner from 2004. Yum.

We made a quick stop at Costco (since we were driving right past it) and grabbed a few things. The crazy part was that at Costco the prices are nearly the same as on the mainland! We headed straight back to the condo and took some time to relax. And apparently that means different things to all of us. Niko took a nap, Devan and Will headed to the pool and I read my book and had a couple of drinks to unwind. For dinner we had pizza and fresh fruit- quick and easy was about all we had the energy for!

The sunset at the end of a long day!

November 12th, 2010
Day 4

Today was just a nice mellow day. Started off with a swim in the pool. Then headed down the road to Ka’anapali Beach for some ocean time. Devan was a bit skeptical at first and it took a while to convince her to get past the shore break- but once she figured it out I think she could have stayed out there forever. Will and I took turns out with her because all Niko wanted to do was play in the sand- he had zero interest in the water. He just plopped down and started building an enourous sand sculpture.

We did a bit of shopping, had some frozen yogurt then decided to head back to the condo to take a break from the sun. We ended up hopping back into the pool once we got back- I don’t think my hair has taken such a beating EVER! Hopefully it doesn’t all fall out when I get back home. That is one thing about Hawaii- there is no point doing your hair or makeup! It is kind of nice to take a break from it actually- just being ok with going natural.

For dinner we headed to Front Street in Lahaina again- this time to visit The Cool Cat Café which reportedly has the best burgers on Maui. And on Friday’s they have $3 mai tai’s so that worked out perfectly! We were able to sit out on the balcony during the sunset over the water, our waiter was a hoot and the food was great. And my mai tai’s hit the spot!

Overall a nice mellow day full of swimming and sunshine. The kids have been going to sleep easily, probably due to the swimming and time change. Tonight, just as Niko was almost asleep, he suddenly looked at me and asked “do dinosaurs eat people?” What better way to end the day than a discussion about extinction with your 5 year old!?!  I think I reassured him that he won't be a snack for a T-Rex anytime soon.