Maui County Fair

The Maui County Fair has a lot to offer, even though the fair is small, it is larger than our county fair back home in the Midwest, at least where I live.  We went to the fair and spent some time looking around at the various booths and entertainment.  I found the display of orchids by the Maui Orchid Society.  Wow!  I was in orchid heaven!  I gazed at various types of orchids I never knew existed.  Wonderful!

 

The Bonsai trees displayed by the Valley Isle Bonsai Club was interesting as well.  Then there were the typical exhibits of local talent in the adult open class division, along with art exhibits from local students.

However, the display of fruits and vegetables was anything but typical, at least in my little corner of the world.  There were exhibits of papayas, mangos, bananas, star fruit, dragon fruit, avocado, lemons, limes, squash, melons, macadamia nuts, sugar cane, coffee beans, even taro and tapioca.

There were close to 50 food booths to choose from as well; everything from American to Korean, Chinese, Hawaiian, you name it.  There was an excellent selection of rides for kids and adults alike.  And don’t forget the livestock and the industrial tents!

I will also include a few of the winners of the flower division.  Gorgeous:

Grandma’s Coffee House at Kula

Grandma’s Coffee House is located up country at Kula, Maui.  This quaint little café serves breakfast and lunch, also dinner on selected days of the week, soups and sandwiches, full breakfasts or muffins.  There is a good selection of mainstays such as meatloaf, fish, and other entrees, vegetables and sides that you can either eat in or take with you.  You will have trouble choosing a dessert from Grandma’s scrumptious selection of cakes, pies, bars and cheesecakes.  We have been here several times in the past, and they never disappoint.

While you’re waiting for your order, take a look around at the local artwork for sale, or go outside and take in the views of the ocean far below, or the beautiful green mountains.

We chose to eat outside on the lanai.  There were two rather friendly kitties there, and craved attention so they welcomed people making over them.  If you have the chance, you must visit Grandma’s, then head on up to Maui Wine, the only winery on the island!

Tying up loose ends

So, now we’re up to the nitty gritty and little details of things to be done before we left for Maui.  Remember we left a house and a couple small businesses back home.  Once we pinned down a date to actually leave, plans began to move quickly.  We had to make calls about the best way to handle our cable service, Dish, internet, water, etc.

Plane tickets were purchased, plans were made with the person who would take care of things for us at home, visits were made to people we wanted to visit before we left, mostly out of town elderly relatives.  My husband began to wind down his workload and finish up construction jobs.  I resigned from my job.

Then are the things you don’t really think about, like not buying too much food, but instead cleaning out our freezer and refrigerator, preparing our vehicles and parking them for winter.

Oh yes, we also had to find a decent priced vacation rental for short term on Maui to give ourselves time to find a permanent place to live.  Then got out the suitcases and decided what to take with us.  I left almost all my “office clothes” at home, knowing I most likely would not need them on Maui. Pack light was my goal, and we succeeded, well, almost.  Now I realize I brought clothes I most likely might not wear, but then it’s summer in Hawaii, and hot.  I most probably will wear them when it cools off a bit.  Also I put items in a box that we would “need” and mailed the box ahead of us.

Ok, whew, we’re ready to go!  All right, that’s at least some items to be taken care of before moving.  But, there is also the mental preparation of a move like this.  I mentioned that our two sons live on Maui.  However, we have a daughter and her husband and three grade school age grandchildren who live back home.  As a hands on grandmother, I knew this was going to be a tough one to handle, being away from them, and I had to prepare myself mentally to be separated from them for a while.  More about this later.

Next – we’re on Maui!!

Iao Valley

iaovalley

I love to go to Iao Valley. Knowing the Battle of Kepaniwai (see website) took place here and all the history of Maui was affected by it, makes me want to just stop and reflect. The park is so lush and green. You can hear the gush of the river running through the valley as soon as you get out of your vehicle.  As you go up the first incline you come to a bridge where you can stand and take in the first view of the Iao needle.  On the other side of the bridge you can often see people taking a dip in the cold calm pool in the stream below.

There are wide steps that take you to the lookout to better see the needle and snap some pics.  Head back down and follow the steps on down that take you to the stream.  On this day there were quite a few people in the water, but be careful because the water moves fast over rocks, so there are small rapids, but also calm pools within the rocks.  There are signs warning of flash flooding, however, so be aware.

Follow the sidewalk and steps all the way around and up and they will take you back to the bridge.  Once back across the bridge, you can go down to a garden with benches and various types of plants to explore.  There are also hiking trails around this area for the explorers.  Take the time as you walk around the trail to read the boards posted that tell about the history of the area.   And more than anything, please remember to take a few minutes to just stand and take in the gorgeous scenery all around you.  No rush, this is Maui, after all.

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/kealia_pond/

Between Kihei and Ma’alaea is a neat refuge for birds and other creatures to be protected so they can live in their natural habitat.  We walked the boardwalk going one way which has self-educating signs along the way telling about the habitat in the refuge, then back along the beach next to it.  The West Maui mountains are in the background of the boardwalk pics

The beach is a wide sandy beach, but rocky, so not a good place for swimming.  It is beautiful, though, and you can see Kihei Town stretch out for a very long way.