Maui 2011

our view

Mai Tai at happy hour at the Barefoot Bar, Whaler's Village, Ka'anapali

red ginger plant at Papakea Resort, Honokowai

snorkelling in Honolua Bay

penguins live in the lobby at the Hyatt Regency, Ka'anapali

lots of fabulous things at the Maui Aquarium

Sunset from our balcony, West Maui

sun going down with Moloka'i on the horizon

We're back! We had a gorgeous week away in Hawaii getting some sunshine and spending time with family (a great half-way point for family from the US). Would you like to see some happy snaps taken with my little point-and-shoot?

We stayed at a great apartment in West Maui that I would recommend as it's easy to go north for great snorkelling, south to the resort area and Lahaina, and has a supermarket, natural food store, good coffee shop and farmer's market in walking distance.

We did a lot of eating on the trip - fresh ahi tuna poke from the Lahaina Foodland Farms, Maui Gold pineapple, sweet Maui onions, cheap bananas!, interesting 'lunch plate' local cuisine. The aquarium was great for the kids (and us too). Snorkelling was beautiful at Kapalua Beach with the turtles; Honulua Bay looked even better. There was a cute art and craft market on under an amazing old Banyan tree, planted in 1973, in Lahaina. I picked up some nice jewellery. And it was hilarious to see penguins living in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Ka'anapali (we visited just to see them).

My most memorable moments were probably relaxing at the Barefoot Bar at the Hula Grill, Whaler's Village, right on the beach at Ka'anapali. Palm leaf-covered tables sit in the sand so you can slip off your shoes and enjoy a Mai Tai or Plantation Lemonade at happy hour (3-5 pm), listening to a local Hawaiian musician on the ukelele, and nibbling on macadamia and crab wontons with wasabi dipping sauce. The kids loved the markers and colouring sheets and listening to the music. Take me back!

Images: Steph Bond Hutkin