haupia pie

It's all about perspective and taking a vacation is a great way to find a new one

The first half of 2015 has been exhilarating and exhausting. My eldest son got married, my youngest son graduated from high school, we had so many visitors that filled our home to the seams and Butterfield Gourmet was very, very busy. So it was with great relief and excitement that we closed our shop doors for 2 weeks and took a much needed vacation. My husband, youngest son and I flew direct to Maui and spent 6 glorious days exploring as many sights, tastes and adventures as we could absorb. Admittedly, my favorite escape usually involves sand, good books and a cold beverage nearby. This was NOT one of those trips. We set out to do as much or as little as my son wanted, since this was a celebratory trip in his honor. (Of course, his graduation also marks our empty-nesthood, woohoo!!)
And boy did we do…a lot. Maui has such a wide range of wonders to discover, from sandy beaches and coral reefs to volcanic craters, rushing waterfalls and deep, lush rainforest. We weren’t crazy people trying to squeeze in Everything but we did try to hit the highlights, largely because my son is an avid photographer. He has an amazing eye and it was a joy for us to see his delight when we would stop the jeep for another “awesome shot” of God’s handiwork. At our final dinner of the trip, we lingered talking about all of our favorite moments and experiences. I asked him for his favorite moment, favorite sight, favorite day and favorite experience. it was difficult for him to choose!

I know which day was my favorite. We started the morning (so early) snorkeling in the Molokini crater…where beautiful, colorful fishies swam right up to us and we could see clearly 25 feet below. After a quick shower back at the resort, we ate a very satisfying breakfast at the Kihei Caffe – think Cinnamon Roll French toast and Over Easy Egg on Pork Fried Rice! Then we headed to Haleakala and drove through the clouds to the summit of an ancient volcano whose eruption was responsible for the creation of the island itself. We hiked about 1.5 miles into the Haleakala crater (downhill going in, UPHILL coming out!) and as I stood at the top where the temperature was about 40 degrees cooler than along the shore, I was completely in awe of where we’d been in just one day!! Two craters, two entirely different perspectives of the same landmass. It was an incredible experience. The day ended well at a very unique restaurant concept, Ka’ana Kitchen at the Andaz Resort, where I consumed every morsel of a grilled octopus salad and devoured my Ahi entree (pretty sure I had Ahi for at least 8 meals).

There are so many other moments to share but I know you don’t have all day to read my memoirs.  Hope you’ve had or will have an opportunity to escape your everyday life and vacation somewhere you can gain new perspectives this year. Here’s the Menu for this week and don’t forget to stop by and see us at the Saint Michael’s Farmers Market next weekend!