Last sunrise:
At around 7:30 am we packed up and went down to the beach one last time to see if we could maybe snorkel but the flag was still yellow/red. The beach was really lovely at this time of day with no one around and I got some great pictures.
I realized I had not yet taken a picture of the Four Seasons from the beach.
We had a nice time in the ocean practically all by ourselves. As we stood there looking at the beach one last time together, I told Ben, look, you can see our shadow!
I wanted to stay and stay and never leave. I let out a huge sigh as we walked back up the stairs from the beach for the last time.
All was not lost though because our plane didn't leave until 6:00 pm so we still had pretty much a full day ahead of us. We had thought about just having another beach/resort day but it was cooler now and Ben had gotten too much sun the day before. So I went back to my original plan which was to drive to Upcountry for breakfast and a tour of the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, which I really wanted to see.
http://www.aliikulalavender.com/t-discover-akl.aspx
I had heard the views were beautiful and I wanted to get my sister some lavender tea. Then we could drive to Paia for lunch and see the surfers at Ho'okipa Lookout which would be fun because the reports said the waves were 30 ft. high up there. We looked at the Upcountry website and it said it was sunny and the high would be 72. So we had our plan.
Before we went back up to our room, I told Ben I wanted to go down to the courtyard we could see out our window and take a few pictures.
So by the time we had showered, packed, checked out (*sob*) and were ready to hit the road, it was almost 10:00 am. We went down to get our Fusion for the last time and said goodbye to the wonderful Four Seasons staff.
I had wanted to have breakfast at Grandma's Coffee House in Upcountry, but that was an hour away and we were both hungry. So I suggested Da Kitchen in Kihei, since I knew we couldn't have lunch at the one by the airport since it is closed on Sunday. So we told Google Siri and off we went.
We found it easily and yay, there was actually parking. I had in my notes breakfast was served until 10:30 am so we just made it. I told Ben he could order breakfast or lunch. So he asked for a suggestion and was told to get the teriyaki beef fried noodles. I got Da Kitchen Omelet which came with either rice or potatoes.
I wish I had asked for a suggestion because Ben's noodles were delicious. I liked my omelet Ok though, it just wasn't as good as what Ben got.
We knew we needed to use the restroom before our long drive so we went looking for one and stopped in a little shop called Heaven on Maui. I found the cutest Christmas ornament for my tree, which is all silver and gold. So we asked for the code to the restroom while we were there and then we were ready to hit the road.
The drive Upcountry was nice and easy. We kept watching the temperature on the Fusion drop as we drove up. When we got to the lavender farm, it read 68 degrees. I do wish we had gotten there just a little earlier, because there were a few clouds once we got there, but not many.
We got there just in time for the 11:30 am tour, however they give you a map so I told Ben, let's save the $24 and just walk around ourselves. I knew I would want to stop and take too many pictures to take a tour anyway and would just hold up the whole thing. Ben agreed.
I took about 1,200 pictures at the lavender farm. I loved it and it smelled so good. There wasn't much lavender in bloom in November but it was still beautiful anyway. Here are just a few of my favorites:
At the gift shop, I got my tea for my sister and Ben wanted a drink so he chose a cold lavender tea. I told him I wanted a scone so we got that and ate outside on the patio. I didn't have a good view from there but here is the view from right next to it:
The scone was $3 and big enough for us to share. They have lavender honey and liliko'i jelly for you to put on your scone. Liliko'i is Hawaiian passionfruit. I have heard people talk about it but I had never tried it. Boy, I know now what all the fuss is about. It was delicious. Especially on that scone with butter. The next time I go to Maui, whenever I see liliko'i anything, I'm getting it. I ended up ordering some scone mix and the jelly once we got home and we had it for breakfast on Christmas morning.
After our snack, we talked about else we could do in that area as we still had time and weren't ready for lunch. I told him about the Surfing Goat Dairy and the Ocean Vodka Distillery nearby. Both have tours and samples. Ben loves goats so I knew he would want to go to the dairy and Ocean Vodka is right next to it so it's easy to do both. But I had in my notes that the last tour at the dairy was at 1:00 pm (I love being a planner) so we needed to go there first as it was now 12:30 pm and it was about a 20 minute drive from the lavender farm.
We made it just in time for the 1:00 pm tour and signed up. You get a brief history of the farm, you get to pet and feed goats (which I knew Ben would love), you see where they milk the goats and pasteurize the milk, and it ends with a goat cheese tasting. It was fun and well worth $10 per person, especially since that cost helps keep the farm up and running.
Ben gets to see his goats:
Our tour guide at the cheese tasting:
I love goat cheese and it was all delicious. We got to try 6 cheeses. My favorite one was a slightly spicy one with jalapeno and cilantro. Mmmm. They don't give you any water though which would have been nice. Afterwards, we went to the gift shop and I got a papaya goat milk soap for my mom and Ben got a T-shirt.
So now it was after 2:00 pm and we discussed going to Ocean Vodka but Ben said he was tired of walking and really didn't need a whole flight of vodka before a plane ride home. Plus it is a 45-minute tour which we felt was pushing the time just a little. So we decided to head to Paia for lunch.
So once again, we try to find a parking spot in Paia but it's a total fail. It's really crowded now, probably because everyone was coming to see the high surf. It was insane. I told Ben don't go too far out of the way because we don't want to end up on the Road to Hana--I pictured us missing the lookout entirely and ending up on that crazy curvy one-lane road with no way to turn around. I'm kind of devastated we missed seeing the crazy waves and the surfers.
So now we have all this time to kill and we know we have to eat before our 7-hour flight because our snacks have diminished during the trip. I think we're down to a bag of semi-crushed Cheez-Its. Ben asks me for suggestions but at this point, I'm no help. We finally stop at a Lexus dealership and ask for a suggestion. The nice salesman suggests a restaurant called Marco's Grill nearby.
So we go there and have our last Maui meal. I don't have much of an appetite so I get a sausage flatbread appetizer and Ben gets a turkey Caesar wrap. It does the job but that's about it. It was better than Burger King though.
We get back to Alamo and turn in our car and get checked in at the airport. The security line is long too so I'm glad we're early. Once through, we see a restaurant called Sammy's and decide to stop for one last cocktail.
And with that, our wonderful anniversary trip was over and we bid Aloha to Maui.
Mahalo for reading.