Friends Trip to Maui: Aloha Maui

The day I always dread was finally here--departure day.  But our flight wasn't until 9:30 p.m. so we still had one more full day of Maui to enjoy.

We spent the morning packing and cleaning up.  We stayed at the condo until the very last minute before checkout, soaking up all we could.

I stayed out on the lanai feeding the birds I had made friends with during our stay and finally said goodbye to my favorite palm tree.

The view that never gets old!

I will miss this spot!

We packed up the trunk and got gas and made our way to central Maui to the Maui Tropical Plantation which is a working farm full of native Hawaiian plants and flowers.  They also grow the food on the farm that they serve at their restaurant, the Mill House, one of our favorites on Maui.  The plantation is a great deal as it's free to walk around the grounds.  It also has ice cream, a zipline, and a nice gift shop.

We got a table for lunch at the Mill House as soon as we got there and I got a pineapple mimosa.

Ben and I split the gnocchi and a cheeseburger and it was as good as we remembered.

After lunch and drinks, it was time to get our steps in so we walked all around the plantation and saw the grounds, took pictures, and watched people ziplining.

I love the plantation and always take a million pictures!

After all that walking, we rewarded ourselves with ice cream at Scoops.  They serve Roselani's ice cream which you can only get in Hawaii.

Ben and I split a chocolate-macadamia nut scoop.

We still had time to kill and happy hour was starting back at the Mill House so we spent a couple of more hours at the bar having drinks and fueling up for the long flight home.

And then, sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Maui and head to the airport for our flight.  Even though we will be back, it is always still hard to leave.  But we had a great time seeing new places, revisiting some old ones, and showing our friends our favorite spots.

Aloha Maui, a hui hou ("until we meet again").

Friends Trip to Maui: Day 8 - Spa day

And just like that, our last full day on Maui was here!  This day is always a little sad for me because of all the "lasts"--last full day, last sunset, last night at the condo.  *sigh*

Luckily, it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day so it was hard to be too sad!

We spent a leisurely morning at the condo and I had my "last" bagel and fruit breakfast.

I'm sure going to miss this view!

Nick and Ben went and got breakfast at a nearby McDonald's since all the breakfast food was gone.  When they got back, we started talking about what to do.  I really wanted another beach day but it was going to be sunny and probably hot since the trade winds had died down during our stay.  So I couldn't get the boys interested in the beach.

In the end, Nick decided to stay at the condo and Ben, Ben H. and I decided to have a spa day--which for me always sounds like a good idea!

So we drove over to the Spa at the Montage in Kapalua.  For $55, you can have access to the gym and spa, which had a spa pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna and relaxation lounge.  This was really nice since the pool at the condo isn't great and there is no hot tub at all.

Ahhh, this is the life!

The waiters would come around with fresh pineapple.

The boys went to the gym while I sat poolside.

When Ben got back, we got in the pool and hot tub. 

Paradise.

We all decided to get pedicures since it included a foot massage and we had done lots of hiking.  So I went and spent time in my area then met Ben for a pedicure--his first one.  I think he is now a fan!

Ben and I were starving so we went down to the Montage pool and got a snack while Ben H. had his treatment. It was looking like it would be a great last sunset.

So when Ben H. joined us, we called Nick to ask about dinner but he was not feeling well.  So we all three decided to watch sunset at the Montage.

Last sunset.

Since we had not had dinner, we decided to have our last dinner at Maui Brewing Company by the condo since our favorite takeout place was already closed.  I got a burger and root beer and it was just ok--the food there is not my favorite.  But it did the trick.

While at dinner, Nick texted us that he needed some things from the store.  It turns out that he had gotten food poisoning from McDonald's that morning!  It was a good thing he had decided to stay at the condo after all.  We felt so bad for him!

Ben and I stayed up until 10:00 p.m. that night.  We always get on island time right when it's time to leave!

Tomorrow we would have a leisurely morning at the condo before we packed up and headed to the airport.