I couldn't believe day five was already here! I was a little sad when I went to the balcony for breakfast and tried not to think about our trip already being halfway over!
But we still had lots of fun things planned, starting with a trip to upcountry Maui which would include driving up Maui's dormant volcano, Haleakalā, which means "house of the sun." Ben and I have made this trip several times but it would be Nick and Kate's first time to see it.
It was a beautiful day and I was happy to see there would be a clear view at the top!
On the way to the volcano, we stopped at Kula Lodge for a restroom break and to look at the beautiful gardens.
Then it was a long drive up the volcano -- the view at the top always makes it worth it!
Ben and I did a short .20 mile trail to an overlook.
We then drove to the summit which is at an elevation of 10,000 ft. Ben and I had never gone to the actual summit on any of our prior visits, so this was a first for us too.
I decided I like the views better from the visitor's center but I am still glad we did it so Ben and I can officially say we've been to the top!
After another hour drive down the mountain, we were all ready for lunch so we stopped at Kula Bistro, another restaurant Ben and I had not tried.
Kate and I split the burger and the kalua pork sandwich.
Ben got the mahi mahi sandwich. We all thought the food was ok. There is a restaurant in upcountry that Ben and I like better but at least now we were full.
We decided to take a tour of the Hawaiian Ocean Vodka distillery.
This is a tour Ben and I have done before but I was happy to do it again with Nick and Kate because the views and the grounds are really pretty there.
Unfortunately, the tour has changed a bit since Covid, and they have added buildings that have taken away some of the beautiful views the distillery once had. Oh well, that's progress I guess!
The one good thing is that in addition to vodka, they now offer a rum and gin tasting which was interesting.
Ben is ready to get his tasting on.
This will probably be the last time we do this tour, but I was glad to see the distillery one more time.
Back at the condo, we were treated to yet another beautiful Maui sunset!
Tomorrow we would show Kate the Kaanapali beach resort area.
