Official SGT ADD thread

[Princess Susi]

My best friend and her husband are renewing their vows after 35 years, next December, 2009 and they are going to do it in...Hawaii! We are going to be coming to Hawaii for it. So, hobie, start planning now for our royal visit to the islands!

I have never been to Hawaii, Ralphie has and it will be a fun trip. We will spend more time there than just going to the wedding vow renewal. hobie, I need some suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do. You can start firing suggestions anytime, I will be writing them down and keeping track of them. FUN!
Yay for a tip to paradise! So I guess we won't be doing our annual DLR Christmas trip then. But, Hawaii, here we come.....

susi

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

My best friend and her husband are renewing their vows after 35 years, next December, 2009 and they are going to do it in...Hawaii! We are going to be coming to Hawaii for it. So, hobie, start planning now for our royal visit to the islands!

I have never been to Hawaii, Ralphie has and it will be a fun trip. We will spend more time there than just going to the wedding vow renewal. hobie, I need some suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do. You can start firing suggestions anytime, I will be writing them down and keeping track of them. FUN!
Yay for a tip to paradise! So I guess we won't be doing our annual DLR Christmas trip then. But, Hawaii, here we come.....

susi

You can ALWAYS stop by DLR on the way to Colorado!!!

[Whazzup]

My best friend and her husband are renewing their vows after 35 years, next December, 2009 and they are going to do it in...Hawaii! We are going to be coming to Hawaii for it. So, hobie, start planning now for our royal visit to the islands!

I have never been to Hawaii, Ralphie has and it will be a fun trip. We will spend more time there than just going to the wedding vow renewal. hobie, I need some suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do. You can start firing suggestions anytime, I will be writing them down and keeping track of them. FUN!
Yay for a tip to paradise! So I guess we won't be doing our annual DLR Christmas trip then. But, Hawaii, here we come.....

susi

Oh Susi you lucky dog!! We may be planning a Hawaii trip to use some of our brand new never been used Disney Vacation Club points! :D: We just joined and AKL is our home resort, but we could do an exchange through Interval International and they have resorts on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. It takes several months sometimes to get a match when you put in your request, so we don't have a time frame yet. Hey, maybe we can do an SGT group trip to visit Hobie! If he doesn't have room for all of us, he could ask his celebrity neighbors to put us up in their guest houses. Hehehehe!!
(Don't worry Hobie, we won't do that to ya.)
Maui is my favorite island, though. Susi you will have a wonderful time whatever you do. Just avoid rush hour traffic on Oahu and you'll be fine.

Did you guys know Disney is building a resort on Oahu? It will be a high rise with about 800 rooms, about 400 rooms dedicated to DVC members, the rest for general use, due to open in 2011. It's under construction next to the Marriott complex out on the western shore past Barbers Point in Ko'olina. Should be gorgeous.

[Purpura]

My inlaws took my daughter to Hawai'i and visited a friend of my mominlaw. They went to Maui, and had a good time. They also went to a luau, not one of those that Tourists go to at hotels, and came back with my daughter knowing how to hula dance. Hehe

[hobie16]

We are going to be coming to Hawaii for it.

First question. Which island?

[hobie16]

Susi,

Here's my list of places to eat and things to do. Part 1

Food
Breakfast
Plantation Golf Course Club House – Kapalua. 100 mile view! Get a table by the windows. Reasonable prices.

The Gazebo at Napili Point – On the ocean. Famous for macadamia pancakes. Cash only.

Lunch
Pacific’o – 505 Front Street, Lahaina. On the beach just south of the harbor. Excellent lunch! Make sure and ask about the special for the day. About $35 for two people.

Fish & Game – Kahana Gateway Plaza. Micro brewery. Good burgers.

Pinata’s – Dairy Road, Kahului, behind Kinko’s. Mexican food. Good kitchen sink burritos.

Dinner
Pacific’o – 505 Front Street, Lahaina. On the beach. Make reservations to sit next to the hedge a half hour before sunset. Excellent menu!! Fish just off the boat. Have their own organic farm for greens.

I’o - 505 Front Street, Lahaina. On the beach. Partners with Pacific’o. Make reservations to sit next to the hedge a half hour before sunset. Different menu but still excellent!

Pineapple Grill – 200 Kapalua Drive, Kapalua. Fresh fish, beef. The pineapple upside down cake is a great way to finish off dinner.

Cool Cat Café – 658 Front Street, Lahaina across from Banyon Tree Square 2nd floor. Lunch or dinner. Good burger joint. Air conditioned or open air seating.

Cjs – Fairway Shops just north of Ka’anapali Parkway. Comfort food. Big menu and reasonable prices.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House – 900 Front Street, Lahaina. Dinner only. One word. BEEF!!

Lahaina Yacht Club – 835 Front Street,Lahaina. Lunch and dinner. If you belong to a YC use your card to get in. New chef with a lot of good ideas. Best burger on Front St. On the water.

Luau
Feast At Lele - 505 Front Street, Lahaina. Instead of standing in line for food everything is served at table. Four courses plus dessert. Never ending bar included. Great show. Reservations highly recommended as they sell out every night.

[hobie16]

Part 2

Some recommendations from the LA Times

1. CJ'S DELI & DINER

Price: $7.95 to $9.95

Scoping it out: Only $10 to spend? Stop at CJ's Deli & Diner for what may be the best burger in Maui. For $9.95, our burger combo included half a pound of Angus beef (topped with caramelized Maui onions, cheese and bacon) a refillable soda and a heaping mound of wonderfully seasoned fries. The diner is cheerful and appealing and is just down the street from the über-expensive resorts at Kaanapali. "I opened this restaurant because I was tired of all the tourist traps," says owner Christian Jorgensen, formerly executive chef at the Westin Maui. His menu includes more than burgers: Jorgensen's comfort meals include entrees such as meatloaf ($8.50), pot roast ($9.95) and roast turkey ($8.95). And you can BYOB without a corkage fee. Other pluses: Order lunch to take on a picnic or the road to Hana, and CJ will lend you an ice chest.

We loved. . . everything, including CJ's wickedly wonderful sweets, such as Road to Hana brownies or macadamia nut Hana bars.

We didn't love. . . that the place is hard to find. (No it’s not!)

CJ's Deli & Diner, Kaanapali Fairway Shops, 2580 Kekaa Drive, No. 120 (just off Honoapiilani Road); (808) 667-0968, http://www.cjsmaui.com.

2. ALOHA MIXED PLATE

Price: $6.25 to $13.95

Scoping it out: Lahaina, once a whaling capital, is now a tourist hub with restaurants crowding Front Street, the main drag. Many are chain eateries with high prices -- hey, you might as well have stayed at home. So try something different: Aloha Mixed Plate. The funky ocean-side restaurant features plate lunches, an only-in-Hawaii cuisine that includes foods of many cultures. Typical dishes are teriyaki beef, kalua pork, poi, rice, macaroni salad and lomi lomi salmon, but finicky eaters can skip the local food and get a burger or salad. You'll dine outdoors on paper plates, but the view is worth a million dollars, especially at sunset: tiki torches, lush vegetation, crashing surf and a flotilla of sailboats riding at anchor. Come around 8 p.m. and you'll hear the music and dancing from the Old Lahaina Luau next door.

We loved. . . the location and setting.

We didn't love . . . the difficulty finding a parking space. (It’s not if you don’t mind a short walk from the mall across the street.)

Aloha Mixed Plate, 1285 Front St., Lahaina (behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall); (808) 661-3322, http://www.alohamixedplate.com.

3. SUNRISE CAFE

Price: $5.95 to $9.95

Scoping it out: Sunrise Cafe is a day brightener. Tucked away on a side street in busy Lahaina, the diner offers breakfast specials for $5.95 each. At a resort hotel, you'd pay as much as $28 a person. This tiny, family-run restaurant has only 13 tables but is charming, with two shady covered patios for dining and people watching. It's an easy stop on the way to the whale watching and snorkeling boats. Breakfast is served until 3 p.m., when the cafe closes for the day. After 11:30 a.m., appetizers, soups and sandwiches are added to the menu.

We loved . . . the eggs Benedict, the restaurant's specialty.

We didn't love . . . the cash-only policy. No credit cards.

Sunrise Cafe, 693 N. Front St., Lahaina (next to the Lahaina Library on Market Street); (808) 661-8558.

4. BA-LE FRENCH SANDWICHES & BAKERY

Price: $7.75 to $8.25

Scoping it out: This food court restaurant, with two locations in Maui (and 23 others in the state), may have an identity crisis. Is it Vietnamese, French or Hawaiian? It's a little of each, with various dishes to complement the cultures. Visit here for pho (a Vietnamese soup), hot or cold noodle dishes, saimin and lunch plates featuring short ribs, teriyaki chicken and pork. Sandwiches are served on French-style baguettes. Pastries and puddings round out the offerings.

We loved . . . the fast service.

We didn't love . . . the French bread, which was too hard.

4a: Ba-Le French Sandwiches & Bakery, 1221 Honoapiilani Road, Lahaina (in the Lahaina Cannery Mall); (808) 661-5566. Also, 4b: 270 Dairy Road, Kahului (in the Maui Marketplace); (808) 877-2400, http://www.ba-le.com.



We loved . . . the fast, fresh, inexpensive local food.

We didn't love . . . getting lost on Kapalua's dead-end roads.

Honolua Store Deli, 502 Office Road, Lahaina; (808) 665-9109.

[hobie16]

Part 3

5. SCOOPS

Price: $3.25 to $6.25

Scoping it out: Selling ice cream is the best job in the world, says Scoops' owner Michael Martinelli, "because 99 out of 100 customers go away smiling." After tasting Lappert's Hawaii ice cream, we understand why. Lappert's Hawaii ice cream, a boutique brand from Kauai that's sold at Scoops, is creamy and delicious. Scoops, on the main drag in Lahaina, offers 32 flavors and is a granddaddy of ice cream stores: Martinelli has dished up frozen goodness almost every day for 22 years. His biggest seller is Kauai pie (Kona coffee ice cream laced with fudge and coconut) on a chocolate-dipped, nut-encrusted handmade waffle cone. Yes, we know, ice cream isn't a meal. But sometimes nothing else tastes as good.

We loved . . . luscious ice cream on a hot night.

We didn't love . . . the diminutive size of the scoop.

Scoops, 888 Front St., Lahaina; (808) 661-5632.

6. FISH MARKET MAUI

Price: $8.99 to $12.99

Scoping it out: It's easy to get hooked on the food at Fish Market Maui. If you want a great fish dinner without paying a fortune, this tiny shop in a West Maui strip mall makes it easy. Owners Jim and Tricia Patch buy from local fisherman and resell to the public. Plan a condo picnic or beach-side barbecue and pick up ready-to-grill varieties such as opakapaka (Hawaiian pink snapper), mahi mahi, ono, wild salmon and striped marlin. Or phone ahead and ask them to cook it for you. The market also has a to-go counter with sandwiches, fish tacos and pizzas, including crab and avocado. And there's a deli counter with delicacies such as lobster salad, poke (raw ahi salad) and smoked fish.

We loved . . . eating fish that just came off the boat.

We didn't love . . . the location, north of Kaanapali, which is too far for visitors staying in Kihei or Wailea.

Fish Market Maui, 3600 Lower Honoapiilani Road, Lahaina; (808) 665-9895.

7. HONOLUA STORE DELI

Price: All less than $7

Scoping it out: Kapalua is a pretty tony address. This resort community at the far end of West Maui is home to the swanky Ritz-Carlton Kapalua and other pricey digs. But it's also home to the quaint Honolua Store, a fixture since 1929, when the area was part of a giant pineapple plantation. The store, which sells T-shirts and tourist necessities, has a new addition. In December, a deli was added; its takeout menu has quickly become so popular that locals and tourists line up outside before the 6 a.m. daily opening. Chef Romeo Arruiza, formerly of the Westin Kaanapali, offers a changing menu of lunch plates, pizzas and sandwiches. And you can walk out the door, with a beverage, for less than $10. Stop by for a picnic lunch if you go snorkeling at beautiful Kapalua Beach or drive the West Maui coast road. Or dine outside on the patio.

Stuff To Do
Tours
Hana - Rather than driving take a guided tour. Ekahi Tours provides a good one. Takes about twelve hours. 877-9775

Boats – There are a number of boats that go to snorkel destinations or just cruise.

Scotch Mist leaves from the Lahaina harbor.

America’s II – High performance sailing from Lahaina

Trilogy has catamarans that leave from the harbor and pick up on Ka’anapali beach in front of multiple hotels.

Pacific Whale foundation offers snorkel cruises too.

All of the boat companies offer whale watching cruises. Best time is late December to early March. During January and February there are so many whales that the boats can’t move.

There are also ferries that run to Lanai and Molokai. You can also ride the Superferry to Honolulu.

Snorkle
Black Rock – Ka’anapali Beach on the south side of Black Rock in front of the Sheraton. Lots of fish, easy ocean entry. Watch out for the cliff divers.

Honolua Bay Marine Preserve – About three miles north of Kapalua Resort on Highway 30. No signs so you might want to get a map. Parking limited so get there before 9 AM. Quarter mile walk to the beach. Excellent snorkel spot with lots of fish! Spinner dolphins stop by occasionally. A few turtles too.

Airport Beach – Just north of Black Rock next to the Westin timeshare. Lots of fish. Close parking easy access.

Calendar Of Events
http://www.calendarmaui.com/

Remember
Hawaii is at about the same latitude as Mexico City. Wear sunscreen!

There is only one real decision to be made while you’re here. Beach or pool?!?!

[Purpura]

Sure is GP. :D: , but I meant my life off stage. Just seems to be filled with "The Stupids!!!!" Picked this phrase up from D L Security. ;) Can't even eat lunch @ Inn Between in peace. It's bad! Just plain Crazy bad.

Yeowch... Too many people in there sometimes isn't it?

[hobie16]

Wait a sec hobie. :) You have no clue. I HAVE NO SKILLS! Why do you think I'm at DL? Can't work on presentation skills when there are none. As for charts & graphs.....was never proficient with those @ Cal. Can't count change & hold up charts. Appreciate your effort though. A CM I like very much calls me JALC. "Just A Lost Cause." Seems to fit hobie.

Everyone has skills. It just takes time to find out what they are. I sucked at sports but discovered I'm a killer sailor. I always though my presentation skills were crappy until I got dragged into a classroom to fill in for a sick instructor. I eventually ended up teaching for 15 years.

Don't sell yourself short.