Mckena Landing

Mckena Landing quickly became our favorite beach in Maui this past May. On the remote southern end of the island, Mckena is south of Kihei. Its a small quiet beach and despite what some websites say, we found some great snorkeling there. Although you do need go out a bit to the edge of the cove to find anything. We discovered more sea turtles in this area than any of the other beaches we visited.

Mckena Landing is also a great kayak spot. We rented kayaks in Kihei, put them on top of the Jeep and took our own kayak trip in Mckena. This spot is a bit off the beaten path, and doesn't have any amenities which may be why it stays empty. So shhhh! Don't tell anyone!

For more information including directions, visit Hawaii Web

You may also like previous posts on Maui:

• A Taste of Maui
• The Blow Hole

The Maui Blow Hole

I never did finish the posts I had planned from our trip to Maui this past May. I wrote one post about our favorite food finds. But you don't really go to Maui for the food, well maybe you do. We love the beach, riding around all day in a Jeep with the top off, kayaking, snorkling and just discovering nature.

One of our highlights this visit, was a stop at the Blow Hole. The Blow Hole is an opening in a lava shelf where the ocean crashes right through! The hike from the road is stunning and it's a very interesting rocky area with beautiful views of the ocean. We had a great time waiting for the hole to blow and enjoying the views and rock formations. Kids will enjoy trying to get soaked by the water sprays.

Useful Information:

• Wear tennis or hiking shoes, you will be hiking on rough lava rock
• It's a steep climb and may be difficult with small children, pregnant women, anyone not comfortable with a bit of climbing
• You may want to stay longer then you would expect so you can enjoy the area and views, we stayed about 2 hours
• Visit this site for more info

Directions:

• Follow Highway 30 (Honoapi'ilani Highway) north from Kapalua
  
• Look for Mile Marker #38, about 1/2 mile past the Mile Marker you will see a large dirt pullout along the ocean side of the road
  
• From there you should be able to locate the trail down to the lava shelf

A Taste of Maui

We just got back from a wonderful family trip to Maui and I wanted to share some of our highlights with you in case you are planning a trip there as well. First and foremost, the food!

My husband and I love to enjoy vacation through food. Hawaii of course is filled with delicious fresh fish, pork tacos and exotic fruit. I also ate more than my fair share of cheeseburgers. Since we were on a tight budget we mostly ate at casual restuarants, but we still found some really tasty food.

Our favorites:

The Hula Grill - the Hula Grill will always remain our all time favorite restuarant. Since our honeymoon in Maui, we've often dreamed of going back just to eat at Hula Grill. The food is great, the service is excellent, but above all it's a beautiful plantation style restuarant on the beach in Kaanapali at Whaler's Village. There are two dining areas at the Hula Grill, the Barefoot Bar is an outdoor, cafe style menu that is more affordable. Here you can sink your toes into the sand underneath your table and enjoy live music from local bands each evening as you watch the sun set over the ocean and sip a Lava Flow. The Dining Room offers a traditional steak and seafood menu in a more formal dining atmosphere. Dinner at the Hula Grill is my idea of a perfect, relaxing evening in Hawaii.

Cheeseburgerland - this trip we discovered Cheeseburger Restuarants at the Shops in Wailea. I didn't think we were going to be able to afford a sit down lunch in this upscale shopping center, but low and behold the most fun looking restuarant was a cheeseburger joint! It's a little pricey for the menu items, but the food was great and the beachy, rock and roll atmosphere made it a really fun dining experience. They offer much more than cheeseburgers and fries so don't be turned off if you don't feel like a burger. I had an excellent chicken salad for lunch. The french fries are a must, I think they had the best fries I've ever had. Big potato wedges that were crispy on the outside and seasoned - yummy! There is also a location in downtown Lahiana that is on the water, but the restaurant itself isn't nearly as nice as the Wailea location. This is a great place to take the family or a large group.

Genki Sushi - for lunch one day we tried Genki Sushi and it was amazing! We enjoyed some of the best sushi we've ever eaten and the prices are very low. The two of us ate and ate: miso, edemame, teriyaki chicken, veggie roll, sushi roll and drinks for just over $20!

Local Food - don't overlook the fun local roadside food! One of our most fun meals was a roadside stop along the Hana Highway (before reaching the town of Hana). A little outdoor food marketplace was serving up homemade tacos. We had the slow wood fire roasted pork tacos topped with black beans, homemade salsa, cabbage and the local favorite sweet chili sauce. They also offered chicken and fish tacos. Other vendors were offering kabobs, hot dogs and roasted corn.

Grocery - be sure to check out the local favorites in the grocery stores. From the sweet chili sauce found in dishes island-wide to the coconut syrup served with your pancakes you'll find unique food discoveries at the grocery store too. My favorite, the Hawaiian Sun drinks. Local exotic fruit juices such as Passion Fruit are combined with pure cane sugar for the best canned drinks ever!

What I'm Missing Right Now...NYC Pizza

I've been craving a real NYC thin crust cheese pizza for about two weeks now. It's probably because some of my co-workers have been there recently. I was just there in June so I didn't think I'd be anxious to go back already, but I am. It's really not fair that they have so much incredible food there. Only in NYC can you arrive at your hotel at 10pm on a Sunday night, ask the concierge if there are any good pizza places still open that deliver, be instantly handed a menu, go up to your room and order a small thin crust cheese pizza, have it delivered for free in 20 minutes, then watch a movie on cable as you dig in and wish your company needed you to travel to New York more often. (And they still continue to move all the trade shows to Vegas, will I ever get to go back on the company's dime?)

Anyways, if you happen to be going to NYC anytime soon, my "hits-the-spot" late night hotel pizza was from the Ray's Pizza on 7th Avenue between 53rd and 54th. For a nicer sit down experience I'd recommend Angelo's, my husband & I ate there 3 times the first time we went to NYC, they use real buffalo mozarella and fresh basil on their pizzas - amazing!

Tonight I tried to curb my craving with two slices to go from Gina's Pizza in Corona Del Mar. I forgot to request thin crust so it didn't really do it for me. But Gina's is my favorite pizza so far down here in South Orange County. Do you have any local pizza recommendations?