Aloha!  I had to include this extra sunset picture.  It was taken on a really rainy day near one of the Wailea golf courses, and no, this picture was not edited in any way.  Wow.

Okay, enough of sunsets.
Let's talk food.  More importantly, let's talk carbs.  We don't come to Hawaii to start a diet.  Here are some of my favorites:

​This is my first stop of the day.  We walk to Wailea and hit Honolulu Coffee at the Wailea Shops, because it's a nice walk and because it's a lovely quiet place to start the day.

We take walks every day so that I can justify banana mac nut french toast at Kihei Caffe.  Please do not be alarmed by its appearance.  They make awesome breakfast food!!

​See the line of people? Yeah, that's 8 am on a weekend. 

I am not yet done with carbs.  These two next places, Ululani's and Sugar Beach Bake Shop are right next to each other, which makes for a dangerous combination.  Ululani's has the best shave ice on the island and Sugar Beach Bake Shop has the best bakery items on the island (that's only my opinion, though; other people's opinions may differ).  Think really fine shave ice with loads of delicious syrups, malasadas, key lime pie, coconut cream pie, banana cream pie, banana bread, and carrot cake, to name a few.

It's not all carbs, though.  Maui actually has protein items as well.  

Any trip to Lahaina includes a trip to Aloha Mixed Plate.  It's a great outdoor spot right on the beach at the north end of Lahaina--a welcome difference after you've walked about busy Front Street.  I have a partiality for teriyaki chicken plate lunch, but everything is good here and decently priced!  They recently remodeled so that the entire patio area is covered, so you can enjoy the ambience even when a dose of rain comes along.

Coconuts Fish Cafe has 2 locations in Kihei now, and one is just down the street from our condo!  Best. Fish. Tacos. Ever.  Enough said.

Monkeypod Kitchen is my go-to for macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi.  I hear there are many great menu items here--all I care about is the mahi mahi.  It's a Wailea restaurant, which means it is not inexpensive.  It is one of the restaurants not along the beach but up by the golf course in a rather non-descript strip mall.  By the way, it is not the only good restaurant located in a non-descript Wailea strip mall.  Manolis has good pizza and Matteo's has excellent Italian food and boasts the largest wine list on the island. 

Never turn your nose up at strip malls on Maui.  Some of the best places to eat are located in rather bland settings. 

Not far from our condo is Five Palms in the Mana Kai Maui resort.  If you look up the reviews on this place, most say something like, "not that great of food for the price."  I agree.  I come here for the view, which is gorgeous at sunset, and because it is right on Keawakapu Beach, which is a beautiful and relatively uncrowded beach!

​Keawakapu Beach at Mana Kai Maui resort

​Sunset on the patio at Five Palms restaurant.

Those are some of my favorite eating establishments on the island. 
Aloha!

Our condo is on the southwest side of the island, which means we watch gorgeous sunsets every night.  The one above was taken at Kam III Beach, which is a favorite place for us to walk down for sunset pictures.

Like this one . . .

And this one.  

For about a half hour after sunset, this is our view of Ken.

Our son has his own way of enjoying Maui sunsets.

The funny thing about an island sunset is that even the water senses it is time to quiet down, relax, and say goodnight.  And Maui sunsets epitomize everything that makes Maui my personal prescription for combating stress.  Aloha Sun.  Until tomorrow...

Are you like me and are a little skeptical of a vacation in Hawaii in the dead of winter?  I mean, how warm could it possibly be in January?!  Well, we just got back from a quick trip to Maui and Maui in January is FABULOUS!

​Yup.  That sun and sky look pretty much like they do in March, May, July, October, and November.  And the temperature over our four-day stay ranged from 80-83 degrees, which is pretty much what it is every other time of year.  It was a little cooler at night, which made for a little less bed covers-kicking while sleeping.

 January does bring out a more seasoned sunset-watching crowd (as in, these vacationers know when to carry their chairs out for the full sunset spectacle) across the street at Kam III Beach Park.  We took time out from work on our last evening to take our beach chairs down to the grassy area of Kam III and celebrate the Maui sunset with fellow sunset revelers.  One reason I love Maui Kamaole so much is its perfect location across the street from this beautiful park.

So, you may be wondering what work brought us to Maui in January.

That would be this new large flat screen tv that Ken said was a necessity for any man to fully enjoy a vacation.  I have to say.  I like his thinking on this.

Of course, we weren't just there to buy a tv.  This was our first trip to the condo since purchasing it, so we came to give it a good inspection, repair anything that needed repairing, and replace anything that needed replacing.  There's something about having a gorgeous view of the ocean right in front of you while you are doing housework that makes housework not so bad! 

We did manage to leave the condo long enough for the one thing I could not possibly leave Maui without...

And yes, it is just as good in January as any other time of year!