Pineapples and Fish

Day 3 on Maui was another early alarm (maybe we’ll sleep in one morning?). We had a 7:30 arrival time for a day of snorkeling on the Pride of Maui. We checked in, boarded the boat and had some nice pastries, fruit, and pog juice as we headed towards our first destination: Molokini crater. It was a gorgeous day with little to no wind so the ride out was amazing. We saw multiple whale sightings. They were pretty far in the distance and were a bit too quick for us to get good photos, but lots of good whale watching for sure!

The first spot for snorkeling was pretty nice. We had about an hour there and saw lots of fish and the reef itself was pretty nice. We were supposed to go SNUBA here, but the current was just too strong and the first group didn’t have a good experience, so they saved our SNUBA for the next stop. I’m not sure I’d go back to snorkel here, but the water was certainly clear and the crater nearby was cool.

After a lunch on the boat, our next stop was Turtle Town and we got to SNUBA the whole hour! Our guide was super awesome and found an octopus and brought it to us to pet. He also scooped up a starfish and let us touch that too. We got to see all kinds of eels hiding in the corals and super cool fish. Then, on our way back to the boat we got to see a turtle! He came right over to us checked us out and swam away. It was amazing! Our guide was bummed the other folks in our group wasn’t following him or we likely could have seen even more. Mike enjoyed his first SNUBA experience and is excited about getting SCUBA certified (and Ali will need a refresher course before we go). It was really a great little dive. So fun and so clear! No pics of this amazingness, but we’ll get a camera before we go underwater again.

We had a fun booze cruise on the way back to the harbor. Mike got to try 3 different Maui Brewing beers and Ali had a nice wine. And there were macadamia nut cookies. Just a gorgeous day at sea. We’d highly recommend these folks as everyone was super friendly and the service was great. Only downside: the boat holds 50-70ish people, so snorkeling can be a bit crowded.




After a quick refresh at our Airbnb, it was back to the upcountry for a few stops. First, Hali’imale Distillery. The make vodka out of pineapples! We got to tour their facilities and try some of their spirits (they also make rum and whisky and gin and some flavored vodkas that are delicious).

Then, we had a beautiful drive to Maui Wine. This place is a must visit. It’s beautiful and has some great history about the island in one of the tasting rooms. We tried their pineapple wine and a few others and just enjoyed the space.

Then, it was back down the mountain for dinner at Miso Phat sushi. This was incredible! Likely the best sushi rolls we’ve ever had. Soooooooo good! After sushi, we got more shave ice. This time it’s macadamia but ice cream on the bottom. I think I preferred the first one, but this  was good too.

Our final stop of the night was Maui Brewing. This facility is insane. It’s huge (a big restaurant and a nice tasting room). Mike got to try 6 really interesting beers and there were at least 3 others he wanted to try. But we were tired and needed to pack for our next adevnture. Maui, we loved you, but Oahu here we come!