Maui 2016 Day 5: Kapalua Bay, Back to Seattle

Sigh.  Our last day already?  All of days of beach time flew by.

Our flight was at 10pm, so we had the whole day.  The condo owner allowed us to check out later in the afternoon, so that helped a lot.

We were debating about the Road to Hana, which is raved about...but in the end decided to not do a road trip, and wanted to relax and give snorkeling another try.

We got to Kapalua Bay a little late in the morning, so the little lot was full already.  It was a small bay, and was busy with families.  Definitely a popular snorkel spot, but it felt less crowded than Black Rock since everyone was spread out around the bay.  The sand was soft and the water was so clear.

Clear water, soft sand, sunshine at Kapalua Bay!

What amazing snorkeling!  Entering was tricky, but the middle area was safe and coral free.  All around the bay was beautiful coral and fish everywhere.  I saw a couple schools of fish, eels, so many fish.  Apparently there was a turtle friend further out, but we did not venture that far out.

School of bright fish!

I'm really glad we chose this bay, it was by far the best visibility and variety of fish.  Although, I unfortunately started getting a little nauseous again...

This bay also holds the beginning of the Kapalua Coastal Trail, which I had read great things about. Rather than walk the entire stretch, we did a small portion of it, passing a couple other private, small bays, and an area that can only be described as post-apocalyptic.  Definitely a beautiful trail.  It would be a perfect spot to go for a run in the morning.

Dark rocks that look a little post-apocalyptic.

After the walk, we were so tired.  It was of course late-lunch time, but we did not have much time to get something to eat before making it back to the condo in time to clean up and check out.  This led to a quick pit-stop at L&L BBQ.  We thought we would eat light, and save room for our upcoming dinner at Star Noodle...But of course our meals were huge.

After getting back to the condo and rush-packing and cleaning, we were tired.  Not enough energy to do much, and not enough time to go anywhere since we wanted to eat in Lahaina at Star Noodle.  So...we just relaxed at the AC'ed Starbucks for a couple hours.

By the time it was early dinner, we thought we would beat the crowds and head to Star Noodle.  Figured we'd get hungry by the time the food came out.  There were only a few tables of people when we first got there.


We ordered a cold noodle dish, a stir fried noodle dish with spam, and their well-reviewed duck mini sandwiches.  While everything was good, I didn't think it was the best I've ever had.  Seems like an overhyped Asian-fusion restaurant that more tourists go to rather than the locals.  We got out of there to see people waiting outside, so it's definitely popular.

The drive to the airport was SLOW.  Accident and traffic time.  It was the first time we encountered traffic while on our trip!  We got to the area with some time to spare, so I led us to a foot massage place in a nice outdoor mall.

The flight back was rough.  I don't think I'll fly a red-eye ever again.  I couldn't sleep well, and it was stuffy.  A woman in the row in front of me fainted right before we landed, so that was scary.  She was okay after 20 minutes or so.

A last minute, expensive trip to Maui, but worth every penny.  I needed to check out and have an official break before transitioning to my new chapter in life at my new job.  I would love to go back, and spend some time in South Maui next time.  Until then....

At the condo.  See you again, Maui!