On the way to the airport! Starbucks to go! It has been SO MANY MONTHS since I’ve been to Starbucks I barely remember how to order!
I packed lunches for the kids and one million snacks for us all, because I had no idea how long we could/would be held up at various points throughout the trip, but I didn’t pack a meal for myself! Luckily SFO has this awesome build your own salad/grain bowl place that had a killer menu.
I could have ordered at least 10 different things off the menu, it all oooked so good. In the end, I chose a quinoa feta chicken bowl and a brussels caesar (with extra dressings for both, duh). They were totally generous portions, too. I’ve never been so pleased with airport food! Here I was thinking covid would mean no decent places would be open!
[And FYI, the reason I ordered two bowls was because Mr. P came with me to browse the menu and ended up begging for a salad, too, so we decided to get two to share. Which we did. Because you really can’t say no to a child begging you for a kale salad].
8 hours into continuous mask wearing without a single complaint. It’s not hard people. Seriously.
We were all so freakin’ exhausted by the time we rented cars and drove to the hotel. My dad and Kyle picked up a few groceries and a take out order (one of only a few places open that the concierge recommended).
The kids split a Hawaiian mixed plate to start the vacay off. Always with the side of mac salad ;). I got the fried mahi mahi and Kyle got a loco moco.
Time change what?!
The kids were up on Pacific time (ahem, 4 am) so I kept them busy with school while Kyle and I woke up and worked out (the gym was technically open, but I didn’t want to wear a mask while working out so I stuck to in-room workouts on Beachbody on Demand or runs along the beach).
I brought their computers and school work in the off chance this happened and I’m very glad we did because it worked out quite nicely having them in school until 8-9 am or so. We didn’t do all the live time every day, but they never slept past 5:30 so better that they had something to do! [Also this way the teachers didn’t have to report an absence or worry about sorting out make up work for them]
The kids and I went for a walk on the beach while Kyle went to get us breakfast.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that Choice Health Bar is both Kyle’s and my FAVORITE place in the world, so of course we went there every single morning. We talk about it year round and compare any breakfast to it. Like, this place is good, but it’s no Choice.
We always get the same thing, too. The POWabunga acai bowl.
It comes topped with granola, fruit, nut butter and honey. It’s divine.
To prove my undying love, here are all the times I ate it throughout the week.
I mean, you gotta keep these small businesses open in Maui!! They have three locations (Lahaina, Paia, and Whaler’s village), but Lahaina was the only one open due to covid. I’m so glad it was too, because a trip to Maui without Choice would have almost been a waste. [So much so that I actually called in advance of our trip to ensure they were open]
I also love their takeaway treats – namely the maca balls and bomb.com bars. They didn’t have maca balls while we were there but I did get the bomb.com bar a few times (the one topped in chocolate), as well as the genius bar (the one topped in nut butter).
And lest you think it’s only acai bowls, let me assure you that they do grain bowls and salads as well which are also stellar.
I got the whole family hooked. Not that it takes much. My sisters and I love vegan places because they use nuts to make “cheese”, and my parents are always down for salads.
Humble on the outside.
Hippie on the inside.
We all repeated what we got while there at least once. I got the Caesar with tempeh and avo twice. My sister and dad doubled down with the burrito bowl twice. And Kyle got the autumn salad with tempeh twice. It was only my mom and the kids who changed their orders. They tried the lemon flax kale salad and then Caesar buddha bowl.
Anyway, it was all good.
Of all the places to spend my $, I am super happy to invest in places like this.
Beyond that, we mainly did cooking in our place.
Oh hi there, chocolate sorbetto de mis sueños.
Ok, I guess that’s not entirely true. We cooked a few dinners and then used leftovers and other groceries for lunches and snacks (because there was nothing open at the hotel and only a handful of restaurants on the island in general), but we did do take out from other places besides Choice.
Like my birthday poke dinner from Tamura’s, a place I’ve mentioned on the blog twice before (here and here). 🙂
Poolside snacking.
We also got takeout from Kimo’s, but I didn’t take a pic of my meal. And last but not least, Frida’s, which I did.
This is Diego’s plate, with refried beans, rice, guac, corn tortillas and beef (you can pick any protein).
I got the same for the kids which had enough leftovers for two more meals.
Speaking of leftovers…here’s the rest of the our first meal with a side salad.
This will shock nobody (because I’m sure I’ve waxed poetic about my love for mayo many times here before) but I could eat tartar sauce plain all day every day.
Last but NOT least was the evening catamaran ride we all went on. In the words of my son, it was one of the highlights of my life.
Not just because the Moscow mules / Mai Tais were flowing and Kyle offered to be the designated driver, but because we all got to enjoy an activity that felt normal. It was the only time we left the hotel other than to pick up food, so it was a big deal. And the weather was gorgeous and the staff was soooo happy to have people to charter a boat after months without business.
The served us each our own snack plate. I think my kids ate the cheese off of nearly everyone else’s plates, but I swiped a few others’ hummus, so it was kinda a communal sitch.
And then we got chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
As you may have guessed, they passed out instantly every night.
But still woke up bright and early each day.
I’m still in a state of shock that we managed to make a trip to Hawaii happen in the middle of a pandemic, but it just goes to show you…wearing masks actually works! There’s a way to be safe and not be locked up in a hole all day. I’m sure this goes without saying, but I was SO nervous leading up to this trip. And even throughout it! But it was all okay!
Do you have a favorite Ka’anapali hotel?
Your vacation food always looks amazing!
we stay at the westin (both nanea and the villas) – which are AMAZING (I prefer the ocean resort villas). but honestly any hotel in the area is good. we have also stayed at the marriot, the sheraton, and honua kai (usually through airbnb/vrbo renting from time share owners). all have been great, so i’d say pick a place that meets your needs. more important than room size to us is having a washer and dryer (packing fewer things and drying suits between am and pm swim sessions), walking proximity to whalers village (or any other restaurants/shops), and kiddie pool amenities (the pirate ships at the marriot and westin are so good, but are better for different age sets). this is all very different now because of covid, but normally, some hotels have awesome kids programs – lei making, koi pond feeding, beach ball decorating, etc.
I’m so happy you got a vacation, but it is making me so sad! Our goal is to move back to Maui (I lived there for a while and have always dreamed of raising a family there), so we usually visit once a year in September. We have a 15-month-old, so him wearing a mask is not happening. I don’t know when we will be back. It feels like a part of my heart is missing. I know everyone feels this way, but man I hat this pandemic!
I am so sorry! It is SOOO HARD. I hope you can make it back. I am so thankful to have older kids who understand the importance of masks. It would be so hard w little ones!