The plan came together several months ago when I read that Eddie Vedder would be playing a show in Maui. After deciding several times to go and not to go we finally said "lets just do it." What a way to celebrate our first year of marriage. We stayed the first two days on the west coast. It was about a 30 mile drive from the airport. By the way if you plan on paying for your rental car with a debit card, bring a return itenerary. It was night time when we arrived in Kaanapali so we checked in and got some rest. We quickly went from getting some rest to getting some sun.
I didn't choose to post that picture because is it sexy, I posted it as a warning. If your skin is this pale wear sunscreen, I am still paying the price. We had an awesome lunch at the Maui Brewing Company Brewpub. Tried some unique beers including a habnero ale which was real tasty (and spicy) and the coconut porter which was absolutely amazing. We bought some fresh fish at a fish market we found. It was called Wanu or Butterfish. Our room had a full kitchen so Tonia cooked up the butterfish with some mashed potatos.
The meal was amazing. We woke up early the next day to tackle the Road to Hana. Driving the road to Hana was the most fun I have ever had driving a car. The scenery was amazing and the road was filled with twists and turns, and ups and downs, and one lane bridges. On the way to Hana there was little traffic. The way back there was plenty of traffic but it still did not take away from enjoying the ride. A little ways past Hana we found this awesome little beach.
We were the only ones there. We didn't swim. We just enjoyed our beautiful surroundings.
Back in Hana we grabbed some breakfast at Tutu's and took it down to the beach to eat. Tonia had a breakfast burrito and I had a Hawaiian favorite the Loco Moco, which we later read is "definately not considered health food."
It consisted of an egg, portugese sausage, gravy and rice. It was delicious. We left Hana for Kahului, where our next two nights were spent. Kahului is in the center of Maui and is basically the "big city" of the island. The day of the show we visited the town of Haiku. Haiku is a cool little town. I wanted to visit the Maui Cylery, which was a sweet little bike shop there. We made fast friends with the bike mechanic there and he told us about a trip he planed for next year starting in Prudhoe Bay and cutting through Fairbanks. I asked him where his tip ended. He told us Singapore. Then he opened up and told us he planed to bike around the world. Check out his website. It is an amazing journey. After Haiku we ventured back to the hotel for a bit of rest before the big show. I ran down to the venue to grab our Ten Club tickets at the venue. After a quick bite to eat we made our way back to the Castle Theater. We waited a while in the merchandise line so I could grab my poster (I grabbed a t-shirt as well). The venue was awesome, a very small theater. Liam Finn was the opening act. Pretty cool performance as he quickly changed intstruments throughout each song looping guitar and drums. The Eddie Vedder performance was incredible. He had a little setup that looked like he was just chilling in his room and home. I don't know where to begin with personal highlights. Guaranteed, Porch, Wishlist, and of course the stage banter including many Hawaii stories and tale about a naked man at his hotel. Tonia enjoyed the Springsteen cover "Drive All Night." The crowd was great, the show was great, it was an unbelieveable evening, and a great cap on our trip to Maui.
