We started out this morning with another go at the waterfall trail. Actually, we started off by trying to find the trail down to the ocean, but given the fubar map and the fact that a half-hour of wandering ended us up on a construction site on someone else's property, we decided to save that for another day. So, back to the waterfalls. Now that we knew what to expect, the trail didn't seem as intimidating, although it was still muddy and covered over with spiderwebs, some quite large. We cut them aside with sticks and kept going.
But when we got to the bottom, it was so windy and overcast that swimming was the last thing we wanted to do. Plus, the wind kept tossing spray from the falls back in our faces, making the rocks that formed the entry to the pools very slippery. As I didn't feel like ending my twenties with an unscheduled dive over a waterfall, we decided to stay on terra firma and head back up to the Bamboo Temple.
On our way back, we bumped into the elusive Rafael, who said that the weather was due to clear in the early afternoon, so we might want to try again then. He also said that the overgrown bit of jungle we'd encountered that morning was indeed the correct trail down to the ocean. He said that he'd try to get it cleared. And he also said that there was going to be an earthquake in California on the 20th because the guy who predicted the New Zealand quake in Christchurch said so and because the pull of the moon was exerting a greater than average effect because it's so close to the Earth. Riiiiiiight.
We escaped before he could lay on any more bullshit and sought refuge from the chilly and windy Retreat down highway 365, towards Makawao. The Retreat is certainly in its own little world, in a variety of ways, but most markedly in terms of the weather --- a few miles down the road and things cleared right up, the sun came out, and the temperature rose 10 degrees. Much better! Plus there was no one spouting conspiracy theories about gravity.
We pulled over at a completely charming hiking trail at Waihou Springs, recommended by the guidebook.
The trail meandered through some lovely, pine-y forests planted by the government to determine what kind of wood grows best in this climate. If only all experiments were this delightful to wander in. We didn't make it all the way down to the springs --- too many switchbacks, and some ornery-looking wild chickens --- but the loop through the forest was quiet and peaceful and the air was clean and very fresh.
We stopped back in Makawao for some lunch at their general store, as well as a can of coconut water. I think I'm addicted. It's a very cute town; a little touristy, but mostly genuine. After checking out a few of the shops, we continued down the road through the lush green Upcountry and out to Surfing Goat Dairy, purveyors of fine goat cheese to Maui's restaurants and better food stores. It's a small operation but with a thriving little shop, where they were eager to peddle the wares. Not that we would have come so far without buying anything, plus they were giving tastes. We ended up with one that was aged with Provençal herbs and a fresh one marinated in olive oil and lemon zest, plus two goats-milk truffles, which didn't make it far past the counter.
We also got to meet the newest batch of kids, who were frolicking in an enclosure just beyond the gift shop, the girls wearing pink bows and the boys wearing blue. So cute. I'm not sure why they felt the need to de-horn them, though; it seems just cruel. :(
But we couldn't linger to find out, since it was getting late and we still had a two-hour drive to dinner. We headed back to the Bamboo Temple to shower and change. It was still very windy, making the shower extra-interesting, but it was sunny and clear rather than cloudy, as it was this morning. All in all, the weather promises to be much better from here on out, give or take a little radiation blow-off from Japan.
Despite the wind, I think we managed to make ourselves quite presentable:
We repeated our drive from yesterday, down through the center part of the island and up the west coast to the Plantation House Restaurant. We'd decided to travel so far for dinner because it was the only fancy dinner we'd planned to have, and because the restaurant is famous for using locally grown ingredients, and, most importantly, because they will substitue tofu in all of their fresh fish preparations. As their website says, "For vegetarian diners, our fresh fish preparations can be prepared substituting tofu for fish and leaving out any animal protein. We realize vegetarians are a growing segment of our dining guests, we would love to give you the opportunity to try them. Enjoy!!" With an attitude like that, how could we refuse?
It was awesome. We started off with a glass of champagne each and watched the sun set over the Pacific:
For appetizers, I had the cheddar-almond croquettes with roasted red pepper and tomato sauce, and Michael had a fricasse of local mushrooms with polenta. For mains, I had The Maui: pistachio crusted
(As if anyone is actually interested in exactly what we ate and drank, but whatever, you've read this far, so why not get all the details? Besides, the tofu-cum-fish presentations were really good and are likely to become a part of our summer cooking routine, so now you can say you knew them when.)
Unfortunately, neither the rest of the dining room nor the dessert menu quite lived up to our expectations, or to the standards set by the dinner. We were easily the nicest-dressed people there, which was a feat considering that we'd packed very minimally, but everyone else in the place looked like they'd wandered in off the golf course without bothering to check whether their shirts were straight. Worse, the dessert menu was boring and uninspired --- key lime pie, bananas foster, brownie sundae. Why did I bother to save room for stuff I can get at a Jersey diner? So I decided not to order dessert.
But I got some anyway. A sharp-eared server had overheard Michael wishing me happy birthday, and brought us a brownie sundae with a candle in it. How sweet! A lovely start to what promises to be a great day tomorrow, as I cross the threshold into my third decade.
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