November 11, 2017
North Side of Maui, Nakele Blowhole (almost) and Mamma's Fish House

Last day of vacation...big sigh. We explored most of this tropical island paradise thus far but have yet to venture towards the north side of the island. It is more rugged than the road to Hana and most of the way it is actually a one lane, unpaved road with more hairpin turns than I care to remember...Funsies!
We woke up late and mozied down to get some fresh coffee, grabbed the jeep from valet, and we were on our way. A new day, a new adventure!
As we made our way towards the north side of the island we decided that our first stop would be the famous Nakele Blowhole. We parked the car where we thought we were supposed to according to our lil' map, and headed towards the cliffs. It seemed like the path to the blowhole would be well marked, but we were having trouble finding our way. ( I later realized I pulled off the road about a mile too soon...whoops!) We never actually made it to the blowhole, but we had an incredible hike nonetheless and the views were simply outstanding. It was intensely romantic and as I gazed over at Honey I realized how lucky I was to be in paradise with such an amazing soul. I have found my person. Happy. Wow. I'm just so happy right now...pinch me...
We decided that we wanted to have lunch at the World Famous Mama's Fish House, so we hiked back to the car and headed out. As the jeep climbed elevation, the road started winding, the clouds started rolling in and the air became damp and moist. (hahahahah MOIST...why do people hate that world so much? I'll never know..all I know is that the Deputy loathes the word moist...hahah and that's three times now I've used it!)

It started with a light pitter patter on the windshield, I thought, should we pull over and put the top on the jeep? It's just a sprinkle, and there really was nowhere to pull the car over. We were on a single lane road that curved so much we couldn't see 100 yards in front of us. We decided to keep moving, hoping the rain would pass. Oh boy were we in for some fun. The rain quickly turned to downpour and we had no choice but to pull to the side of the road, cross our fingers that no one was coming around the bend, and put the top up, or so we thought. Turns out, the top decided to be a little bitch and refused to cooperate with us.

We were in the middle of a torrential downpour and couldn't get the top on the damn jeep. Oh wait! There's a car coming! Maybe they will stop and help us...Nopety,nope,nope. What a bunch of jambronies. We struggled and bellowed and screamed and kicked and cried and laughed and screamed more and then we got into a fist fight...hahah only teasing, we are lovers not fighters but I think we both wanted to punch something, however we just laughed and laughed.

We couldn't fix the problem, so I told Honey...this is what travel is all about...expect the unexpected

We crawled back into the jeep, and headed back down the mountain. It was POURING buckets of rain but all we could do is giggle.

It took us some serious time getting to Paia (where we were to have lunch at the fine dining restaurant). We brought a change of clothes but everything we had was completely soaked...Who cares? We are in Maui!  We pulled up to Mama's Fish House and the place was swamped. The valet told us they were full and only had room for those with reservations...excuse me? Do you know who we are? Haha We do have a reservation kids. Don't let the mud and ripped jeans and sweat and stench fool you! We quick changed like superwomen in the parking lot and headed into Mama's for what was to be one of the best meals of our lives to date. The food and service was absolutely impeccable. Every detail was meticulously thought of and it was an exceptional meal. We thought we were being sneaky and would save some money and dining there for lunch...but, wow were we wrong. Mama is one smart lady... she only offers one menu all day and night and our lunch cost us over $200! And remember folks, we don't drink alcohol! Honestly though, it was worth every penny. We are still dreaming of that Lilikoi Creme Brulee. We took in the beauty of the beach at the restaurant and headed back to our hotel to relax on out last evening together in Maui.

What a perfect ending to a perfect trip to Maui. We had an amazing time and simply can't wait to travel together again. Stay tuned for more adventures of The Savvy Nomad and Honey!!!