Sunday, January 11, 2026
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Monday, February 23, 2026
Hawaii 2026 - The Luau
Sunday, January 11, 2026
After our cocktail hour at Aloha Mixed Plate we got in line to gain entrance to the luau.
The grounds where the luau was held were beautiful. All the staff was incredibly friendly.
There was dancing in between the courses of this 4-course dinner.
What an amazing experience. This was quite the production and it was so well done!! I can only start to imagine the effort that goes into pulling something like this off - staging, costumes, rehearsals, food, my gosh all of it!! This was pricey but so well worth it.
Hawaii 2026 - Sunday Afternoon & Evening
Sunday, January 11, 2026
The evening we got to go to a luau in Old Lahaina. We got the there about 45 minutes early which worked out well as it made parking easy.
We clomped around the the outer grounds briefly. When we checked in the hostess told us we couldn't get in until 5:00. She recommended we stop by the bar next door if we wanted to have a drink while waiting.
Before we headed over she took our picture with the entry way tiki.
The bar, Aloha Mixed Plate, offered some fun sounding drink choices.
Drinks left to right: Gary got a Lahaina Lemonade (Vodka, Lychee Puree, Fresh Lemon, Sweet & Sour, Splash of Cranberry); I got a Niu Mango (Coconut rum, mango puree, pineapple juice, orange juice, and guava juice).
Niu Mango
Hawaii 2026 - Late Sunday Morning & Afternoon
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Gary reserved one of the poolside cabanas for us. It came with towels, water bottles, a fruit platter, drink tickets, and pizzas for lunch. It was nice to be out of the direct sun yet be able to look out at the sun bathed pool area. Very relaxing. We all did a little reading and a lot of just sitting around. It was great. It was ours to use from 9 am to 5 pm. I think we ended iup using it from 10 to 4.
Warren and I ordered Mai Tais with our drink tickets and Gary got an Ube Colada.
I was very intrigued by Gary's Ube Colada so I got one for my second round. Ube is a kind of purple sweet potato. It gave the drink an earthy and nutty flavor. I found it delicious.
It was great to be outside for most of the day. The temperature was in the upper 70s and the was a nice amount of humidity in the air.
Hawaii 2026 - Sunday Morning
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Breakfast at Slappy Cakes.
Interesting concept. They give you some batter in a squeeze bottle and you squirt it on the griddle at the center of your table. The batter we got was standard buttermilk but they also had a few other kinds. The pancakes were fun to make and flip. We all ordered other breakfast entrees lik scrambles and omlettesso the pancakes were more like appetizers although you could order more batter and just make a full breakfast out of it. The food was all really good.
Hawaii 2026
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Woke up around 5:30 am and it was still dark out. Watched it get lighter outside. Very pleasant on the balcony.
Lahaina, Maui, 6:51 a.m.
That's Molokai in the background.
Hawaii 2026 - Late Saturday Afternoon
Saturday, January 10, 2026
When we arrived in Maui I googled "tiki bars Lahaina" and the first thing the AI search came up with was the Pau Huaka'i at the Hyatt Residence Club. At about 4:00 pm today we hopped in the car to go check it out. Wasn't sure what it would all look like. I assumed it would be indoors but with a patio.
My assumption was wrong. All the seating was outdoors. The bar was an open shack with barstools around it. You'd order the drinks there and then deliver them yourself to the hightop of your choice. . However any food you'd order would be brought to your table.
The type of tiki decor I've come to expect to see in a tiki bar wasn't there but why would you need it? A beach in Hawaii with an ocean view, palm trees, tropical flowers and birds is all you need. Nothing needs to be RE-created. It's all there naturally and it was fabulous.
We ordered the Mai Tais which is what the place is known for. For the first round Gary and I got the Upcountry Mai Tai which was Kula Toasted Coconut Rum, Orange Curacao, orgeat Ssyrup, passionfruit puree, lime & pineapple juices, and a Kula Dark Rum float. It was pretty effin' awsome. Warren got the standard Mai Tai which was rum, pineapple and orange juices, orgeat syrup, lime juice, and a dark rum float. For the second round we all got the Upcountry Mai Tai*. Warren had sampled Gary's and liked that one better. We also got an order of the chicken quesadillas which were delicious.
A great time was had by all.
By the way, the Hyatt's a beautiful hotel. The lobby (from where I took the above photo) faces the ocean. Gorgeous view.
Hawaii 2026 - Early Saturday Afternoon
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Took a nice walk after lunch today. I really love the banyan trees. These have been trimmed. Usually they would be more full and the leaves would cover the branches down to where they split off from the trunk. 
View looking toward Lanai from the 12th floor atrium.
Hawaii 2026 - Saturday Morning
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Dale and I were up around 3:00 am (which woulda been 7 am Central Standard Time which would be considered sleeping in for us) and couldn't get back to sleep. Around 3: 40 we decided to kill time by taking a walk. We didn't really see anyone else for a couple hours except for a couple at the water station in the lobby. Anway, long story longer, we got the hotel's all you can eat buffet when they opened at 7:00 am. It was delicious and probably tasted even more so since we were both ravenous. We should have brought some granola bars with us incase something like this happened. This shot reminds me of the lobby in the Hotel of High Anxiety. If you squint you can imagine seeing Mel Brooks in the top elevator.
While we were eating a couple of birds came to sit with us but they wouldn't get more than a foot and a half away. I dropped a little rice for them but they wouldn't come any closer despite looking to be rather comfortable. Eventually and obnoxious pigeon came by, pushed them out of the way, and gobbled up a couple of pieces of rice about an inch away from my shoe. What an ASS.
Warren and Gary eventually came down and joined us for coffee and we made some plans for the rest of the day. There's a tiki bar in our future.
...and Lanai in the distance. This was actually really cool. When we were in Hawaii 25 years ago for Pete's wedding I don't remember being able to see other island from Honolulu or even the north part of the Island for that matter.
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