Travel With Me: Maui & Big Island, Hawai'i (Days Eight, Nine, & Ten)
If you missed day seven of our trip to the Maui, go read that post first!
Our final day on Maui was much more relaxed (at least for me) than the previous. While Ryan went on a scuba diving excursion to the Lahaina Cathedrals (which was one of his favorite parts of the whole trip), I got a prenatal massage at the spa at the neighboring hotel to ours and read a book on the balcony. We then spent the rest of the day lounging in the pool and enjoying some farmer’s market soursop (a fruit I’ve only ever had in Hawai’i and am obsessed with).
Dinner: Merriman’s
For dinner that night, we went to one of the most expensive restaurants of the trip. We were treated to spectacular sunset views, but I have to say, for the price, I was a little disappointed in my food. Perhaps it was just that I should have ordered something other than the mac-nut mahi mahi (which I’d previously had at Manta and not been wowed by), but the texture of the mac nut crust-topping was too chunky, and the flavors weren’t special. Ryan was a fan of his kampachi, though, and the chocolate purse dessert (phyllo pastry around a rich, gooey chocolate filling, served with ice-cream) was very good.
DayS Nine & Ten: Back in Kona, Big Island
It was much cheaper to fly into and out of Kona, even with the extra flight from Maui back to the Big Island, so our final days in Hawai’i were back on the Big Island. This time, we stayed at the Royal Kona Resort, which was nicely situated close-ish to the airport. It had a great view over the water, particularly from the restaurant, a cool lagoon-style swimming pool that was open to the ocean, and amenities like tennis courts. However, I will say I was disappointed in the resort-prices when it came to the quality of the room (it seemed like our building was falling apart a little bit), and the tennis courts were not open when they were supposed to be, so we never actually got to play.
Of course, one of the last things we needed to do was scrap our original dinner plans and make a trip back to Teshima’s instead. Can confirm that the food was just as good the second time.
Our final stop on the Big Island before catching our flight home was at Magic’s Beach Grill for an early lunch. As a pescatarian, I was really hoping we’d have a chance to go here because they have a vegetarian loco moco, a famous local Hawaiian dish that usually has a hamburger patty, rice, an egg, and gravy. This one came with onion straws, mushroom gravy, and a veggie patty. It was so good. And what was even better were the ulu (or breadfruit) wedges. Breadfruit is just a little sweeter than potatoes, providing a perfect complement to the savory main dish, and I actually prefer the texture to potatoes as well.
Thanks for reading all about our second trip to Hawai’i! Hit the ‘like’ button if you enjoyed these posts.