Maui and Mama's

 This morning we got up and took the courtesy shuttle to Island Gourmet Market for breakfast. It was described to us as "an ABC Store on steroids." It was a grocery store,  liquor store, souvenir shop, and deli all in one. 

   Waiting for breakfast to be cooked. It is a popular place. 

We ate at a table set up on the sidewalk. I had eggs over medium and potatoes with a side of Maui Gold pineapple.  Ricky had a breakfast sandwich. It was affordable and good enough.

After breakfast,  Ricky called the shuttle to pick him up and I stayed to shop for souvenirs. I shopped IGM and walked all over the Shops at Wailea,  waiting for them to open.

Monk seal carved from Koa wood in a window at Martin and MacArthur's, a popular jewelry and gift store in Hawaii.

The monk seals are endangered here in Hawaii.

I was drawn to this store and waited until 11 when they finally opened. Cool art and gifts.

I really wanted this shirt. It was only $110. A little out of my price range for a tank top. 🙃

After shopping I went back to the room and we went down to the pool to cool off. It seemed really hot outside and the pool was refreshing. 

Back home in Burnet, there is a restaurant called Mama's Home Cooking. We eat there often enough. The food is fair and it is a down home place frequented by plain folk like us. Here on Maui, our favorite place is Mama's Fish House, a far cry from Mama's back home. Elegant, beautiful, excellent, gracious, the best restaurant on the island.  Ricky secured our reservation back in February.  

The taxi driver who brought us from the airport to the Andaz was our driver to Mama's.  He is friendly and personable and very talkative. He said retired from a career in radio in Los Angeles and moved to Maui, bought a house in Wailea and a boat and is loving life with his chihuahua, Nacho. He drives taxi part time just for something to do. We really enjoyed our conversation there and back again. 

Parts of Maui are so desert like. Very hot and dry.

We drove through the center of the island, in the valley between the two volcanoes, Haleakala, "house of the sun", and Mauna Kahalawai, also known as "hale mahina", "house of the moon." My pictures can't capture how massive they are. We passed by fields of newly planted lime trees. Haleakala gets a lot of rain, and they irrigate the fields from the run off. 

                 Welcome back to Mama's. 

It is every bit as beautiful as I remembered.

                              Water lilies

Late anniversary celebration. Thanks, Ricky, for remembering and making it an occasion. 

I had a "mocktail" to celebrate. Strawberry guava fizz.

Warm bread and butter served with bisque

                     Ricky had Mahi rolls.

                I had upcountry green salad

             Ono with a side of blue prawns 

Tofu with caramelized onions. My food was delicious.  I wish I knew how they cooked the tofu. Best I ever ate.

Dessert was chocolate pie with caramel crust. Oh so good. They also brought a small dish of strawberry dessert as a gift for our anniversary. 

Another beautiful meal at Mama's Fish House. We will return!

We got back too late to see the sunset. We fell into bed full and tired,  serenaded by the music wafting up to our balcony from Lehua Lounge below. Another day in paradise.