Maui Sunset

After my October trips to New York and New Hampshire, which temporarily satisfied my fall foliage cravings, I headed for warm weather and the beach on Maui.

Kihei is much more laid back than Honolulu, and the beaches not nearly as crowded.

I always hope to see whales, which appear frequently in the winter months, but I have yet to see them.

You can see Lanai to the left in the photos above,  and the Kaheawa Wind Farm on the West Maui Mountains in the photo to the right.

At present, the wind farm produces 1/10 of Maui's energy.  Read about Maui green energy here.

http://www.maui.net/explore-maui/green-maui/45/maui-wind-farm.php



I wanted to have dinner somewhere on the beach, where I could watch the sunset.
The staff at our hotel recommended the Five Palms Restaurant at the Mana Kai Resort.

http://www.fivepalmsrestaurant.com/Home.html


The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating.
I chose to sit outside with a full view of the beach.



I ordered a Five Palms Spinach Salad, which was delicious, but my favorite thing was the dinner roll!

It was flavored with a Japanese seaweed that I have 

never heard of, and served with lilikoi (passion fruit) butter.  Yum!

While I ate, people began to gather on the beach to watch the sunset.











As the sun sank below the horizon, a Hawaiian ceremonial conch shell horn began to sound and everyone quieted to listen and watch in awe.














If you want to hear the horn for yourself,  listen to this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-T7lnw_auY

Sitting in the afterglow of the setting sun, finishing my wine, I savored the evening.  I was content. It was just what I wanted a sunset in Maui to be.