On the Road: Top 5 favorite places to eat on Maui

Pineapple tree

I've been meaning to write this post on our favorite places to eat in Maui for weeks now, and while we returned from Maui at the start of November, it's suddenly January! How did that happen?

So without further ado, some recommendations for great places to eat on Maui, in no particular order. Many of these were also recommended by our favorite guidebook - Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook.

On the Road: A tourist's view of Maui, Hawaii

For work (and lots of play) we ventured to Maui in October. It was a nice quiet time to go, and I would easily go again. It's unlike any other place in the United States.

A little late, but here are some shots from the places we visited on Maui:

At the Fairmont Kealani Maui - I took this when we were going to Nick's Fishmarket,
a fine dining restaurant there.

40 by 40: No. 25 – See the Great American Landmarks

I'm running a little behind in getting up to 40 things to do before I'm 40. At this rate I might not finish writing the list before I'm 40. So let's get to it. Here's No. 25.

No. 25: While traveling to every state, see the country's most amazing landmarks.

I had marked a link awhile back to America’s Most Beautiful Landmarks, as chosen by Travel+Leisure magazine this summer. I’ve seen some of them, but not all, and I absolutely love to go to the places everyone talks about whenever I travel – however tourist-y they may be. Most of the time, it’s worth it. So why not aim to do so while attempting to hit all 50 states before I turn 40?

The places on the list I have already been:

Maui here we come

There's nothing like a new travel book to make it feel like, yes, you really are going to Hawaii. Picked this up today at the bookstore, and now we're getting excited - even though the trip isn't until October.

On another note, this trip will check one more state off my list of trying to visit all 50 states by the time I'm 40.

40 by 40: Nos. 21-22

It's been awhile since I've updated my 40 by 40 plans. Finally, I add two more to the list.

On the Road: Wine Country

My past two weeks have been on the road. Hence, no blog posts. First I traveled to Chicago to a hotel near O'Hare, not exactly the most scenic place to visit. However I did get to golf nearby in a forest preserve area. Despite the cold wet weather, it was a pretty place to play.

The second trip for work was to Sonoma, as in Wine Country in California. Given the romantic locale, it would have been much better with my husband, but all in all – for a work trip – it was quite nice. Here are some photos I took while there.

At Kunde, we ate in a cave (see barrels below) and had a wine tasting on a mountaintop.

40 by 40: Nos. 16-20

The next five items I would like to finish before I turn 40:

16. Watch a television show live.
You know, like the Price is Right, or a talk show. It'd be great fun to watch Conan in the studio. But I'm not picky.

17. Learn to cook.
If you've been reading my blog at all, you know I'm on my way. This is not a specific goal – but I figure as long as I'm working toward learning more about marinades, spices, and all those other culinary necessities, I'm "learning to cook."

Road Trip! (pt 3) Being a tourist in San Francisco

I've said on this blog that I love living in new places because that's how you learn what a place really is. For example, my short span in New Orleans was a different experience than visiting as a tourist. But I would still argue that everyone has to go to Bourbon Street on a Saturday night at least once.

I love living in new places and experiencing what the locals like. But I also love being a tourist, and going to all the places that the locals have long stopped visiting.

Road Trip! (pt 2) The long & somewhat windy road through Wyoming, Utah & Nevada

My husband and I were along for the ride as our friends moved out to San Francisco this past week. We drove up to Wyoming and took I-80 to the Bay Area. It was not nearly as scenic as I had expected it to be – part of that had to do with the weather. The other part had to do with the fact we drove through what seemed to be high desert for the entire second day. Not a lot of trees and very few towns.

That said, I had never driven to the West Coast before, and it was an interesting experience.

Here are a few highlights and photos from the trip:

For much of the drive immediately west of Salt Lake City, it felt as if we were driving right through the lake, as shown below. Notice the water on both sides of the highway?

But apparently this water is not as deep as it appears. In the winter, according to Utah.com, a shallow layer of standing water floods the surface of the salt flats. In the summer, the water evaporates and the surface is flat, and some would say, "desolate." The largest of the salt flats – the Bonneville Salt Flats – is the place to set land-speed records in the spring and summer when they dry out. Yes, that means that where you see water below, cars and other motorized vehicles drive very very quickly in the summer. We had the pleasure of seeing the area with water, which made for beautiful reflections of the mountains that sit behind the salt flats.

I insisted on being a speed tourist in the major cities we stopped in: Salt Lake City and Reno. I had never been to either city, so I wanted to get a taste for both. In the former, we went downtown to Temple Square. The Salt Lake Temple was much larger and more ornate than I had expected.

In Reno, we went to the diner I featured in this blog post on the Gold 'N Silver Inn. We also went gambling, however briefly (and unsuccessfully). The strip in Reno was not quite like Vegas, but it was still a fun diversion.

The rest of the drive, while interesting, was dotted with the (very) occasional tree, several signs of mining and a few small towns.

The prettiest was the final leg from Reno into San Francisco. The final leg of the trip into California featured snow-covered mountains and pine trees as we descended to the coast. The only odd thing I noticed as we entered California was a conspicuous lack of lines on the highway - as in, it was difficult to tell where your lane was. We also had to go through an agricultural checkpoint as we entered California. Last I checked, we weren't leaving the country, but perhaps there was a good reason for it? Who knows ...

Coming soon: Being a tourist in San Francisco.

(The above photos were taken by my husband and myself.)

40 by 40: Nos. 6-10

It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with 40 things to do before I'm 40. But without further ado ... here are the next five.

No. 6: Write (and publish) a book.
Given I work for a business publisher, business will probably the theme. It will definitely be nonfiction.

No. 7: Visit every state in the U.S.
I've got a good start already. I've been to 29 states. I have plans to visit Hawaii in October for work (followed by a lot of play).

Outside of Hawaii, the other states I most want to visit: Alaska, for obvious reasons; Montana because that's where Glacier National Park is; and the New England states.

Colorado is my favorite state. But Florida is definitely in my top 5. We go there every year. Here are some shots from the last time we visited:

No. 8: Go ziplining
I'm terrified of heights. But for some reason ziplining does not scare me like skydiving scares me. And while I'd love to go ziplining in Costa Rica, I also found a place that does it in Colorado, a little closer to home. Soaring Tree Top Adventure in Durango calls itself the "largest, longest and safest zip line course in the world." And you can only get there on a train. Apparently there is a ziplining company in Salida, as well. I would consider this a big step for me on the "overcoming fear" front.

No. 9: Read every book on Time's 100 Best Novels list.
I was going to go with the BBC list, but this list intrigued me more as all the books were published from 1923 on. And I've read very few of them. I reserve the right to revert back to the BBC list, as I've read many more of those and while it feels like I have a lot of time left before I turn 40, the next 7.5 years will probably go by pretty quickly.

No. 10: Compete in a mountain biking time trial competition.
I have absolutely no idea what this entails. But mountain biking is the first fitness activity I've done in my adult life that I truly enjoy, so I figure competing in the sport would also be fun. I'll update my blog when I learn more or find someone that knows more about mountain bike races.

Some views from the trail:

Crested Butte

Fruita

Boulder

Next up: Nos. 11-15.

Writing: Life in the Peace Corps

Since graduating in December with my master's degree, I have finally tired of watching TV. Instead I've been sifting through old files on my computer – mostly writing I did while I was in Armenia and shortly after returning.

One passage I wrote back then reminded me of how my experience evolved over the three years I lived there - how after three years everything in Armenia felt "normal," and everything at home didn't.

"It wasn’t about not having running water 24 hours a day. Nor was it about being able to see my breath on winter mornings – inside my apartment. Pothole-filled roads were normal. And so were the buses that were so crowded I always felt I was the Jell-o inside a mold the shape of my body. These were all footnotes to my experience. Of course, the first few weeks, when everything was fresh and new and exciting, they were the experience.

"But after that it was about the people I met, the language I learned, the dog I adopted, and the children I taught. In short, it was about Life."

Lake Sevan, near the town of Sevan, where I lived in Armenia

There is a definite beauty to living in, and not just visiting, another country.