One of the places we stayed while in Maui was at the Maui Lea at Maui Hill Resort. We arrived well after check in time but they did not have our original room ready. They did, however, move us to a comparable unit that was ready at the time and just next door. We rented a three bedroom condominium which had balconies off of each bedroom. The balconies facing the ocean were much nicer than what is pictured here. The unit also had three full bathrooms and was very spacious overall. I found it interesting that the unit had four separate air conditioning units built into the walls rather than one large central air unit. I think this is done to conserve energy. In fact, they had several signs asking you to turn off the a/c units while you were not in the condo.

At check in, we were given a card to the local grocery which gave us a nice discount as groceries seem much pricier in Maui. The unit also included a washer and dryer and dishwasher. Overall, it was very clean and comfortable. Maui Hill has a pool and putting green right by the check-in building. It also has an abundance of workers cleaning the units or taking care of the grounds.

Here’s a shot of a papaya tree in Maui. I don’t think they were ripe so I didn’t bother trying one straight off the tree. I don’t think the owner would have appreciated it anyway. I wanted to get a look at an avocado tree as well. On our way to our condo in Wailea, I got lost and turned around in a neighborhood. While driving through it, I noticed a big sign indicating “Avacod”. We pulled in and were greeted by a strange couple who were having a garage sale and selling avocados. Several of them were monstrous in size. I didn’t get a chance to see the trees. One avocado was ripe and we ate it in the car. Delicious! The other three still needed a bit of ripening. The two big ones were larger than baseballs, perhaps softball size. You don’t find them like that back in Ohio, especially not for $3 for the lot.

I didn’t get a chance to try the pineapples grown there. Wait a second, actually I did. Fresh pineapple is definitely not as sweet as you’ll find it here at the store.

Despite recommendations to play the Gold Course at the Wailea Golf Resort, I ended up playing the Old Blue Course. My father and brother-in-law are recreational golfers and didn’t want to pay $175 (early May rates) to play and then another $50 to rent clubs on top of that at the Gold Course. Greens fees were $50 cheaper at the Old Blue Course. To the left is a picture of the par 5 fourth hole which offers one of the better views of the ocean and mountains. If you visit the Old Blue Course’s web page, they offer a helicopter fly over of each hole in Quicktime video format. Pretty cool!

The Blue Course doesn’t skimp on rental clubs as they provided a relatively new set of Nike woods and irons to my father and brother-in-law. The practice area allows you to hit into a net and there is a chipping green and putting green. Hardly anyone was on the course so play was relatively quick. Wailea Golf Resort keeps the course in pretty good shape, but it may not get much play. Most people probably favor the Gold or Emerald Course instead. As far as difficulty, I found the course relatively straightforward. I was fighting my swing but managed to get back on track and par 4 of the last 5 holes. The most interesting hole is probably the fourth hole. An uphill first shot on the par 5 is followed by a downhill shot to a small green. Again the view is great from atop this par 5. Given another chance, I would opt for the Gold course. Oh well, it was still golf.