Blog: A taste of what you may find on Maui

    Upcountry Walk

    Maui to-do

    This weekend one of the kids needed to be upcountry for a 7 AM cross country run. To put this in perspective, we needed to leave our home in Kihei at 6:10 AM to meet at Grandma’s Coffee House which was their chosen meeting point. The coach chose one of my favorite upcountry walks for the run, so I made coffee and headed up the mountain with my athlete.

    We made fantastic time, getting there early. I left the teens to do their run and started off on a walk, stopping regularly to take pictures of trees, flowers and of course the view. It is just breath-takingly beautiful upcountry. And cool. I am always warm, so I particularly enjoyed cooling down a little from Kihei’s heat.

    The narrow, winding and hilly road is lined by traditional lava rock walls and offers gorgeous views.
    Look to the left, down the mountain, and see Kihei, the ocean and West Maui Mountains in the distance.
    upcountry walk
    Look to the right and enjoy the meadows on Haleakala’s volcanic slopes, looking for cows, horses and goats.
    upcountry walk
    It is the tail end of jacaranda season, but there were still blooms to enjoy.
    upcountry walk
    I always smile when I see these peeling trees shedding their bark.
    upcountry walk
    Colorful blooms along the side of the road
    upcountry walk
    These giant leaves were catching discarded jacaranda blooms.

    Grandma’s Coffee House

    After my beautiful walk (and the team’s run), we all gathered at Grandma’s Coffee House for some breakfast. This is a small mom and pop shop, one of few restaurants in the area and consequently a bit of a gathering place. The coach struck up a conversation with an older gentleman reading his paper. Turns out he’s Grandma’s son. His own son, Alfred Franco, now runs Grandma’s Coffee House. He talked story with us for a while, telling of the coffee growing/roasting they do.

    I had a small black Americano – one of the best coffees I’ve had in a while – and a pineapple coconut muffin. It hit the spot!