Live Blog – Day 3 – Gazebo Breakfast – Pumpkin Patch Kula Country Farms

October 27th, 2022

On the whole, today was a really light, easy day. We had one thing we really wanted to do and apart from that, it was all chill and a bit of snorkeling.

Gazebo Round 2

We had not really got much in for breakfast so, after a relaxed morning, which included another dip in the cove, we headed over to the Gazebo for round 2. A Big Kahuna Omelet and a side of White Choc and Mac Nut Pancakes. This again was more than enough as the omelet comes with Potatoes and Toast!

We then just chilled a little as the workmen descended once again on the resort. However this time, it really looked like they were fixing things, rather than digging up stuff!

Kula Country Farms – Pumpkin Patch

After breakfast, we headed upcountry to check out the Pumpkin Patch at Kula Country Farms. The theme for this trip was decidedly Halloween, so even though we were in Maui we still wanted to carry on the spookiness.

Kula Country Farms holds its annual pumpkin Patch event every year in the lead-up to Halloween. The location is stunning with rolling open country leading down to expansive views over the south coast, the central valley, and the West Maui Mountains.

There is a $5 cover fee per person to get in, which feels a little off, but hey these guys have got to make money. Pumpkins are between $5 for a tiny one and $20 for a large one. We get these are locally grown and a small company and all that but $20 for a Pumpkin? We just took in the vibe and atmosphere and enjoyed the whole location. We didn’t really want a pumpkin out here anyway.

Despite the pumpkin gouging we still had a great time up in the hills just taking it all in. It really is super beautiful up there and just a few degrees cooler. Cruising along with the top down in 75°F. We always make an effort to head Upcountry and it’s well worth checking out the patch if you are here in Autumn, even if you have no intention of buying one. You can also check out the farm shop for some nice locally-grown items.

After spending a while at the Pumpkin Patch and looking around Upcountry we headed back down the hill.

The weather wasn’t great and as we were passing we popped into Primark to pick up a few souvenirs and such. We then stopped at Safeway for heart-attack number two.

Island BBQ at the Condo

Back at the condo we just had a relaxed afternoon. Out VRBO Hosts had arrived in the resort and had basically kicked the resort seriously hard and things were 90% back to normal. All holes were filled in, and turf was laid around the BBQs covering the dirt that had been dug up.

All credit to the hosts, while our arrival had not been ok, the way they got the resort to put stuff back was pretty incredible. When we chatted with them they explained it was a concerted effort from a group of property owners as the resort had just sprung this on them. They had guests staying, like us and everyone was kicking off.

If the whole resort had been dug up like the workman had suggested we would have expected a full refund and moved the resort, which would have been tough on our hosts, but we just were not paying to stay in a building site. However, with the remedial work they had forced the resort to carry out, and in the incredible timescale (again especially considering Island Time) we were happy to just get on with our stay. We even happily left them a 5-star review!

We often think it’s better for things to go wrong a little as you can really judge someone on their actions then. Problems arise from time to time, and it is a resort, company, or a host’s response to these that really sorts the wheat from the chaff. It’s easy to be a good host when everything goes well! By this metric, our hosts were awesome and we are happy to support them and not cry about some kind of compensation.

Anyway, we spent the afternoon enjoying a few drinks and taking in the gorgeous afternoon sun. The Maui sun during the day is pretty fierce, but as the afternoon draws on and the sun gets low it’s much more enjoyable. Sun Bathing is tricky in Maui as the new Sun Screen requirements make finding a good sunscreen tricky. The Mineral Based creams are all factor 50 and go on like wallpaper paste. So getting a tan, without burning is hard. Still, if it protects the reefs we are happy to solider on.

After some sun thoughts turned to food and I headed inside to rustle up an Island Style feast. Some homemade Shoyu Poke, Garlic Shrimp, Teryaki Chicken, Seared ahi, and fried rice with local tomatoes and Avocado!

The Poke, even at Safeway was $20/lb so we bought some cheaper Ahi scraps and used these with the condo condiments to whip up some epic Poke! We grilled the food on the grills at the resort and were treated to a really stunning sunset over Honokeana cove.

We then just chilled and fed our Poke to the local kitty who arrived each evening to keep us company. We had a busier day tomorrow so we were happy to relax. There really isn’t much else to do on the island once the sun goes down.