Pineapple Wine via Ulupalakua Vineyards

Yes, pineapple wine. Found only on the rolling hills of Haleakula, Upcountry Maui. In a real vineyard, to boot.

We bought this one home. Most balanced of the offerings. Soft. Undertones of tropical fruit, but clean finish.

Perfect with fish. Last night we made a lime butter sauce for our wild salmon and added a few glugs of the wine to add some depth of flavor. Gorgeous! Rich and bright. A novel and memorable meal.



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Jada's Beach

First Time Floaty

Day 6 in Maui and Jada refused to put anything in to the ocean except her toes. She was content making sand castles with her little pink bucket and plastic shovels. Until a kind stranger offered us a simple gift that changed everything.

Maui, Day 2: Sleepy Sunday

Maui slows down on Sundays, so we did too. No one takes meetings. People don't answer phones. They unplug and connect with what counts: friends, family, God.

We spent the morning on the beach, had a simple lunch in and an early afternoon walk along Front Street. There was a craft fair happening under the Old Banyan Tree, in front of the Lahaina Courthouse and the harbor.

This banyan is one of the largest in the US, at 60 feet tall and 200 feet wide. It literally drapes over an entire city block, with twisted trunks and branches creating it's own sudden, little eco-system in the middle of a sunny strip.

Planted to commemorate their 50th anniversary of conversions, Christian missionaries planted the tree in 1873. It's flourishing could be seen as a symbol of God's approval. What is clear is the undeniable impact and importance of religion on the island. There are countless churches here, of all denominations, sometimes two for every block. Hawaiian culture has not been lost in all of this. In fact, it has been gracefully preserved, as in other parts of the world, and folded seamlessly in to the Christian value system- one strengthening the other.

On our way back home, we passed the The Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. Open air, powerful Hawaiian hymns rang out from parishioners dressed in traditional Hawaiian garb, men in suit jackets and a light skirt, feet bare or flip-flopped. The old and the new joined together, creating something distinct and unique. I thought that it was worth sharing with you.

Mahalo.

Maui, Day 1: Settling In

We stayed at The Hyatt Regency last night. Standard resort hotel on beautiful grounds, but we got in so late and we were so tired after the twelve hour flight that the details only registered peripherally. Cool pools, nice beach.

Woke up early this morning and went to our first apartment showing in Kahana, a little north of the main drag in Lahaina. Cute three bedroom with a huge front yard but a little too worse for the wear and tear of prior tenants. We're off to a strong start, though.

Moved to our "home" for the rest of this trip, The Lahaina Shores Beach Resort, comfy beach front condo apartments right on the main drag, Front Street. But not before stopping at our favorite place for lunch on the island, Aloha Mixed Plate. Crazy Coconut Shrimp and Shoju Chicken are the ultimate island comfort food. This place deserves its own entry and I will elaborate more at a future date.

Before dinner in, we sat on the beach and got in our first sunset. Grounding. We are here to put down roots. This will be our home. Nightfall will never be the same. New York is behind us. Maui is our future.

Going Home to Rainbows

Dear readers,

I took a little birthday hiatus but I am back! Thank you to all of my family and friends for celebrating with me and for making it memorable: The fiery Friday night with +Lauren Deatherage  and +Vadim Kokhnovitch  at Pok Pok, Saturday night sushi at home with Asia and Michele and the amazing soul food Sunday spread put out by my mom and dad. There will be subsequent posts elaborating more.

This post is about Michele's gift to me: Maui. We are going back in three weeks! For three weeks! And this trip will not be like any vacation we have ever taken or like any visit to Maui that we have made in the past. I started this blog with a post titled "Coming Home to Rainbows", listing all of the things we love about that little island. On this trip we will be going back with the intent to stay, finding an apartment, researching schools for Jada, taking meetings, planting the seeds of a new life there.

This process will be gradual. We will be back and forth for the next year, eventually setting down roots permanently. I hope to share the process with you here. Stay tuned!

Qiana

On Being Gypsies

So, since the closing of our house in Brooklyn we have shacked up temporarily in the following places (in chronological order): 

• a friend's apartment on 42nd St. 
• Piacenza, Italy 
• back to the friend's apartment on 42nd St. 
• Maui, Hawaii 
• another stay at 42nd St. (Until we just couldn't take the traffic, noise and degenerates any longer.)
• my mom's on Staten Island 

Now, craving privacy and space, we have resorted to hotel hopping. Our first night was at The Dream Hotel. The white room sprinkled with sharp cornered tabletops was not conducive to a relaxing night with a crayon toting, wobbly two year old. We checked out the next morning. We've spend the last few days at The Omni Hotel in midtown. Better because it is softer and warmer but there is not much space beyond the king size bed. Tomorrow, we check in to The Box in Brooklyn. Stay tuned. 

They say that problems are always hardest when things are about to get better. Our patience is definitely wearing thin and the adventure that we thought the summer would be is, day by day, decaying in to a kind of cold inertia. Hopefully, we will be able to close on our new home and put down our roots next week.

On the bright side, Jada is oblivious to it all. For her, home is wherever we are together. 

Coming Home To Rainbows

Labor Day always feels more like New Year's for me than the actual holiday. There is new focus and determination after the hazy days of the summer. The jump start of new demands of work and school motivate reflection and assessment. How to make the most of what is left of the year? 

Michele and I have come to a few conclusions this summer, the most substantial being our decision to  move to Maui! And here's why: 

 white sand beaches  

happy babies 

blue skies and soft surf

 spending the day in bathing suits 

long days on the beach together 

laughs

quality time with BFFs

good mornings 

 cool shades are a necessary accessory 

 Maui onions in matriciana

 blue skies 

better time together 

 black sand beaches

 Hana

 laughing at the sun

 Bob Marley

 tikis 

 delight 

 Sunsets 

 gathering...

...together at dusk

 ...is ambrosial

 views of the sea from the front porch...

 ...and driving down in to town

 we love our best friends more 

 and spend more time together

and our children...

 ...are more free and beautiful in Hawaii's light 

There are also, in no particular order: shooting stars, no traffic or honking horns, no crime, constant 82 degree temperatures with no humidity, the spirit of aloha (love, peace and tranquility) as the dominant value system, breathtaking sunrises, pineapples, POG and the strongest sense of belonging we have ever experienced in any place in the world. 

Our timeline is still being defined...stay tuned...