Kobe Japanese Steak House

Dallas and I took Dustin and Donna out to dinner to show them how much we appreciated their hospitality in Maui. We all decided to go to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in Lahaina. I’d never been to a Japanese steakhouse before where they cook the food on the grills right in front of you. It was good fun and the food was delicious. I have about 25 mediocre photos of our chef and our food and our drinks, but really, this is the only photo you need to see:

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Ziplining in Upcountry Maui

Note: Donna and Dustin took a lot of the following photos. I brought my little junky camera and it didn’t work out too well. Donna brought her DSLR that she uses for freelance photography. Big thanks to her for letting me post her photos here. Also, don’t miss the video I took that’s posted at the end of this entry!

Donna and Dustin took us ziplining in Maui. None of us had ever gone before so we weren’t sure what to expect, but we all loved it. I’d go do it again in second. It was so much fun. We went to this course that was on the way to Haleakala, in Upcountry Maui.

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This is Donna, Dallas and I with our helmets and harnesses on.

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After everyone got their gear on we took a walk through the woods to the zipline course.

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Our guides, Jimmy and Ryan. These guys knew what they were doing, and were also pretty hysterical. Funny guys.

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There’s a of platform. Your harness is hooked onto the line by the guide. Then you just step off.

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And whee!

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Whee!

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Whee!

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Whee!

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Then you get to the far platform.

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Try to stop before you run into the guide.

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And then the guide unhooks you from the line. Dustin getting unhooked.

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Donna getting unhooked.

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Dallas getting ready to walk the suspension bridge. You can see me ahead walking across.

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Donna was a little freaked out to walk across.

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More ziplining. Dallas.

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Dallas.

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Donna

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Dallas.

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The guide giving us instructions at the last line.

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Dustin coming down the last line.

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Dustin.

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There was a pole at the end of the line that you could try to make it to and tap. Hardly anyone made it.

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Dustin.

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Me on the last line.

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Dallas actually hit the pole.

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What we thought of ziplining: Thumbs up!

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Two thumbs up!

Watch the video!

Cafe 808

For lunch Dallas said he wanted plate lunch, so Donna and Dustin tried to think of where their favorite plate lunch in Maui is and decided on Cafe 808.

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Cafe 808 is not fancy in any way on the inside, but who cares. The food is great.

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Donna said they really like a hamburger steak plate lunch there with grilled onions and mushrooms, so that is what I got. I never had a hamburger steak plate lunch and it was delicious.

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Kepaniwai Park and Heritage Gardens

After checking out Iao Valley, we drove down the road and went to Kepaniwai Park’s Heritage Gardens. If you have a good memory you remember in my last post that the Battle of Kepaniawai was a bloody mess and there were so many dead bodies that the Iao Stream got all blocked up. Kepaniawai means “damming of the waters.” You’d never know that this was such a violent area in the past, though. Now it’s a beautiful, peaceful park that showcases Maui’s diverse heritage with ethnic houses and gardens representing the Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Caucasian and Filipino cultures.

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Richard Tongg designed the park in 1952. Donna, Dustin, Dallas and I spent some time just walking around the park, through the banyans, checking out all the different statues and houses.

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At some point we started standing in front of houses that represented our ethnicities. For example, here are Donna, Dustin and Dallas all in front of a thatched-roof Hawaiian hale (meeting house) because they are each part Hawaiian.

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Here’s a Caucasian New England “Salt Box” house.

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And here is me in front of the Caucasian New England “Salt Box” house.

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Dallas is half Korean.

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I guess these Lions were part of the Korean garden. Donna tried to set it up so we both stood by the lions and faced our heads like they were, but Dallas refused to cooperate.

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Dallas, Donna and Dustin (missing!) are all part Japanese.

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No one posed by the Chinese house, but Dustin should have.

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Found this guy in the bamboo forest behind the Chinese house.

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And then here’s a Filipino house.

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None of us are Filipino.

And finally, a Portuguese villa.

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Donna might be a little Portuguese. I can’t remember. And she didn’t do her posing, so maybe not.

Iao Valley State Park

Dustin made us homemade waffles in the morning and then he and Donna took us to Iao Valley, a state park that is known for the Iao Needle.

This is the Iao Needle. It is 1,200 feet tall.

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Kapawa, the King of Hawaii prior to Pili, was buried here at Iao Needle and during the late 15th century, Iao Valley was designated as an alii burial area. They say that the remains of chiefs were buried in secret places all around Iao Valley.

The needle is surrounded by the West Maui Mountains, an extinct volcano.

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We walked up a short trail to an overlook. Here’s Dallas and I with Iao Valley (and the parking lot) behind us.

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And here are Dustin and Donna with the Iao Needle behind them.

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After getting our photos taken in front of stuff, we walked along a trail through the rain forest that covers most of Iao Valley. The valley is the site of one of the most famous Hawaiian battles, the Battle of Kepaniwai. In 1790, King Kamehameha I defeated Kalanikupule and the Maui army in an effort to unite the Hawaiian islands.

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The Battle of Kepaniwai was said to be so bloody that dead bodies blocked the Iao Stream. The battle site was named Kepaniwai, which means “damming of the waters.”

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Guri-Guri

Donna had a freelance photography gig in afternoon so Dustin, Dallas and I hung out. We went to Queen Ka’ahumanu Shopping Center to look for a store but it had closed, so we just had lunch there. I had Maui Taco again, but Dustin and Dallas went for Blazin’ Steaks. We ran a few errands and then Dustin took us to get Guri-guri.

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Guri-guri is a cross between sherbert and ice cream. The only place you can get it is in Maui at Tasaka.

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When you walk into Tasaka, which is located in the Maui Mall in Kahului, there are just a couple people behind the counter. The older man behind the counter is Henry Tasaka and is the grandson of the founder. You can choose from two guri-guri flavors: strawberry or pineapple. I got one scoop of each. We paid a whopping $1.10 for two scoops, which are served in a little Dixie cup.
The recipe for guri-guri
has been in the Tasaka family for 4 generations and is a closely guarded secret.

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It’s said that guri-guri originated during Hawaii’s plantaton days in the 1890’s. Supposedly the Japanese plantation workers pronounced “goodie-goodie” as “guri-guri” and the name stuck.

Dallas doesn’t really care for guri-guri so he got Maui made Kitch’n Cook’d potato chips. He did try just a taste of my guri-guri, but didn’t get any of his own.

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After our guri-guri adventure, Dustin took me to Billie J. Boutique (444 Hana Hwy, Kahului), a store that Donna loves. I got a dress, blouse, necklace and bracelet for less than $90, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I needed a dress for Cory & Chris’s wedding, so I was happy to find one at a great price!

Later on Dustin made kalbi ribs for us for dinner. Yum!