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Aloha

Aloha from Maui

June 27, 2018

Maui Sunset

Sunrise in Maui

Mom and me at scenic lookout on the way to Kihei from Lahaina
Mom and me at scenic lookout on the way to Kihei from Lahaina

Mom and I are not doing your typical things in Maui. Neither of us lay out on the beach and she is not real big on hiking or bathing suits, but we are having an awesome time just relaxing  and listening to the waves. Except for one day, I’ve watched the sunrise every morning. I listen to the waves, drink my tea, walk on the beach, have breakfast, and do some work. I have my little birdies that come hang out with me in the morning. One is a little pistol. She is always trying to come in the house and check it out.

I am usually the one that is up and running early in the morning. Right now it is 9 am, Mom is still sleeping and I have been awake since 530 am. This morning was the first time I actually had people up as early as I was. Mostly I don’t hear people until around 8 or 9.

There is something soothing and calming about these waves. I really could just sit here all day, which we did a good portion of the weekend — just not like me at all! Of course I go swim and float a little in the ocean but for me it is kind of boring to just go hang out in the water by myself for too long.

Maui Sunset

Everyone has been very friendly and helpful. No crazy drivers on the road here in Maui really. Maui is a much different feel than Oahu and we will see when we go back and stay outside of the noisy Waikiki area if I have a different take. We all know I am not the most approachable person nor the most relaxed but I feel myself being more calm here. It is weird, I am not a big beach person. I love walking on the beach but I don’t enjoy laying out on the beach all day. I have only been snorkeling one time in Okinawa and stressed myself out while doing it, though I would like to do it again. But I LOVE listening to the waves and just looking out seeing nothing but blue water and large fluffy clouds. You can see the islands of Molokia and Lania right from the condo.

beautiful sunrise and the sound of relaxing waves in Maui

A post shared by Raspberry Moon (@raspberrymoonst) on Jun 23, 2018 at 8:33am PDT

I love that I don’t get eaten up by bugs here. There are mosquitoes here but in the area where we are right now I have had no problems. Hopefully it stays that way. Hawaii has no snakes to speak of and very few poisonous insects. Coming from the South with fire ants, spiders, snakes and all sorts of critters, it’s nice to not have to worry about them.

Today is my last sunrise in Lahaina, different look this morning with the clouds and being a little overcast but still beautiful and soothing. With all the rain last night my little friends are out having a smorgasbord for breakfast. It will be interesting to see if my zen holds out on a different environment as we had to the mountains in Makaowa. Our next few days are going to be crazy busy before we had back to Oahu on Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Adventure, Raspberry Moon, Travel Tagged With: Aloha, Hawaii, Maui, Ocean, Sunrise

Maui Pineapple – So Delicious!

June 27, 2018

Pineapple ready to harvest at Maui Gold

June 27 is National Pineapple Day!

Our first tour here in Maui was at the Maui Pineapple Company and Distillery! I would highly recommend this tour. Mom and I had a great time. The last time I had fresh pineapple was in Okinawa in 2002. After the tour you get a FREE pineapple per person so we have been eating a lot of fresh pineapple. Nothing compares to fresh pineapple or fresh fruits and veggies in general.

Maui Pineapple Company and Distillery Tour
Steve – Our Tour Guide

Maui Gold Pineapple is the only pineapple grove left in Hawaii. This was so interesting to see the farming process and to understand what all takes place to eat some of this delicious fruit. The best part of course is tasting the pineapple picked right before your eyes!

Pineapple Trivia

Here are some interesting bits of info we learned on our tour:

Pineapples are actually a composite fruit made up of berries that grow at the crown of the fruiting tree (more like a shrub).

Pineapples have a lot of great health benefits. For more information on their health benefits, check out http://pineapplemaui.com/pineappleshop/nutrition/

Baby pineapples at the Maui Gold plantation
Baby Pineapple just blooming

Generally they do not have a problem with pests or birds eating plants but deer have been an issue. The deer were introduced to the island in the 1950s. The deer love to eat the leaves of the baby pineapple which stunts the pineapple’s growth.

There are no hummingbirds here in Hawaii and they don’t want any. Hummingbirds would pollinate the pineapple causing seeds and would totally change the pineapple. They replant simply by using the spiky top of the pineapple once it is twisted off from the fruit. Costa Rica has a lot of hummingbirds and their pineapple has seeds.

The Pineapple Harvest

Once you plant the spiky top of the pineapple, it takes 2 years to harvest the first crop. They harvest 2 more crops with each crop becoming smaller in size and then they will turn everything under, let it go to grass and replenish the soil before they plant again.

New pineapple plantings

Most of the workers are older and come from the Philippines. This is very hard work, they can make up to $40/hour if they plant about 6,000 plants a day. Everything is paid by the piece. There is an art to this planting and everything is done by hand from planting to harvesting with only a small amount of automation used with transporting and parts of packaging.

Harvesting Pineapples

Until WWII pineapple was all planted, harvested, and shipped via hand and animals. After the War the Army left a lot of vehicles behind; the Hawaiians used those vehicles to mechanize the farms. Although planting and harvesting itself is still done by hand, packing, shipping and soil prepping is done by machine.

Pineapples ready for shipping at Maui Gold
Shipments all ready to go!

Maui Gold Pineapple are harvest into four categories:

  • Hawaiian Consumption – Has more yellow color
  • Mainland Export to LA and Seattle- has some yellow but mostly green
  • Distilleries – solid gold
  • Cattle – pineapples not acceptable for human consumption or distillation

Pineapple ready to harvest at Maui Gold

Did you know that when you buy a pineapple from the store that it will not ripen any further once it has been picked? It is best to just eat it when you buy it as you don’t know how long it has been traveling. You can flick the pineapple with your thumb and if you hear a more hollow sound, that is the better option. You should twist off the crown, turn it upside down, place it in the refrigerator for 1 day and let all of the juices flow to the top of the pineapple. This way the sugar flows through the whole pineapple. This is what our guide suggested for the Maui Gold so I am assuming standard protocol for all pineapples. You should eat the pineapple within a day or so.

For more tips on picking the right pineapple, cutting and even how to grow your own, check out http://pineapplemaui.com/pineappleshop/tips-facts/

At Maui Gold they use Ozone water to rinse the fruit and start it on its packaging journey. Once the pineapple is immersed in the water it turns yellow. If any fruit sinks, it means it has bad spots and goes in the cattle consumption pile. They use a vegetable wax to seal the fruit and then it is packed based on size. You will have 5,6 or 7 box categories which basically just means you can fit 5 pineapple, 6 or 7 in a box. This is all done by hand.Pineapples packed for shipping

Maui Gold is working to reduce waste and only has about 4% waste. They actually have their own distillation so be sure to do the spirits tour with the pineapple tour, the Maui Winery that makes pineapple wine (I can’t wait for this tour at the end of the week! so stay tuned for that post) and with a cattle company to feed sheep and cows. Some crowns and fruit go to Oahu for planting or fruit slices. Maui Gold Pineapples were basically saved because if they would lose the pineapples from Maui they would lose their line of spirits made with Maui Pineapple. Sometimes a company just needs new leadership to sustain itself.

Maui Gold limits its shipping to Hawaii or the West Coast, they ship to LA and Seattle. They want to leave it on the plant as long as possible and not compromise its quality by shipping too far. But never fear, if you want to try some amazing Maui Pineapple, you can order it directly from Maui Gold Pineapple. 

If you are coming to Maui be sure to make this a stop on your tour. We did this right after we landed so we had time to eat the pineapple but you can always do it on your way home as the Maui Pineapple boxes don’t count towards your carry on!

Filed Under: Adventure, Food, Fun Facts, Raspberry Moon, Travel Tagged With: Aloha, Delicious, Hawaii, Mahalo, Maui, Maui Gold Pineapple, Pineapple, Vacation

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