DarciP, Author at Maui Wedding Photographer Penny Palmer Photography

Manoli’s Pizza – Grand Opening week in Wailea

Nestled above the 15th hole of the Wailea Blue, one might feel that you’re looking out onto a park and pond (as a few young ones mistakenly did), but in actuality you’re enjoying one of the three beautiful golf courses that Wailea offers from Manoli’s Pizza.

While customers are spoiled with top-notch service by staff, the owner, Aaron Placourakis, makes his way around the room, pacifying eager children with cheese pizza slices and making sure adults feel welcomed. His top notch attention to even the youngest diners […]

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Exploring Wailuku, Part III, things to do

Next stop on our tour of Wailuku included a visit to the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens.

There’s no entrance fee to wander around the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens which makes it an even better tour stop! It’s a nice place to spend a pleasant afternoon with your kids or just to take a walk and have lunch. Conveniently located near the Harbor, it’s easy to find on Kanaloa Ave with parking on the side street. Maui Nui Botanical Gardens is a non-profit organization that relies on its volunteers to keep the gardens green. There are […]

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Meet Mika, Weaver of Magic

There’s someone very special on the Island of Maui that most folks won’t have a chance to meet – unless you go looking for him. His name is Mika Villaren and he’s one of those magical types of people that simply LIVE the word ALOHA. We were fortunate to make his acquaintance last weekend at the Nui Festival in Wailea, but you might be able to find him sitting on the rock wall up at the Kaanapali Beach Resort weaving coconut leaves into magical bowls, hats and fish or playing the traditional Hawaiian ukulele.

I […]

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Part IV – Palmer Travel Blog, Relocating to Maui

The wait is finally over and with it comes the final post for the traveling part of our blogging. Hurricane Daniel and Hurricane Emelia have come and gone, leaving the South side of the island as dry and needy as it was before the weather warnings. Even those of us that prefer the higher heat and full blaring sun have to agree that a bit of rain would feed the soul of the island’s south side.

Working with the DMV and Safety Inspection Locations on Maui was painless and quite unexpectedly, bordered on enjoyable. We […]

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Exploring Wailuku, Part II, Restaurants and Dining

The next must-stop on our Wailuku Tour was for lunch at the Café O’Lei Wailuku.

We’ve enjoyed many meals at the other Café O’Leis on the island, but if you get the chance to stop in here for lunch, be sure to ask to be served by Omi. She has a bright and warm personality and makes wonderful recommendations!

You have the option of sitting outdoors in the eclectic alley or in the front or rear dining rooms. The interior walls are covered in art by local artists. […]

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Exploring Wailuku, Part I

We spent the day exploring parts of Wailuku and found some gems we wanted to share with you. Over the course of the next couple blogs, we’ll show you some fun places you might not be aware of if you’re vacationing in other cities on the island.

Among them was a fun stop at Mele Ukulele on Kaahumanu Avenue.

I’m not a string instrument type person, but I’ll tell you what! 5 minutes with Mele’s owner, Cheryl Rock, and she had me believing that I might actually be able to put down my computer keyboard […]

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Experience Kula Country Farms!

Welcome to a beautiful spot on Maui known as Kula Country Farms. Located on an ahupua’a owned by Mr. Henry Rice and his family since 1916, this farm offers acres of beauty, historical significance and family aloha.

We had the pleasure of spending the morning with enthusiastic owner, Teena, and her 2 daughters. The passion that this family exudes is contagious and listening to the tales of the old paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) that now rest peacefully under a sacred clearing marked by a […]

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Part III – Palmer Travel Blog

After successfully purging ourselves of many of the items that once felt necessary, we were left with approx. 100 square feet of family heirlooms, warm weather clothing and basic necessities for our new home. The Allstate Shipping truck arrived and carried away our Matson container. The driver was courteous, funny and a prime example of great customer service skills. No major issues thus far. As of today, the container is cruising along across the ocean on the cargo vessel.

Leaving without our puppy was really hard… thankfully she has great puppy sitters that allow […]

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Sharing the Aloha on Maui

As we prepare to leave for Maui we’re spending quite a bit of time researching local Maui volunteer organizations to coordinate stewardship opportunities for our home schooled daughter and family. We believe that Maui is no ka oi and giving back to the island for all it gives us is important.

In the past we’ve volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity, Maui Chapter. This organization does a lot of amazing projects on Maui. They even offer short term volunteer projects that make it possible for mainlanders to volunteer while visiting Maui!

Another favorite of ours […]

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Part II… Palmer Travel Blog

Well, the word is out… new friends, old friends and clients alike are scheduling their dates to come visit. How exciting! Part I – complete.

Next came the downsizing. Going from a 2300 sq. foot, 3 bedroom, 2 car garage home to most likely a 2 bedroom condo required a lot of thought, consideration and careful planning. We debated between shipping boxes (USPS is the cheapest carrier at about $1/pound), checking boxes on the plane ($125 each), or coordinating a container (minimum size = 20 feet and Matson has the best prices for the reputable companies – although there are cheaper companies that have […]

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