Hawaii – Day 9 – Mahalo at Mama’s

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Our last full day on Maui. Our last full day in Hawaii. It hurt. But the thought of dinner that evening at Mama’s Fish House, just off the Road to Hana, kept our spirits high.

AJ and I spent the morning packing (booo) before deciding to head to Whalers Village to check out the shops. It turned out to be a lovely opportunity for people-watching, too. We got a kick out of hearing toddlers speaking French haha. We wandered into the ABC Store to browse, where AJ briefly misplaced his red sunglasses… only to find them sitting on top of a shirt nearly identical in color. We flipped through postcards, stickers, and souvenirs before AJ decided he needed an energy drink ASAP, so we lingered over the beverage and snack aisles.

Back at the resort, AJ realized he never actually drank his energy drink, so we decided to try out the arcade to keep our momentum. We spent a good chunk of time playing the Jurassic Park game, which we clearly enjoyed, and then moved to Skeeball, which has been a lifelong love of mine thanks to the arcade in Avalon. Annoyingly, AJ is also very good at Skeeball, and he gave me a run for my money. He then tried his luck at the claw game. Skeptical, I asked if he’d ever actually won at one before, and he confidently insisted he had. His technique was flawless… but even luck couldn’t save him from a rigged machine that dropped his prize just millimeters from the slot. We decided to quit while we were behind and handed our winnings to the nearest pack of children.

Shaking off the loss, we changed into our swimsuits and met the kids and Lynn at the pool. We found Lynn standing near the edge, watching the kids make their rounds sprinting up the stairs and rocketing down the slide. Ford was an absolute torpedo. Jon joined in and got swept up in the amusement, too. AJ and I used the opportunity to head back up to the room and finish packing before getting ready for dinner.

We met the family in the lobby at 5:30 and set off on the hour-long drive to Mama’s Fish House, with one planned stop along the way. About 45 minutes later, we arrived in the cutest little town called Paia. After finding parking, we popped into a boutique to browse. Andi picked out a case for her ukulele, Ava chose a darling bracelet, and Ford settled on a Woodie Hot Wheels. I found a few cute things, including a “Mahalo for Pet Sitting” card for Bridgette and Mitch. Perfect! Out of sight, Elizabeth and Jon snuck an aloha bracelet into their basket for Lynn, which she loved.

Goodies in hand, we loaded back into the cars and finished the drive to Mama’s. The hostess greeted us warmly, and as the kids marveled at the giant “clam fossils,” she mentioned that the front desks of the restaurant were made from similar calcified Tridacna giant clams.

We walked past the hostess stand and down the sandy path to the restaurant, which sits nearly on the beach, with a spectacular view of the ocean. We arrived just before the sun reached the horizon and asked a kind stranger to take a group photo of us. Before heading inside, Andi and Ford wrote their names in the sand, hoping to immortalize their time there.

As we waited for our table, Lynn pointed out the stunning floral arrangements and mentioned that the same woman had been doing the flowers for 30 years, and grew all the plants herself. Andi even posed with her favorite, and they matched perfectly.

We were seated at 7:15 next to a vibrant arrangement of yellow Heliconia psittacorum and green anthurium. I snapped a picture of Lynn next to them. The breathtaking view distracted us from our menus as we sipped our drinks and shared our favorite moments from the trip. During Lynn’s toast, my eyes welled up with joy and gratitude… I was feeling mahalo nui loa.

When we finally settled on food, we started with shrimp wontons, macadamia nut crab cakes, and diver-caught octopus. Feeling uncharacteristically daring, I tried both crab cakes and octopus for the first time. The crab cake was cooked perfectly, and the octopus, broiled then seared, was phenomenal. Our waiter even remarked that we’d be hard-pressed to find octopus that good anywhere else. Lynn agreed.

Lynn and I shared a cocktail before splitting a delectable Pinot Noir. For the main course, Ava and Andi ordered steak, Ford went all in on handfuls of rice, Lynn had the famous bouillabaisse, Jon chose the toothfish, AJ ordered the pulehu beef short rib and lobster tail, and Elizabeth and I both opted for the crusted mahi-mahi. I asked for mine without capers so AJ and I could share. The fish was perfect, the lobster delicious, and the short ribs practically fell off the bone.

While we ate, Andi and Ava made me little gifts out of the wax strings the restaurant provided. Andi crafted a crown to hold a cocktail umbrella, while Ava made me a rainbow and a flower for my shirt. I wore them all proudly. Ava also made herself a very creative set of spectacles, much to Andi’s amusement.

For dessert, Elizabeth and Jon shared the iconic Polynesian Black Pearl, Lynn and Andi enjoyed the coconut chiffon cake, and AJ and I split the liliko‘i crème brûlée.

We finished our meals and sat back, reflecting on an amazing trip as we rolled ourselves out to the parking lot to load into our cars, the last two there. Our hearts and bellies full, we headed back to the resort.

Back at The Westin, we said our goodnights and headed to our rooms for the dreaded task of final packing. We went to bed early, bracing ourselves for the long travel day ahead.