We ordered two and were rewarded with the ideal blend of rum and fruit juice, in a classic glass, with fruit garnish.but no umbrella! When we mentioned this to our server, he lamented that they had stopped using the little paper umbrellas about a year ago. There it was, listed in black and white: the Ultimate Mai Tai. We opened the drink menu and we knew our search was over.

The ambiance was an odd mix of polynesian and other cultures, but there was live Hawaiian music playing and tiki torches, with the sound of the Pacific Ocean in the background, so things looked promising.

Well, after a long and arduous search, we acted on a tip from seasoned explorer friend and went to the Mariott Hotel on Nawiliwili Bay in Lihue. Here's one intrepid individual returning from a successful foraging mission, in the midst of harsh elements.ĭespite the disgusting white slop that was pelting down from the sky, we were glad to be home.but it would only be a matter of time before our thoughts would begin to turn toward our next expedition: the Search for the Ultimate Pina Colada on the British Virgin Islands! :o)) We crashed for five hours more sleep and then were ready to start slipping back into the old routines.such as buying groceries for dinner. Our luck continued and we made a connection home much earlier than we had been scheduled to, so we got in at noon instead of after 1 am. Our flight was a red-eye that left Lihue airport at 10:30pm, but we were both so tired that we managed to sleep through most of the trip, which seemed like 2 hours instead of 6. We were both tired of dodging the rain storms while trying to get in some sunny beach time and we were missing our dogs, but there were adventures still to have, sights left to see.and Mai Tai's left to drink (though not many!). It was with mixed feelings that we left the Garden Isle of Kauai.

All good things must come to an end: and so it is with vacations to tropical islands.

In the lonely hour mai mai