Upcountry Treat

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Arriving at Upcountry B&B was a treat for us our first night on Maui. Michael Sullivan our host meets, greets us, and shows us to our room. He is quick, decisive, and a walking encyclopedia of information on just about everything. His home is furnished very nicely if decidedly masculine in nature. I love the all white walls and cool colors. An accent wall in our bedroom is in deep blue green as is matching furnishings. We have a fireplace, TV/DVD/VCR, wet bar and mini fridge. Our view through our sliding gass doors has a nearly spectacular (accept for the power lines) view of the West Maui Mountains.

We stow our things and are quickly taken on a tour of the two story house, his pottery studio, and yards. There are 5 rooms total for guests. We share the house with one other couple we are told. Located on the first floor at the end of a long hallway is an exit door to the side yard where a very nice jacuzzi with outside shower is situated. Lovely plants, shrubs, and yards are well maintained and very attractive. (See the photo of Pineapples growing in a pot)

Inside polished gray concrete floors provide a sense of cool and calm. And high ceilings add to the sense of expansiveness and space. Throughout the rest of the house, I see beautiful original art and photographs and many items of interest as Michael has travelled the world extensively. Excellent hand stitched pillows and quilted throws are seen in several rooms including ours. An old upright piano is situated in one corner of the living room and Michael's signaure clay tiles frame the living room fireplace and enhance the corners of doorframes. Ceramic mugs, containers, and other hand thrown pottery make good use of themselves in our rooms next to our coffeepot and in his kitchen for teas or coffees of our choice.
The overall feel is casual but tastefully decorated. I understand Michael has done his own decorating and was the architect for this house.

As a side note, our bath had a walk in shower where a beautiful glazed tile of a fish was inserted as the only design in the rest of the tiled wall. I was impressed with its outstanding design and skillful but casual effect. As well, the tub had a hawaiian maiden glazed onto tiles and it to was inserted into the center of solid white tiles with a blue border. It stood out in blue, turquoise, and earthy hues. They were quite eye catching. I was especially taken with the fish tile. I wanted to bring back one for my friend Mona who i thought might appreciate its character. My queries about pricing made me gasp. Around $1500.00 for the large three piece fish tiles and $500 - $600 for the smaller single tiled fish. I love ya Mona but...i need more moolah!

I decide to stay in and rest while Becky chose to drive about for a bit and explore the area. The other guests left as well. After a while i thought i'd check out the jacuzzi for our later enjoyment and walked down the hall to the side door to go out. I paused when i saw Gabby, Michael's canine companion, who has a penchant for women's underthings and will go into your room and pull them from your suitcase and carry them to the living room where he lays down to sniff and mouth them, much to Michael's embarrassment and chagrin. But that is another story. Back to Gabby in the yard. I see her look over in the direction of the jacuzzi and turn my glance that way. There's Michael, with his shorts pulled aside he is nonchalantly taking a whizz in his yard. He suddenly notices my movement in the window. I hear him yelp and see him literally jump. He put things back where they belonged so quickly I burst out laughing!

I turned and went back to my room smiling and thinking what i was going to say to him when he came in. You know i had to razz him. Couldn't pass up the opportunity. He said he felt like a little boy who just got caught, almost literally, with his pants down. He thought everyone was gone and he was going to pee in his yard and then take a shower outside as it seems he does this on a regular basis. I think i blew his image of a good bed and breakfast host. But, it was all in good fun and made my day as i love unexpected surprises. And this was definitely an unusual surprise - an "8" on my scale of 1-10 for fun or quirky surprises. Later when Beck returned we had a good laugh about it all. But i betcha he doesn't do it again - at least not whithout making sure everyone has left the property. (-:

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Comments

[Craig mccrrmick]

Fun stuff
Lettie Thanks for the update! What a fun trip.

[Suitcase Shaman]

Miss seeing you!
Hiya Craig, It's nice to hear from you. I have missed seeing you. Hope you and Jill and the girls are well. Hug them all for me. Have you been to Hawaii? If not, you should absolutely go! It is wonderful. At least so far... Love ya and hope to see you someday soon.