Aloha HAWAII Mahalo!

Looks to me like the same vantage point in the cozy Ranger Station at the top of Haleakala as the shot above but at sunrise that I snagged off the internet. We did not get there at sunrise. We got there at, oh, 11.

(internet)

April 20

It’s our last morning to kick around Maui until our afternoon flight to Honolulu.

We took our time packing up, took our time choosing a place for lunch and ended up at a great restaurant, Flatbread, in the charming town of Paia.

From the plane, another view of the sugar mill I talked about yesterday…

…and a view of one very small slice of the sugar fields that cover the agricultural part of Maui. Bon voyage Maui, Aloha!

The Sugar Museum just across the street from…

Then we drove on into ‘Iao Valley.

What this says: “Commonly called ‘Iao Needle, the traditional Hawaiian name for this 2,250 foot high peak is Kuka’emoku. This peak is known as the phallic stone of Kanaloa, Hawaiian god of the ocean.

“During periods of warfare, the peak was used as a lookout by warriors. It was here that some of the Maui warriors retreated from the forces of Kamehameha I during the Battle of Kepaniwai.”

April 19

First order of this busy day: Maui Ocean Center.

It was a delightful little spot.

One of their highlights is that everything they display (fish…coral..everything) they have found locally and displayed under strict local governance of what you can have in captivity.

One of those so amazing new-fangled tunnel tanks.

As we were driving to our next destination I said to Sharon “you know, I feel like some Asian cuisine”. Really, I said “Asian cuisine” and then we turned the corner and there, set back into an industrial parking lot was this place so we had to go in.

It was like it looks, not great but I liked it anyway.

Egret!

We see hundreds of egrets by the side of the road and in every field but they are always on the move. This guy was sitting quietly on top of a hedge in a parking lot watching for bugs.

…the sugar mill. Much of the history of 1830s Hawaii until tourism took over in the 1950s is tied up in the history of the cane sugar industry here.

Maui is the only Hawaiian island that still supports a viable sugar company and rumor is that they might not hang on for very much longer. This is one of two Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company’s mills on Maui.

One of my Botswana safari companions was a sugar commodities trader and now I wish I had talked to him more about sugar!

Nice. We walked a ways up there, but rain was threatening and we were done anyway so back…

…to the condo and another splendid aloha sunset.

…in the howling wind.

April 18

The arrow points to our condo in Kihei. Lahaina is on the other side of the bay and we are on our way up up up 10,000 feet to the top of Haleakala National Park.

Once there the first thing you see at the Ranger Station is this sign which asks “Why is it so cold and why can’t I breathe.”

This is a pretty good pano looking down from the comfort of the cozy Ranger Station into what everyone thinks is the crater mostly because the park service calls it a crater, but per Ms Wiki: “scientists believe that Haleakalâ’s “crater” was formed when the headwalls of two large erosional valleys merged at the summit of the volcano.” Ok.

Scenes like this one are the predominant view from the top.

We were far above a thick layer of clouds although wispy bits sped by…

Coming down 8,000 of the 10,000 feet we spent a little time in this town, Makawao, where we looked around in the stores, ate an excellent lunch at the Market Fresh Bisto, and…

…watched this guy finish off a fantastic vase.

Then Home Sweet Home away from home, the Koa Lagoon. .Condos for purchase and for rent on the beach at Kihei. We’re very happy here in our two bedroom accommodation with all the amenities of home. Someone else’s home that is, not mine, my home would fit in this living room.

Out the door, down the elevator, across the grass, and onto the sand. Sweet.

A waterfall along the side of the road, and me … turning back from my idea to get a better view. No falling!

sp.

April 17

A picture I ‘borrowed’ from the internet showing a part of The Road to Hana. Switch Back City is another name.

(internet)

After many miles, the six mile mark…

…where we had a much enjoyed food break at a roadside stop operated by flower children and aging hippies.

In the Hana portion of the Haleakala National Park, walking the easy trail to…

…the well known Seven Sacred Pools, added to the park in 1969.

The Seven Sacred Pools is a name made up by a tourism promoter. There are neither seven nor were they ever sacred, the original name being O’heo Gulch. Seven Sacred Pools, so much more appealing isn’t it.

More.

We didn’t make the crossing but many people did. There were plenty of hikers and swimmers in the scene above but I ‘stamped’ them out because they were disrupting my picture.

And another set of waterfalls just along the side of the road. Sooo many waterfalls and pools…

…many so easily accessible once you’ve gone to the trouble of driving The Road to Hana.

Mighty gorgeous.

On the way back to the condo we stopped off to be amazed at Ho’okipa Beach Park “perhaps the most renowned windsurfing site in the world.”

It was Awesome.

To the right of the scene above was another set of breaks used by board surfers, here finding their way along the shore to the kick-off point.

Sunset on day two where I’ve walked four feet along the lanai to the right of last nights photos…

…and another two feet.

April 16

Welcome to Maui and the totally touristified town of Lahaina.

I took this picture of Lahaina and the next one from old postcards on the internet because they are so touristically nostalgic.

(internet)

Lahaina, from before. First (in ‘antiquity’) Lahaina was the royal capital of Maui Loa, then much later the capitol of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845.

In the 1800s Lahaina was the central destination for the world-wide whaling fleet, for making repairs and taking on supplies, leading to much ‘merriment’ along these streets as here might be a ship’s first landfall in over a year.

(internet)

Aloha.

Louise told me not to miss Longhi’s for the Macadamia Nut Pie.

Check out the shoes on those kids. I don’t know how I managed this picture since the streets were teeming, roiling even with tourists on every side.

That’s the courthouse in the background and all of what you see is one banyan tree.

William Owen Smith planted this tree on April 24, 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries. You can imagine the controversies the town absorbed with the arrival of the missionaries and the presence of thousands of thirsty whalers.

The view from the lanai of our condo in Kihei.

The first land you see is more Maui and behind is the island of Lanai.

Ahhh.