09-20 Maui

There is magic, and then there is magic! And Maui in Hawaii is the real thing. We spent the month of January there over a period of ten years exploring this Island with its amazing history and beauty.
Our condo was in the Town of Kihei, which is in the south part of the Island at the base of the Haleakala volcano. The photo shows the crater, but it is a great place to rent a bicycle and ride down from the top.
We never stopped exploring the island which has beaches on one side of the volcano and lush forest and agricultural land on the other. We were surprised at just how self-sufficient the island economy was regarding its agriculture, cattle and fishing industries. The photo is of the Iao Needle in Iao Valley State Park. The varied scenery is unlike any place in the world.
We spent a day a week in Lahaina, which at one time was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii before the capital was moved to Honolulu. In the photo, you can see the famous Banyan Tree in Courthouse Square which is 50-feet high and 200 feet from side to side.
You soon learn to go to the restaurants to order fish. That is where you get the best quality and the best Hawaiian cooking. The photo of Mary is taken on the verandah of a downtown Lahaina restaurant.
It is hard to understand any society unless you try to understand its history. At one time, Lahaina was not only the whaling capital of the world , but a major sugar plantation economy. And it was plantation workers brought in from around the world that intermarried with the original Hawaiians that created its current multi-cultural character.
Everyone should go whale watching once in their lifetime. Maui is a major breeding location for Humpback Whales. And we continuously saw whales breaching, like in the photo, not just in their breeding areas but around the south shores of Maui. When we were watching whales from about 200 feet away and using special glasses, one came close to our boat just to check us out. I could have touched her. She must have been close to 45 feet in length and had a young calf whose dorsal fin was still limp and needed mother’s help to stay near the surface.
Our thanks go to Bob and Stacy Morrow who introduced us to Maui in 1979. And through Bob, we met his brother Ken Morrow and Ken's wife Dorothy.
There is a massive influx of California retirees in Maui today, and it was so interesting seeing new homes being built with steel rather than wood. A downside of Maui is the hungry Carpenter ants who thrive in the warm climate.