7/28/12 - Discovering Maui

And now, a programming note: I've found that my blogging app, Blogsy, is very cumbersome, especially when placing pictures. For that reason I've decided to write about our hijinks while in transit to our next destination, post the words when I get within wireless, then go back on Mike's laptop to add the pictures. Check back every now and again for the pictures of the day!

Our condo is right across from Kamaole Beach Park III. The jibe here on Maui is much different than the Zen of the resort. I saw people in the park today as early as 6 am, some setting up bounce houses! Maybe there is a fair today...?

Update: Apparently the beach is the place to throw your big family parties. It is not unusual to see several bounce houses set up throughout the park. Someone was throwing their child's first birthday party, catered and complete with buffet tables and white chairs, and a bouncy house with a pool at the bottom. No need to rent a pavilion!

We are heading to West Maui today to check out the Iao Needle at the Iao Valley State Park, making our way back down and around the west side to Launiupoko State Wayside park for some snorkeling, making a stop in the antique city of Lahaina for a meal and shopping, and wrapping up the day at one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Kaanapali, where the cliff divers jump at sunset.

Stop 1: The Iao Needle is a towering 1,200 foot rock pinnacle (2,500 feet from the volcanic floor) that has survived the erosion that caused the valley many hundreds of years ago. The area is the site of a famous battle where King Kamechameha I defeated Maui's army in 1790 to unite the Hawaiian Islands under one rule.

The Iao stream runs through the valley gorge has many bubbling and tumbling water pools and flows that invite you a quick dip, if at least your toes.

The morning mist was rising off the mountain tops when we arrived, and it cleared for a bit before we got caught in a pretty good downpour. The good thing about Hawaiian rain is it only lasts for a few minutes, then clears up. Most of the time it's only a slight to heavy mist, but this was an all out real NY rain for 5 minutes. I had gotten separated from the gang, so took refuge under a tree.

Stop 2: The kids couldn't wait to get to the beach, so we headed out to Papalua Wayside park. We quickly realized why so many setup so early on the beach - there was very little parking, and the space on the beach edge was taken up with tents (tent camping is allowed with a permit on certain beaches).  

The waves here weren't going to work for body boarding, so we moved on and ended up Launiupoko State Wayside park instead.

This is a first birthday party...

The park was very busy with people having their family picnics, complete with bouncy houses, but the beach area was relatively clear, and perfect for body boarding and surfing. The kids and Mike were able to ride a wave or two in pretty far.






Stop 3: A few hours and pb&j sandwiches later, we made our way further north to the town of Lahaina. Lahaina is an old fishing and whaling town, which at one time was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The main shopping and attraction area is located on Front Street, paralleling the ocean, and is a collection of art galleries, souvenir shops, restaurants, and jewelry stores (lots of diamonds... cruise ships port here).

You have to get shrimp at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co!

View of Lahaina harbor from our table

After a bit of shopping, we decided to have dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Austin has been wanting to try it. We had an excellent meal on the water, and left absolutely stuffed.

One of the largest Indian Banyan trees in the world

In the center of town is an enormous Banyan tree, planted in 1873 when it was only 8 feet tall.  It now stands over 60 feet tall, has 12 major trunks in addition to its main core, and stretches over 200 feet in area.  Quite impressive, and is one of the largest Indian Banyan trees in the world.  The area underneath hosts many community concerts, meetings, and markets.

Walking along the harbor after dinner, we came upon a fishing boat that had caught a 513 pound marlin.  WARNING:  This video is not for the faint of heart, but I was simultaneously repulsed and fascinated, do naturally I had to share...

Dusk on Kaanapali Beach

Stop 4: All of the beaches in Hawaii are open to the public and require public access. The problem, however, is that no one has to provide you with parking to get to the beach. In the case of Kaanapali, there is no "beach park" to speak of. Instead, many posh hotels and resorts face the beach and take up any chance of easy access, since their parking is all "resort only".








The only alternative, which works but you have to either know this, or spend loads of time figuring it out like we did, is to visit the Whaler's Village shopping complex which sits in the middle of these resorts and caters to the resort crowd. Once you park in the parking garage of the shopping village and make at least a $40.00 purchase, all you have to do is show your receipt to the ramp attendant and they will validate your parking so that you don't have to pay the $3.00/half hour, or $30.00/day parking fee.



The views on this beach are spectacular, the white sand is like velvet, and the beach stretches for 4 miles of unadulterated pleasure walking. At the Black Rock, which resides at the northern most end of the beach, there is supposed to be a torch lighting and cliff diving ceremony to commemorate the closing of another day. Either they don't do it anymore, or it isn't as much of a ceremony as the brochures make it out to be, since we didn't see either. No worries, walking the beach with the kids at sunset was pretty awesome too!