Hawaii Diary
Monday, March 23 - West and Central Maui
Today Eileen and I had a very busy day indeed. We began early from our condo in the Kaanapali area and drove around the southern part of west Maui. Our first destination was Hookipa Beach Park, just about 15 minutes east of Kahului on the Hana Highway. We had heard that the waves were really high and sure enough they were. We got some really nice shots that we'll add to our photo gallery once we get home.
Our next stop for the day was the Iao Valley State Park located west of Kahului and just a bit up the road from the lovely town of Wailuku. It was a rainy day but our visit to the Iao Valley was still quite wonderful and impressive. Named Iao "Supreme Light" by the ancient people of Maui, this area remains sacred to the Hawaiian people.
In the center of the valley is "The Needle", a pillar of stone rising over 1200 feet from the ground and over 2250 feet above sea level.
As we exited the Iao Valley State Park, we made a brief stop at Kepaniwai Park and Heritage Gardens. The Japanese gardens at this location are very impressive.
Heading back to Wailuku, we stopped at the Bailey House, a museum featuring many historical and cultural artifacts. We'll be doing a detailed feature on the Bailey House later this year. If you ever get to this museum, be sure to check out the gift shop and their excellent book selection.
After our stop at the Bailey House we took a brief walk through the neighboring area in Wailuku, including such places at the Kaahumanu Church, the oldest existing stone church on Maui. Be sure to visit these many interesting places in Central Maui.
From Wailuku it was the long ride back to Kaanapali where we picked up my father who had been resting from his 14 hour trip from New Jersey.
Our initial intention for our late afternoon ride was to drive north to Kapalua and then return home. In reality, as we drove past Kapalua we found ourselves amazed by the beauty of the coastline north and east of Kapalua and before too long we found ourselves on the narrow one lane road around the northern tip of west Maui.
The drive around this part of the island was at once both exhilarating and quite scary but we all agreed that it was well worth the experience. We are very glad that we made the two hour drive which ended up bringing us back to Kahului. As much as we enjoyed this trek, be warned it is somewhat dangerous and should never be attempted after dark.
On our way back to Kaanapali, we stopped at Buzz's Wharf Restaurant in Maalaea for a wonderful dinner. From there it was back to our condo just in time to catch the last couple of hours of The Oscars. As a big fan of the movie "Titanic" and its star Kate Winslet, I was delighted by how well "Titanic" did - (11 Oscars) but sad that Kate did not win in her category.
Tomorrow, it's an early morning visit to the Whale Center of the Pacific at the Whaler's Village in Kaanapali, a noontime whale watching cruise and a late afternoon visit to the historical town of Lahaina. See you tomorrow.
