Hawaii Diary
Thursday, March 26 - Maui Ocean Center and Luau
What was supposed to be a day of rest was quite busy indeed. In the morning Eileen and I had a wonderful visit to the newly opened Maui Ocean Center. This new center rivals the National Aquarium in Baltimore as one of the finest we have seen.
Your visit to the Maui Ocean Center begins with The Living Reef where you walk through the various regions of a reef and learn about the many and varied creatures that make the reef their home. Don't miss those moray eels.
When you exit The Living Reef you find yourself in an outdoor courtyard which features such exhibits as Turtle Lagoon, a Touch Pool, and the Sting Ray Cove.
You then enter into the Whale Discovery Center which is a very interactive means of learning about the humpback whales which spend the winter in Hawaii. Following the Whale Center you find an exhibit detailing the importance of the ocean and sea life to the ancient Hawaiians.
You also find a wonderful exhibit of jellyfish which has just the perfect light to examine these beautiful and graceful creatures.
The final exhibit takes you past the largest tank in the aquarium and then through a clear acrylic tunnel where the creatures of the ocean swim on all sides of you.
After a brief stop in their fine gift shop we proceeded back to our home base with a brief stop in Lahaina to visit the Baldwin Home on Front Street which had been closed when we were in Lahaina a couple of days ago. We'll be doing a multi-part feature on the historical places of Lahaina later this year.
This afternoon did allow us some time to rest, soak in some of the Maui sun and prepare for the evening.
Our evening was spent at the Old Lahaina Lu'au which is located on Front Street in Lahaina. This is the lu'au honored by the Hawaii Visitors Bureau with their "Kahili Award" for the perpetration of Hawaiian culture. It has also been voted the best lu'au by the residents of Maui.
Unlike many others, this lu'au really focuses on Hawaii. Others include much more about the other Polynesian nations, but if you want to experience a lu'au with a more Hawaiian flavor, this is the one for you. The Old Lahaina Lu'au will be moving to their new location in April. From what we can see from the street their new location looks very exciting.
We'll it's getting late and we're off to Hana tomorrow which means that we will be getting up early and getting home late. Stop by and read our report on our trip to Hana.
