Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands with the Big Island of Hawaii the largest. This is my favorite island. There is so much to see and do. It is a destination for many honeymooners, rightfully so. It is also a place to get married.
It is called “The Valley Isle,” as there is a large valley between two dormant volcanos. It has a rich history of Polynesians coming here in waves about a thousand years ago. I recommend, if you are ever in the mood, to read James Michener’s “Hawaii.” The book really does give you a feel for the islands.
The first white men here were the British. The Hawaiian flag reflects that history. Whalers, missionaries and settlers came. There is an old house in Lahaina, the Baldwin home, that dates back to 1834. Dwight Baldwin and his sons would start the pineapple industry on Maui.
A Sugar Mill is still in operation here. It is one of Maui’s top industries. Burning the sugar cane fields is very common.
Tourism is the second largest industry bringing over two million tourists yearly. A popular way for many is seeing the islands is by a cruise ship. We don’t prefer this way as you lose out on seeing the entire island and meeting people on each island.
In brief, people live today in various areas of Maui. It is a large island. If you like “the dry side,” you stay in the Kihei and Wailea area. On one of our morning exploration walks on the coastal walk between Four Seasons and the Fairmont, we met a woman named Mary. She is moving to Maui from North Carolina and had just purchased a 700 square foot foreclosed condo in Kihei for over $335K.
If you like the cool mountain area, you live in “Upcountry.” Plenty of people love the Ka’anapali beach area and close by is the historic town of Lahaina. We always stay in Lahaina.
If you want to be away from it all, you live in Hana. It takes over two hours to travel from Lahaina, shorter if you’re a local since you know how fast you can go, crossing over 59 unforgiving one lane bridges and 617 hair-pin curves. The road has improved, but those bridges remain. Charles Lindberg found peace and solitude right outside of Hana. He is buried along this cliff facing east to the rising sun.
Most of the locals live in Kahului where prices are a bit more reasonable. It is very common that many people work two to three jobs to support themselves. You may have breakfast at a resort, and see your same waitress/waiter at another for dinner.
The airport is here is known as OGG on the ticket. It is also the area of Costco, K-Mart, Target and Walmart. We were given advice from a local as to when the best time was to travel to Costco? You would think it would be early in the morning, nope; it is between 5:00-7:00 PM when all the tourists are back in their vacation spots.
Haleakala National Park is a wonderful 10,023 foot drive to “The House of the Sun.” Along the way you may see the elusive Hawaiian goose, the Nene. We have never seen them here, but they are around. Many people come up for sunrise or sunset. We just come up when the mood strikes. Most of the time it has wonderful views and you are guaranteed to be cold, real cold.
There is a plant called “Silverword.” A rare plant that blooms once in fifty years. It only grows at this attitude. I read that someone from NJ tried to steal one in their bag. There is a huge fine if you even touch one.
The Hawaiian language can be daunting at first. There are but 13 letters, five vowels and eight consonants. We try to remember the first four letters and go from there. We think “siri” has trouble pronouncing this language too. Not all words are long. One of the clerks at our resort is called “Kai,” meaning ‘ocean.’ My favorite word is for the Trigger Fish, “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. If you only know two Hawaiian words, they would be “Mahalo,” for ‘thank you,’ and “Aloha” for greeting someone coming or going.
