Hawaii
November 5-28, 2011
hawaii - november 13
South Maui, Lahaina, and the Luau
Lahaina
Lahaina means 'cruel sun'. Accoding to a legend, there was a chief named Hua manay generations ago who, in a huff, killed all his priests. Drought soon followed , and villagers referred to the area as the land of the cruel sun. Today, the non-stop sunshine brings in tourists from all over the world.
Luckily we arrived fairly early in the day and were able to get decent parking. We walked around Lahaina a bit, checking out the famous Banyan tree in the town park, walking along the waterfront, and checking out some of the shops.
A chicken family out for a walk in Lahaina.
The park at Lahaina is known for it's giant Banyan tree (yes, this is all one tree with lots of aerial roots that have dropped to make supporting trunks!).
The kids along the shore... in the background you can see the 22-ton steel hull sailboat named the Dolfijn washed up on the reef.
It got there after an unexpected Halloween swee in 2004 shook it from its sand anchor.
We watched these little black crabs darting about the rocks for a while.
There were also these little sand crabs.
Back to civilization and about to spend the evening in close proximity to other guests at a luau,
we went to use the shower facilities at the Lahain aquatic center.
Although the kids weren't familiar with Fred, they still liked this little display.
The kids get chummy with a captain.
Christopher checking out some Hawaiian tunes.
Back under the shade of the Banyan tree.
Oldest Pacific Lighthouse. This was the first light house in the Hawaiian Islands and pre-dates any lighthouse on the US Pacific coast. In 1840 King Kamehameha III ordered a 9-foot wooden tower built to aid navigation for whaling ships. The Hawaiian caretaker who kept the whale oil lamps burning at night was paid $20 per year. The present concrete structure was dedicated by the US coast guard in 1916.
Lots of boats moored in Lahaina.
An icecream stop in Lahaina sponsored by Grandma and Grandpa.
Mmmm... thanks grandma and grandpa! :)
A view of the waterfront in Lahaina.
A couple was collecting stuff among the rocks... turns out they were collecting sea glass to make jewellery.
Lots of shops in Lahaina.
And lots of restaurants too.
Wo Hing Museum.
Jewellery made of recycled materials seems to be quite in... this necklace was made of driftwood pieces.
Rubby wanted to get this shirt... :P
The Historic Balwin Museum - the oldest house on the island. (1834)
The kids loved these 'wind spinners'.
The ancient Hawaiian name for Lahaina was Lele, which means "to leap" and "to disembark" as from a canoe.
The islands offshore Maui (lana'i and Moloka'i) along with Maui itself provide a relatively calm channel for safely anchoring boats.
Before heading to the luau, we killed some time at the mall across the street where they had an ice sculpture display.
Who would have thought we'd come all the way from Ottawa Canada to Hawaii to see ice sculptures?!
[ South Maui | Lahaina | Luau ]
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