Hello Friends and Family,

1981 - Maui, the Valley Isle, part 1

Link to this year's index by clicking here.

Once I discovered my love of Hawai‘i, the challenge was deciding which island to visit. Maui was (and still is) my favorite. But I also realized that if I only visited Maui, I felt so depressed when it was time to return to the mainland. Thus, I began visiting Maui and one other island — Maui for the longer stay and the second island for a briefer stay. No more depression. 😎

So here we are, back at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel, welcomed by the giant ki‘i.


As I mentioned last week, all the resorts are lavishly planted with tropical plants, many flowering, many with perfume-like aromas. By now, most of you probably recognize this plumeria tree — whose blossoms are frequently found in flower leis.


This bougainvillea could be in Arizona but I guarantee this one is on Maui. These plants with their colorful bracts (actually modified leaves near the end of a branch). Bougainvillea bracts come in many colors — including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. I have even seen a combination of white and pink on my morning walking path here in Arizona.


Ka‘anapali Beach also features a small shopping and dining center called Whaler's Village. This skeleton of a Sperm whale serves as the visual signage inviting you to come park (validations available from any of the businesses), shop, and eat here. The center includes a museum with artifacts from the days when whaling was at its peak.

I would like to recommend one restaurant here — Leilani's On the Beach, one level on and another just above the beach. The interior is decorated with huge paintings by Pegge Hopper, my favorite Hawaiiana artist (I have her serigraph entitled "Kui Lei" mounted over my fireplace at home). But the real treat here is one I've mentioned before — Hula Pie. From their website, "Hula Pie is made with our favorite macadamia nut ice cream stacked high on a scrumptious chocolate cookie crust. A layer of cool chocolate fudge sits atop the ice cream giving form to this delight. Whipped cream dances at its base before decadent, hot chocolate fudge is poured over the top and drizzled to each side. Finally, more toasted macadamia nuts fall and cling to the hot fudge bringing together everything your taste buds need for a vacation."


While you are enjoying your Hula Pie at Leilani's, look out over the ocean to view a variety of sailing vessels and the island of Lana‘i (formerly "the Pineapple Isle"). Life doesn't get any better than this.


This photo reminds me of two things about Ka‘anapali Beach — first, is how few people were vacationing here in the early days of my visits — there are a lot more tourists now (or at least before Covid). Secondly, do you see that high-rise condo just at the left edge of the photo? When people ask me where to stay on Maui, I always recommend not staying at Ka‘anapali. I'm sorry but if I'm swimming in the ocean, I don't want to look back at high-rise city up and down the beach. That ain't "paradise" to me. It looks like downtown in any American city.


I do like Black Rock where the Sheraton is situated. From the web, "The Hawai’ian name for Black Rock is Pu’u Keka’a, and ancient Hawaiians believed that this was the place where their spirits went to jump off to join ancestors forever. Unlucky souls who could not be shown the way by their family ‘aumakua (guardian animal spirit), would wander and attach themselves to rocks in the area. This is likely where the 'it is bad luck to take a Hawai’ian lava rock' superstition comes from."


This is the other side of Black Rock. Looks picturesque but it can be dangerous when the surf is up.


And here's my little tourist shop in Lahaina. Just kidding — but easy for me to think of it that way.


You can tell that these are old photos — just look at the age of the cars. A little automotive tidbit to help you pass as a kama‘aina (long-term resident of Hawai‘i). Look closely at the license plates. If your eyes and your monitor are good enough, you will note that most of the license places begin with the letter M (as in "Maui"). That was true when I first started visiting the islands. Similarly, cars registered on Hawai'i (the Big Island) — their plates began with the letter "H". "K" was for Kaua‘i and anything else was from O‘ahu.


Over time they ran out of combinations using those rules. Now Honolulu County uses first letters A, B, C, E, F, N, T, W, and X; Hawai‘i County uses H and Z; Maui County uses M and L; and Kaua‘i County uses K. Note the one car right of center — its license plate begins with a "B" — must have been registered on O‘ahu.

Just to add to the confusion, most rental cars are registered on O‘ahu — so those plates follow the convention of Honolulu County.


Here we see a nice portrait of the famous Pioneer Inn. You may recall it was in business here in the times of Mark Twain — with the tale that he stayed here and is said to have sat on the upper lanai watching the whaling ships come in.


Here we see the Pioneer Inn from another side. The foliage to the left is that of the famous Banyan Tree in Lahaina. You can also spot sailing boats anchored in the ocean and the rigging of the Carthaginian, just beyond the Pioneer Inn.


From Front Street, one can get a better view of the Carthaginian. As you may recall, eventually it became too expensive to continually repair and was towed out to sea and scuttled — to become a destination for scuba divers. BTW, if you would like to see an even nicer photo of this same ship — just click here.


Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com