Impressions of Maui

What better way is there to spend your fiftieth birthday than in the fiftieth state?

Our time share at the Diamond Resorts' Ka'anapali Beach Club was a commodious two bedroom suite with an ocean view from the fourth floor. We knew this resort three years ago as The Embassy Vacation Resort/Club Sunterra. In the distance were the pale blue islands of Lanai and Molakai and sometimes a cruise ship. The resort had a well-stocked koi pond. The kids liked the pool and slide. There were frequent humpback whale breaching exhibitions-- rising out of the water thirty feet or more and then splashing down hard. Over the reef were three orange buoys, marking the location of a riptide. When we were there last time, a 47 year-old California man drowned in that area. While I was snorkling there, I observed and felt the dramatic, deadly undertow out into the Pacific by the current. Shorebreaks, man of wars, sun-burn, and sharp rocks and corals provided other opportunities for pain.

In our drawer in our condo was The Holy Bible and The Teachings of Buddha. We enjoyed the Lahaina Baptist Church "Where we passionately proclaim the truth of Christ with Aloha" on Sunday.

Maui is expensive. Gas averaged almost four dollars a gallon (the highest in the nation) and two pecent milk at Cosco was $5.87 including a dime for tax, and the Sunday New York Times cost $7.75. However, there are ways to mitigate expenses. The cost of lodging for our ten days totaled $116.42. However, the upfront expense for a timeshare is steep. In Marriott's Maui Ocean Club in Maui, a two bedroom ocean front timeshare for one week costs $73,200 with an annual $1,715 maintenance fee. We try to fit in a timeshare presentation or two on down days to get some walking-around money, in our case, at Marriott and Wyndham. Comparison shopping pays off by going online for airline tickets. For a family of four, we paid $1,866.08 through expedia for a flight from Phoenix to Kahului. We also paid $428.65 for a SUV to Alamo, an upgrade from a midsized car at $277.03. The malls are awash in coupon books, such as Spotlight's Maui Gold. Boss Frog's Dive & Surf provided two sets of snorkeling gear for the week at $9.38. We avoid gift shops and alternatively shop at Cosco or Safeway, where the locals shop. Native fruits and vegetables are cheap, nutritious, and delicious. Finally, we try not to let those who have an axe to grid shape our consumer decisions. We saved about $500 by driving the 58 mile trip to Hana ourselves rather than hiring a van and another $500 by comparison shopping for the Air Maui helicopter trip. We got internet access for ten bucks by getting a library card to the Lahina library.

While the kids were in the library, I took a two hour walking trip around old Lahina, observing the following: The Masters' reading Room, from 1834. The Baldwin Home, occupied from the 1830s to the 1860s, with many pieces or original furniture and antiques. My boy and I went into that museum. Kamehameha III's Taro Patch, now the grounds of the library built in 1955. The Brick Palace, actually now just a brick border, of the residence of Kamehameha I. The Pioneer Inn, from 1901. The Banyan Tree, planted in 1873, sixty feet high, and casting shade on two-thirds of an acre. The Courthouse from 1859. Remains of the fort, built after some angry sailors lobbed cannonballs at the homes of Protestant missionaries who objected to native women visiting whaling ships. The Episcopal Church, 1927, Waiola Church, 1828, and the Waiola Churchyard, filled with the dust of royalty, seamen, and missionaries. The Wo Hing Musuem on Front Street from the 1900s was especially interesting, with Edison movies from 1898 and 1906 playing in the tin-roofed cook house. It was affiliated with the Chee Kung Tong, a Chinese fraternal society.

Scribbled on a wall in Lahina: "YWH. Please bless all the poles and bums, vagabonds, cliffs, clydes, and misfits through JC."

Especially in the whaling village of Lahina, the missionary impact is evident in what was once known as the Sandwich Islands. I visited the Reverand Dwight Baldwin home, circa 1830, and also observed the gravesites of many early missionaries and their children. (Esther Stephenson, Jan 15, 1922 - Jun 30, 1923 "Gone to be an angel".) The Hawaiians say that missionaries came to do good and ended up doing well. And it is true that much of the land and commerce ended up in the hands of the descendents of missionaries. Death and disease, the erosion of the native culture, and a legacy of poverty are among some of the consequences of missionaries and westernization generally. However, I believe the missionaries net impact has been good, by introducing literacy, medicine, and western jurisprudence. In contrast to the immorality of the whalers of the 19th century, the ethical influence of missionaries was mostly positive. In time, they influenced the Hawaiian royalty and with their diplomatic skills they also protected the island kingdom from colonization from Europe and Asia.

Restaurants I recommend in no particular order: Pacific reef cusine at Leilani's in Whalers Village, burgers at Hard Rock Cafe or Cool Cats, Japanese at Kobe, and breakfast (macademia pancakes with coconut syrup) at The Gazebo.

Overrrated: Driving to Haleakala Crater (chances are that you will be in clouds), driving the entire road to Hana to the Seven Sacred Pools of the Oheo Gulch (it's awesome, but so are the waterfalls and bamboo forests at mile marker two, and the road gets especially worrysome just before Hana.)

Hawaiians like their vowels. Our resort for example was on L hoanoao'ilani Road.

What is better than munching dry roasted macademias while listening to Don Ho's Tiny Bubbles ("in the wine/makes me feel happy/makes me feel fine") after snorkeling off Ka'anapali's Black Rock near the Sheraton where we saw glittering schools of Long Nose Butterflies and an occasional Trumpet Fish dart past lethargic Giant Sea Turtles? Of course, we were on Maui time-- no hurry, no worry, and hanging loose.

Outside the Copy Cat restaurant in Lahina where I had a "Luna" burger stood a long-haired, bearded native Hawaiian who ranted at us and other tourists from under the one hundred and thirty year old Banyan Tree . Much of what he said was to me incoherant screeching. But I was able to make this out. "Americans, stay out of our scenic land. You're causing spiritual damage." While most people are friendly, there is also a more radical element-- folks who glower at you when you say "Aloha" and aggressively tail gate you on the Hana adventure. Here is characteristic sentiment that I pulled from a website http://www.freehawaii.info/ that I saw posted on a stop sign in Hana. "Imagine living next to a beautiful black sands beach, a place you’ve lived your entire life. Nature is at your door. The ocean, the beach, endangered turtles use the area coming ashore to breed. Now also imagine tour buses pulling up next to your home and bringing one thousand tourists a day. That’s right, one thousand tourists every single day. Tourists who harass the turtles, steal the sand for souvenirs, leave litter, and behave obnoxiously. How would you like to put up with that every day of your life?" There is without doubt an ugly American aspect in Hawaii. However, there is also strong environmental consciousnessness and cultural appreciation as well from many mainlanders. I especially liked the music and hula dancing, and was struck by how organic it was with the nature that surrounds them-- the swaying palms, drifting clouds, and surging surf matching the harmony of their native music and dance and their own attractiveness.

We had a wonderful time in Maui and plan to return.