Lahaina, Maui
4 mins read

Lahaina, Maui








An article from Traveling Pat!

Patricia is a regular contributor. She has an adventurous spirit with a love for
travel. Follow along with Pat as her
journey takes her around the world.

 

Today Patricia’s travels take her to Hawaii!!

Enjoy!

Wendy Irene

 

Lahaina, Maui

Floating along in our gi-normous
white 96 Cadi, tropical air blowing in our faces,
excitedly we made our way toward Lahaina. On one side the ocean sparkled brightly, car
pullouts appear here and there, a perfect view stop for the tourists keen to
see a glimpse of whales or have a good look at distant islands. On the mountain
side an ancient lava rock wall defines the old road to Lahaina,
inviting us to drift back in time and imagine what it must have been like for
the old Japanese fellow who travelled daily from Wailuku with his truck loaded
with produce. Quite the journey on a
rough road with the dust trailing behind and air conditioning still a thing of
the future.

Lahaina,
once a whaler’s village, still retains the flavor of
days past. After poking through the shops we climb up to the Cool Cat Café, a
50s themed diner where we luck out with a perfect view seat enabling us to not
only see the water but also to gaze down at the gigantic banyan tree that shades
the always interesting weekly local arts and crafts bazaar.

Next off we go to one of my favorite beaches at the Kahekili Beach Park. We wind our way on our sea- side
ramble past the luxury open-air hotels, and past all the ensuing action along
the way. Talk about lots of things to
do! We pass windsurfing lessons, condo
sellers, water sliders, bathing beauties, exercisers, massage therapists,
paddle boarders, scuba divers, snorkelers, golfers, (breathe Pat) whale
watchers, sun bathers, divers, walkers, shoppers, and runners. The area tries
so hard to cater to their guests that they even have (cough cough) outside
designated smoking areas. I had a twinge as I ambled past the castaway café
wishing maybe I had waited a bit longer and eaten my lunch there feeling the
ocean breeze and relaxing by the water.
We end up at the Hyatt hotel and pay our respects to Roger the resident
Parrot, procure a wave from him and make our way back to the park. Back in the Cadi
fed up, shopped out and exercised nicely we head home. Another fabulous day in
Maui.

KOOL TIME UPCOUNTRY MAUI

Self imposed
mandatory walk complete, next on the agenda is an excursion upcountry to Kula
Lodge. It is 3000 feet in elevation in a lovely garden setting. I have to admit
though, I felt a bit chilly way up there. However it’s a neat place with a restaurant,
chalets, a nifty market place and an art gallery featuring local artist Curtis
Wilson.

Onward and upward we
go and on impulse turn and head to the Alii Kula
Lavender farm. It’s nestled on the
slopes of the Haleakala Crater and if I thought it was getting nippy before,
add 1000 more feet and my first thought was to rush straight to the gift store
and buy a sweatshirt. Alas all they had
for sale was every kind of lavender gift you could think of (they grow 45
different varieties) plus an enticing lavender and scone tea. In my mind it is
a pretty “cool” spot to see.

Finally, we wind our way along the narrow road toward our
last stop, the Tedeschi winery. This time we lose some elevation, now we are
down to 2000 feet and all thoughts of buying warmer clothing have vanished from
my mind. The air-conditioning comes back
on and we drive through astonishingly pretty green hills reminiscent of parts
of England. The views are almost too
spectacular because with that big ol car of ours too
much gawking at the view can be a dangerous thing! Anyway bellied up to the bar for the free
wine samples, we tasted a refreshing chardonnay, a fruity red blend and their
unique pineapple wine. Happy as heck we
head home.

An hour later we are
sitting on the ocean shore, glass in hand enjoying the Maui sunset and
congratulating ourselves for being so clever as to choose to come to Maui for a
vacation.

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