It took some searching, but to get there, I found a reasonably priced travel package from San Francisco to Maui, and then used frequent flyer miles to get myself from Ohio to San Francisco. A cousin of mine joined me for the first leg of the trip, and we arrived just before sunset feeling very fatigued and jet lagged. The hotel was clean and nice, not luxurious, which was perfect for my needs. I was struck by the 1970’s vibe of the place, but it was unclear if that was because Hawaii gained a huge tourist following around that time, and many hotels and tourist facilities were built then, or if the 1970s borrowed a lot from Hawaii because it became accessible. In any case, the hotel was welcoming, with a cove out in front. We arrived on time to see the sunset and a ritual being performed in the ocean. We were never clear if it was a baptism or a wedding between two men, which at the time was not legal in many states except Hawaii. We managed to find some food and drink before falling asleep.
Because we were still piecing together our time zone, we were up before dawn and started our trip with a lovely, multi-hued sunrise. The language was unfamiliar, and many of the words–beginning with Ha and including long strings of letters with some apostrophes–seemed the same, so we kept missing streets because we would only notice the different ending when it was too late to make a turn. Nevertheless, we drove around the island without an accident and took in its beauty, the surfers and bougainvillea, all before breakfast.
For that, we went into Lahaina, a historic town that had been the royal capital. As part of our travel deal, we were required to sit through a sales pitch for tourism packages. It was without pain, featured a generous breakfast, and allowed us to meet a few other folks. We decided to purchase tickets to a luau for that evening. We knew it would be a tourist trap, but because it was not something we could arrange on our own, it seemed like a good thing to do early in the trip.
We spent the bulk of the day wandering Lahaina. The courthouse features a banyan tree well into its second century. Planted in 1873, it could swallow humans up. The courthouse has a small museum about Maui, including artifacts from its days as the seat of royalty. We browsed through the stores and bought some gifts for friends back home. I still have a gorgeous necklace I bought there in blue and white seed pearl that is a jewelry staple. Lahaina also has a relatively busy harbor (compared to the quiet beaches ringing the island), but overall, we were adjusting to a slower pace, sun and beauty.
We toured Baldwin House, a well preserved historic home. Dr. Baldwin and his wife arrived as missionaries in the 1830’s. He practiced medicine and she ran a school and raised their six kids. The tour was excellent and the home worth seeing. It included an 1859 Steinway piano, which was brought out from the mainland at some point and survived all these decades in the tropics. Despite being missionaries, the Baldwins were pretty accepting of other faiths, and one of their daughters returned from her travels as a Baha’i and introduced it to Hawaii.
Maui is centrally located among the Hawaiian islands, and we tried to get our bearings while peering out at other islands as we wandered Lahaina.
That evening, we headed to the luau, where they roasted a pig and offered hula dancing meant to demonstrate a bit of Hawaiian and Tahitian history and culture. The music was alternately soothing and invigorating. Some pieces featured one or two members of the cast while others were big, pulsating floor shows. In all, it was well done and respectful despite being designed for the tourist crowd. The food was also gorgeous. Between the full bellies, soothing music, and jet lag, I was pleasantly surprised that we stayed awake until the end and navigated our way back to our hotel. It had been a great first day.
