4 Oct 2010 - Monday

4 Oct – Monday
The forecast for today was that the skies would clear and it would be a beautiful day so we decided to drive to Haleakala National Park, site of the volcano crater. James and I had been before and it is absolutely beautiful. The last eruption of this volcano was approximately in 1790 and the crater it created is awesome. The colors are so strong and the formations are beautiful. As we left Lahaina and headed on the Kuihelani Highway we spotted numerous sugar cane fields. There was a monument recognizing the contribution of the Norwegian ship that, in 1861, brought over 600 Swedes, Norwegians and Danes to work in the sugar fields. We found it interesting that as beautiful as the islands are, it is necessary to irrigate the sugar fields due to lack of rain. That is when we learned that the Lahaina side of Maui is very dry and usually has 10 months with only minimal rain. Once we turned off Haleakala Highway onto Crater Road, we saw clouds up the side of the volcano but we knew that is not unusual. Normally you can get above the clouds and it is even prettier. James just had to get a picture of the sign on the road that warned of ice on the road. That seemed weird since the temperature in Lahaina was approximately 85. Once we got to the top, we believed the sign was possible – we were in the middle of the clouds and the wind was really blowing. It was wet and COLD! Also, since we were in the clouds, we were unable to see anything in the crater. I made copies of pictures to remind us of what we COULD have seen! On the way down we stopped at the ranger station and made pictures of a display of native plants. Here we learned that Hawaii is the Endangered Species Capital of the World. In addition to more than 100 extinct plants, there are 100s of plants and animals listed as endangered or threatened. There are more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on the planet. We did see a “thicket” of Painted Bark Eucalyptus trees. They are very unusual because their “bark” has peeled off and the underlining tree appears to have various colors painted on it.
We came down the crater road and found a roadside market with a huge trumpet tree and a beautiful hedge. Then we headed to find the lavender farm and the Tedeschi Winery. How I wished we had our GPS. After riding for over an hour we gave up! The directions on the pamphlet were not clear and we were unable to locate the road given for the address. Oh well, that just gives us something to come back to see!
We headed to Lahaina and James and Tom spotted a lighthouse. We pulled off the side of the road onto a narrow graveled area and they walked around to the lighthouse. James was really disappointed to find that it was solar powered rather than the older type. He doesn’t really care for modern progress! They did get a good picture of the shoreline near Lahaina from the lighthouse overlook. We found a marker which recognized the whales that come by Maui each year. Penny had told us that the water was shallow between Maui and the other island (just beside Lahaina) and that each year in January – February timeframe the whales come in large numbers on their way toward Alaska. We really would like to come back during that period to have the opportunity to see them. By this time we were really hungry and headed to Lahaina. We ate at Bubba Gump’s and the food was excellent and the sundown from their open-air restaurant was beautiful. Afterwards we made a picture of James with the “shrimp” which was a live person in costume and a picture of him with a sailor friend. We also sat on the bench with Forrest Gump’s suitcase and chocolate box. Carolyn reminded us that Forrest Gump was quoted as saying, “Mother said “life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you will get.” HOW TRUE! Well today, we got another great day.