Today we decided to go to a part of the island that James & I had not seen. There is the latest lava field on Maui – the explosion happened in 1790. Before we left, James made some pictures of our Bed and Breakfast. We have really enjoyed being there. Tom said that he really liked it better than the Hilton because it was so “cozy and quiet.” He also really liked Penny – she was absolutely great – so knowledgeable about the history of the island and things we should see. If anybody plans a trip to Maui in the near future, we really recommend her B&B. You can see that the B&B had nice rooms, a great “quiet place” for reading and a wonderful “breakfast area.” At the front of the B&B are a couple of large hibiscus bushes. As you can see from the picture, they were in full bloom and the blooms are HUGE! We headed toward the lava field and, on the way, we saw large sugar cane fields. These fields are owned by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company. One of the key projects of the company’s founders was the construction of the irrigation system that brings mountain water from the rainy slopes of East Maui to the Island’s arid central saddle lands. This system has over 84 miles of tunnels and ditches (the largest privately owned water system in the U.S. It delivers an average of 165 million gallons of mountain water per day to the cane fields. About 20,000 of Maui residents and farmers are also supplied with water from this system. As we went further toward the lava field we saw a sign about a “white sand beach.” Although the sand is certainly “white” compared to the other beaches on Maui, it is still more the color of our “brown sand” and doesn’t compare to the white sand of the Gulf. We are so fortunate! Driving through the lava field we saw signs about the area being closed and some indication that the area had been used by military “ordnance.” When we got to the dead end – a beach at LaPerouse Bay, we talked with a park ranger. I asked if the lava was torn and ragged due to ordnance explosions. She explained that it was the “type” of lava. She said that this type lava cooled from the top down and since the lava was still hot underneath the top, it pushed the lava up in the jagged forms that we saw everywhere. On the way back, we realized we were in a very exclusive part of Maui. The area was the coast of Wailea and we saw a “Fairmont” Hotel. I knew it was exclusive and after we got back to the room I went to their web site to find out their prices. At that time their “best available” rate was $459 per night! EXCLUSIVE AND EXPENSIVE! We also saw a sign advertising “luxury building sites.” We rode through the development and learned the lot prices BEGIN at $1,250,000. The lot plat indicated most of the lots on the “beach side” were sold and some of the lots “across the road” from the beach had sold. We assumed that the “beach side” lots were even more than $1,250,000. WOW! As we got back on the road, we saw a beautiful hedge of hibiscus. We just continue to see such beautiful flowers on the Hawaiian Islands. We headed back to Lahaina and made some pictures of the beach near our B&B. Also, there was a large plumerias tree beside our B&B. Those blooms are used to make the beautiful leis that you often receive while on the island. After we rested for a while James and I went to the see the large sea turtles that we learned came to the shore at our B&B late in the afternoon to feed. We didn’t see turtles but we did see another beautiful sunset. James, Tom, Carolyn and I went to eat in downtown Lahania and did some last minute shopping. I think that James and Tom were really craving ice cream and then later James tried to go for a ride with Fred Flintstone. After we walked through the town for the last time, we headed back to the B&B where we made some pictures in the back yard. James kept staring at that tree figure to determine if there was a resemblance! We also knew that the bananas we had for breakfast came from a tree in the back yard and we found the large “bunch” hanging on the back porch. Tomorrow is our last day and, while we are ready to head home, we have really enjoyed every minute of this trip.
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