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Maui, then and now
Maui has sprouted condos and hotels since the couple honeymooned there 40 years ago, but its natural grandeur and friendly people still claim it as the "Best Island in the World.''
By JIM PATTERSON 1961: In Lahaina, we had been told about a wonderful, secluded beach just up the road on Maui's western shore. Driving through pineapple fields and down red clay roads, we came to Kaanapali beach. The only living things we saw were some whales, breaching just below a high, rocky hill. This was one of the high points of our honeymoon. 2001: Forty years ago, that sacred Hawaiian hill known as Pu'u Keka'a (Black Rock) was scheduled for development as a new hotel, a cause for alarm in then-sleepy Maui. It got built anyway, the Sheraton Maui, and it was to this recently renovated hotel that I took my wife, Betty, this year for a surprise celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. 1961: We honeymooned on Maui because we were living in Honolulu when we became engaged. Betty was a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and I was a special agent for the Army's Counterintelligence Corps. We could barely afford a one-night honeymoon in Waikiki, even then Honolulu's famed beach resort. But we queried magazines to hire us for a story about where newlyweds who already live in paradise go for their honeymoon. Modern Bride magazine assigned us the story, chose Maui as our destination and made air, hotel and car rental arrangements. We arrived for our honeymoon with camera and tripod. 2001: The modern terminal at Kahului Airport is a far cry from the open shed in a cane field that we remembered from four decades earlier. The huge terminal now receives direct flights from the mainland, including our grueling, eight-hour trip from Dallas-Fort Worth. Instead of the pink Jeep with a surrey top, arranged by Modern Bride in '61 (it was good for photos, terrible in the rain), we rented a midsize sedan and soon discovered one thing that has not changed much in 40 years: Maui's road system. Broader shoulders and bicycle paths are improvements, but they are largely offset by the tremendous increase in vehicles. The drive from the airport to Lahaina on the west Maui shore is virtually bumper-to-bumper most of the day.
The original Sheraton Black Rock Hotel was unusual in that its lobby was at the summit of that sacred hill and guests would ride an elevator down to their rooms, built into the side of the cliff. Today's Sheraton Maui has expanded, with new buildings and a new lobby. Our "new" room was in one of three buildings perched on the cliff close to where we watched whales cavort in 1961. The view from our lanai was a sweeping panorama of the water called Lahaina Roads, with the islands of Molokai and Lana'i on the horizon. And yes, we again got to see near-constant activity of humpback whales. They migrate from Alaska to these warm waters each year from December to early May to bear their calves, then feed and fatten up the babies for the trip back to Alaskan waters. Whale-watching cruises are abundant along the Kaanapali coast, with guarantees of whale sightings, but we got seven days and nights of incomparable views from our oceanfront patio. Nearly a dozen major hotels and resorts line the once-deserted Kaanapali coast, flanked by the beautifully landscaped fairways and greens of Kaanapali Golf Course. In the heart of Kaanapali is Whalers Village, an upscale center with excellent restaurants, a first-rate whalers museum and exquisite shops. The spouting of whales was not the only sound effect around Kaanapali in 1961. Somewhere deep in the high cane was the distinctive "chuff" of a narrow-gauge steam train, hauling harvested cane to the Pioneer Mill in Lahaina. Today, the Lahaina, Kaanapali and Pacific Railroad still travels those 3-foot-wide tracks, now pulling the Sugar Cane Train for tourists, from Lahaina to Kaanapali. Making many trips a day, this train's exhaust noises and chime whistle add a note of nostalgia to the resort atmosphere. Lahaina was once the capital of ancient Hawaii. Protestant missionaries came here in the early 1800s, almost simultaneously with the arrival of the first New England whaling ships. Missionaries, whalers and Hawaiian government officials lived an uneasy peace in the early 19th century, with ship captains being entertained in missionary drawing rooms while their crew members drank and caroused in the waterfront grog shops. Modern Lahaina still has its grog shops and restaurants sprinkled among the historic buildings. By the giant banyan tree (planted in 1870 and now spreading across a city block) is the old courthouse, which contains an excellent, nonprofit art gallery and the Lahaina Visitor Center. A booklet with a self-guided walking tour of 31 historic sites is available at the Visitor Center.
Above Lahaina town, on the slopes of the mountain, is Lahainaluna, said to be the oldest high school west of the Rockies. The printing house on campus is now a museum with fascinating exhibits showing how the missionaries codified the Hawaiian language and published the first Hawaiian textbooks, Bibles and newspapers. The luau represents one of the highest forms of island entertainment, with feasting, songs and traditional hula. Having attended many wonderful luaus through the years, we looked for something different and found it in Lahaina's Feast of Lele. Unlike buffet-style tourist luaus, the Feast of Lele features private table seating, with two waiters to a table. After the welcoming orchid lei and mai tai cocktail, guests enjoy a lavish dinner by chef James McDonald in a gorgeous beachside setting.
Each course features the food of a different island group: Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti and Samoa. As each course is served, the Lele troupe performs dances of that island group, ending with a spectacular Samoan fire dance.
Maui's larger land mass is dominated by Haleakala, the 10,023-foot dormant volcano. The upcountry slopes of Haleakala are a vast quilt of ranches, farms and villages. On our last day, we drove upcountry with a stop in Makawao, a tiny cow town (literally) with false-front buildings and a main street festooned with electricity and telephone wires. The streets are paved in Makawao now, and the old buildings are filled with upscale galleries and shops. Paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) still people the streets of Makawao, but they arrive in pickups rather than on horseback. Makawao removed the hitching posts when the streets were paved. The drive to the summit of Haleakala is a challenging 37 miles of hairpin curves and switchbacks through pastures, lava fields and cloud-shrouded eucalyptus groves. Adding to the challenge are bicycle tour groups that are driven to the summit, then glide down the mountain. A mile inside the Haleakala National Park boundary is the visitor center at the 7,000-foot level. The road then begins its steepest climb, through eight switchbacks, to the visitor center at 9,500 feet, with its incredible views of Haleakala Crater. Filled with colorful cinder cones from the most recent eruptions (two centuries ago), the crater is large enough to contain all of Manhattan Island. The vast landscape creates an optical illusion -- until you realize that the tallest of the seemingly tiny cinder cones rises 1,000 feet above the crater floor. Sharp eyes can make out the minuscule figures of hikers working their way down the park's many trails.
When we last visited Haleakala, the summit was reached by a one-hour hike from the upper visitor center up Red Hill. This time we were able to drive all but the last 150 yards, which was up a paved path. The view from this overlook is spectacular, with the domes of "Science City," observatories run by the University of Hawaii, the Air Force and other agencies, seemingly perched on the edge of eternity. In the distance, the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii pierces its layer of clouds. Our Maui wanderings took us to Hookipa Beach Park to watch surfers and windsurfers share the marvelous cross break. The tiny village of Lower Paia has been transformed from Old West to New Age, thanks to the popularity of nearby Hookipa as one of the world's great windsurfing sites. In Wailuku, we drove up Main Street to the Iao Valley, a sheer notch in the West Maui Mountains and a step back in time. The head of the valley is now a state park, capped by the fog-shrouded Iao Needle and hiking trails that wind through beautifully landscaped grounds along meandering Iao Stream. The mouth of the valley was once a royal compound, then the site of a missionary school, and now home to the Maui Historical Society's Bailey House Museum.
This small museum houses an exquisite set of ancient Hawaiian artifacts, fascinating relics from the missionary days, and the paintings of missionary Edward Bailey. An accomplished artist, Bailey captured views of Maui in the early 19th century that are nearly photographic in their accuracy, depicting sailing ships, horse-drawn vehicles and Hawaiian homes built of grass.
Forty years ago, the stretch of coast from Kihei to Wailea to Makena was nearly as sleepy as the scenes from Bailey's paintings. Driving down the coast today, we discovered an endless stretch of condominiums, lavish resorts and beautiful, rolling golf courses. What has changed least in four decades is Maui's best quality: the charm, grace and friendliness of its people. Our easy sightseeing schedule was constantly altered by old-timers who delighted in taking the time to chat and reminisce about times gone by. This overwhelming friendliness makes Maui's Hawaiian motto, "Maui no ka oi," as true today as it ever was. Maui is, indeed, the best of all. - Freelance writer Jim Patterson lives in Largo.
If you goYou won't be lonely if you visit Maui: For the eighth consecutive year, it has been voted the "Best Island in the World" by readers of Conde Nast Traveler. It boasts acclaimed resorts and golf courses throughout the island. And when things get too busy on land, vacationers can select from numerous water sports or from day trips to nearby Lana'i or Molokai. GETTING THERE: Maui's Kahului Airport is served with direct flights from the mainland by American, Delta, United, TWA, Aloha and Hawaiian airlines, American Trans Air, Air Canada and Canada 3000. In addition, inter-island service with connections from Honolulu is available to both Kahului and Kapalua West Maui Airport. FOR MORE INFORMATION: The best source for information regarding accommodations and services is the Maui Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 580, Wailuku, HI 96793. Call (808) 244-3530. Fax: (808) 244-1337. E-mail to maui@hvcb.org. The Web site for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, with information on events, accommodations and tourist features, is www.gohawaii.com.
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