September 29
Intro & Arriving in Maui
 
September 30
Beaches & A Lava Flow
 
October 1
Iao Valley
 
October 2
A Helicopter Ride
 
October 3 & 4
A Bird, A Dog, Work & Drinking
 
October 5
Haleakala & A Luau
 
October 6
Lahaina & Heading Home
 

October 6, 2005
Lahaina & Heading Home

This was my last day on Maui, and I had planned to leave Paul's when he went to work, drive as far up the Hana Highway as I could and still make it back to Kahului in time for my flight. Paul said that wasn't a good idea because I'd have to have my bags, including my laptop, with me and cars get broken into a lot on the island. It's such a common occurrence, his car has been broken into five times in the three years he's lived there. He said it would be better to leave my stuff in his apartment and come back later in the day.

We said goodbye, sincerely thanked each other, laughed a lot and he went to work.

There was no point in going past the airport to Hana only to come back all the way to Paul's house again, so I decided to go to Lahaina, an artsy town on the west side of the island. I stopped at an overlook as I went around the south end of West Maui and found these cliffs.

Looking back in the other direction, this is the south end of East Maui. Paul's house is over there someplace.

The road goes through huge cuts the hills, and in the case of the biggest hill, through a tunnel. Chain link curtains keep falling rocks from landing in the road.

The valleys we flew over in the helicopter were filled with clouds. It looked sort of like an Ansel Adams photo.

Lahaina's main street is lined with shops and art galleries. Paul had said there would be some Picassos there, but I thought he meant a line drawing or two. There was a lot more than that. Picasso, Chagall, Renoir, Warhol and Dali more were represented. There was even an Dr. Seuss exhibit and Ringo Starr's drum set! I took this picture from Moose McGillycuddy's, a pub with a sense of humor on the second floor. Their comment card asks that you rate their cleanliness on a scale from "You can eat off the floor" to "I wouldn't let my dog pee pee in here."

The town has the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. There are a lot of old cars around, too. I think that's a Chevy from the 40's.

Boats were anchored just off shore, though this one looked like it had a fire. Whatever happened, it was just barely floating. That's the island of Lanai in the background.

This rather insignificant looking structure is the oldest Pacific lighthouse, originally built in 1840 at 9' tall, increased to 26' in 1866, and rebuilt in 1905. I looked that up at the Lighthouses of the World Web site. There was also a small section of a fort left in ruins, and a banyan tree that took up nearly an entire park.

Heading back to Paul's, I stopped at this beach made of pebbles. I tried to take pictures of the surfers, but they just wouldn't stand still.

The mountains were right across the street. A couple miles away actually, but they seemed close. I pasted a couple pictures together to try to get a panorama.

Back at Paul's, I packed my things and said goodbye to Zeus. He seemed to know I was leaving. I gave him an extra biscuit. I stopped to get something to eat because Delta's food isn't quite what it used to be. At the airport, my bag was inspected twice: once for bombs and once for any flora I might be trying to sneak out.

As the plane left the ground, the doors of a storage cabinet sprung open. I guess whoever stocked it before the flight hadn't latched it correctly. The contents, those small liquor bottles, went rolling down the aisle. The passenges scooped them up as they rolled by. I got a bottle of rum but traded it for Scotch. Everyone traded bottles like they were trading sandwiches at lunch time in grade school.

The flight back was an overnighter, so I slept most of the way to Salt Lake. From there to Tampa, I had some time to think. Maui's a great place, but what would it be like to live there? Somehow I think I'd come down with rock fever and get a little stir-crazy trapped on an island in the middle of the ocean. And it's very expensive. I had asked Paul how people making minimum wage get by, and he said they either have several jobs or they share living space; surfing by day, waiting tables at night.

But visiting again is another story entirely. I'd do that without a second thought. Paul said he might have to fly me out again if he has more computer problems. This time, I believe him.