Lahaina, Maui

On Friday afternoon after the Wedding Rehearsal the DeBruin's headed to Lahaina.  This is a picture of the volcano that makes up the west side of the island.  That was the biggest surprise for me about Maui....unless you are on one of the resorts or right on the ocean the island reminds me of the southwest.  It is very dry and has lots of mountains.  In fact when we were driving from the airport we actually drove threw a pretty big dust storm cause by dry fields left after they harvested the sugar cane.

It is really crazy feeling like you are in Arizona but then turning the corner and seeing the beautiful pacific ocean.

The older, western volcano has been eroded considerably and is cut by numerous drainages, forming the peaks of the West Maui Mountains. Puʻu Kukui is the highest of the peaks at 5,788 feet

The Banyan Tree was planted by the Sheriff on April 24th, 1873 to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Protestant Mission in Lahaina. When the Banyan Tree was first planted, it was just eight feet tall. Today it reaches a height of close to sixty feet and spreads out to cover over a two hundred foot area. The Banyan Tree has grown so large by dropping roots from its branches and then these roots become additional trunks over the process of time. It is hard to get a decent picture of the Banyan Tree because it is so huge. The Banyan Tree shades two thirds of the two acre area that is Courthouse Square in downtown Lahaina.

Until permanently moving to Honolulu, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In the 19th century, Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry with many sailing ships anchored in at its waterfront; today a score of pleasure craft make their home there. Lahaina's Front Street has been ranked one of the "Top Ten Greatest Streets" by the American Planning Association

Front Street is the place to go in Lahaina....lots of fun shops, restaurants, and clubs.  We walked up and down the street for hours and if money was unlimited you could definitely drop some cash there.  On the other hand....there were also tons of shops with tourist crap!  One funny thing is that the common tourist shop there is called ABC stores.  On the mainland we would all think alcohol but that is not what they are in Maui!

I love the tile work on the stairs.  This was at Hamburger in Paradise.

Wendy & Mike

DeBruin Family (please note that Brian is actually smiling in this picture)

Caught a picture of a rainbow over the ocean.  Actually if the sky were clearer right where the rainbow is located you would be able to see the big island of Hawaii.  Yesterday when Brian & I went snorkeling I could see it waaaaaay in the distance!