Tonight, I’m tiptoeing back into our travel blog. It’s been almost a year since I posted. At the time, I was in the early stages of cancer treatment, which involved surgery and chemotherapy. My last chemo session was in January, and fingers crossed, so far so good.

But my driving reason for this post is Maui. We’re very sad about the devastating wildfires – more than 100 confirmed deaths, and much of Lahaina town reduced to ashes and rubble, essentially a ghost town for now. Residents have experienced major trauma and are facing a challenging future that will test their resilience and ohana. For many others who have spent time in this little slice of paradise, including us, we mourn as well, for the loss of life, homes, livelihoods, historical structures and sense of place.

Lahaina served as the first capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom after the islands were united under King Kamehameha in 1910, and it is much more than a tourist destination.

“Nowhere on the island chain was history so well preserved — and nowhere is the immense cultural loss now more apparent — than the Front Street area” of Lahaina (LA Times article published shortly after the fire). Among the many losses were thousands of irreplaceable historical documents and objects preserving the area’s multi-cultural history – native Hawaiian as well as Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Spanish and Puerto Rican.

We were lucky enough to spend three weeks in Maui this spring. It was a special trip for us – first opportunity in many months to get away for some much needed R&R and a giant nature fix, plus our whole family joined us for nine days. Then Bill and I had nearly two weeks to explore the entirety of Maui, including three days on the nearby island of Molokai. The trip was everything we had hoped for . . . and more. Very thankful for cherished memories – and lots of photos.

The images in this post are entirely from the west side of Maui, between Lahaina and the end of the road at Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve. Our base for family togetherness was a spacious and comfy VRBO vacation rental in Kihei.

Excursions in Lahaina

Lahaina was our destination for a couple of family excursions – whale-watching and a cacao farm tour.

Our whale-watching trip was superb – so many humpbacks! It was a beautiful day, and everyone had a great time.

A couple of nice photos from Andrew:

The best part was learning about male competition groups – a first for us. For about half an hour, we watched 5-7 of the big guys, each trying to win the honor of being the primary escort of a lone female. Apparently, they are quite aggressive in their quest for dominance, but most of the action occurs out of view just beneath the surface. What we saw was nonstop movement and splashing among the group.

A big shout out to Pac-Whale Eco Adventures for a great afternoon.

Our other excursion in Lahaina was a tour and tasting at Maui Ku’ia Estate cacao farm and chocolate factory with Andrew and Gail.

The enterprise has a very cool business model – think Paul Newman’s line of products with the tagline, “Let’s give it all away.” Since its inception, this company has donated all profits to local Maui charitable organizations. What started as a hobby for retired businessman Dr. Gunars Valkirs in 2013 evolved into the largest chocolate factory in Hawaii. And the chocolate is super tasty!

According to the company’s website, neither the farm nor factory burned in the wildfire. However, high winds caused extensive damage to the 20 acres of trees, and the 2023 fall crop was wiped out. They also noted that chocolate is available on their website for shipping.

Exploring the Kihei Area

Kihei lacks the history and charm of Lahaina, but it’s a great choice for visitors who aren’t looking to spend $1,000 a night for a room in one of the nearby upscale resorts. We had a VRBO home within easy walking distance from the beach – a wonderful place for us to play, relax and enjoy our time together.

A handful of photos from hanging out at the house:

And a few photos from Kihei, mostly family pics from the beaches:

Nice view of Haleakala from Kihei:

On a quest for a good mai tai, we made a beeline for Monkeypod Kitchen in Wailea and deemed it the best on the island. And we may have made a repeat visit . . . or two.

Then there was a kayaking expedition at Makena Landing:

The water was more choppy that I expected, and Andrew later confessed it was his first time in a kayak. We had fun, and it’s a miracle we didn’t end up in the water. Sea turtles are abundant in the area, but we were preoccupied with trying to stay upright and didn’t even look.

North of Kihei about halfway to Lahaina is the Maui Ocean Center, an impressive aquarium with exhibits specific to Hawaii’s unique ecosystem. If you visit, plan to spend a full day – there’s much to see, learn and experience.

Sweet memories all, and we look forward to a return visit someday, to include the future Lahaina town as it rebuilds and re-emerges with a mix of the old and the new.

This article took longer to write than I expected – a little rusty, I suppose. Mahalo for taking a look. And there will be a few upcoming posts about other parts of the island.

Next up – the drive around the top of the island from Lahaina to Kahului.