November 7-11, 1992

November 7-11, 1992

We went to Hawaii for a 2nd time to celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary. Our first island stop was Maui, where we stayed on the western side of the island at the Sheraton Black Rock on Kaanapali beach. I don’t usually pay extra for room upgrades since we spend little time inside them. I must have had a weak moment because this one came with a direct view seaward. Our ocean view includes two other Hawaiian islands, Molokai and Lanai. At just over five miles distant, they loom very large. It is breathtaking and I am so glad we have the view. The sunsets are awesome too.

The Sheraton Black Rock is named for a rock formation that juts out from the beach. The rock is home to lots of fish, so Sunday morning, Aimee and I rent scuba gear on the beach and dive the rock. We are surrounded by all varieties of fish during the expedition. We fed some bread to the fish. Aimee likes it because we are not too deep and never far from shore.

The next day we take the rental car for a spin around the center of Maui. Maui was formed by two volcanoes that eventually grew large enough to overlap. We drive uphill into the rainforest center of the western one to visit Iao Valley State Park. The centerpiece is Iao Needle, the tall green eroded core of the volcano. We scramble up Iao Stream hoping to get farther into the interior. Aimee hasn’t learned to hike with me yet as she brings along her purse apparently thinking there is going to be shopping along the way. Aimee doesn’t enjoy rock scrambling so we turn around after a half-mile. It is hard to imagine this Eden-like setting was the site of a bloody battle in 1790 when King Kamehameha defeated the Maui king uniting the islands.

In the evening we eat at a luau on the beach and watch some native girls do the hula dance. They sure can move those hips rapidly.

On our honeymoon to Maui we took an organized sunrise tour of Haleakala. We were so cold and sleepy we spent most of the time in the bus huddled together with our eyes closed. I would like to see what we missed. So this time we drove the rental car up during the day ignoring the rental car company rules prohibiting the trip. It is a much nicer trip, but it is again very cold at the peak, and we are still underdressed. We are too cold to do much hiking in the caldera, even though I would love to. The scenery looks like it could be from the moon with multi-colored sands and numerous cinder cones in the distance.

On Wednesday, we take a scuba diving boat over to the coast of Lanai, the Pineapple Island. On the first dive we swim through the caves of the “Lanai Cathedral” and see a multi-colored lobster and a Zebra Moray Eel. I don’t do so well with small boats and on the second dive I upchuck under the water. Good thing I am using a rental regulator.

Aimee loves the idea of riding horses so the next day we drive north a little up the coast to a public stable. The trail ride takes us up into the hills of west Maui past pineapple plantations. During a break our trail guide breaks out a knife, picks a pineapple, and treats us to some delicious local fresh fruit.

Several times while staying on Kaanapali Beach we drive south into nearby Lahaina for meals and shopping. Lahaina is the local town and was the former capital of the Pacific whaling fleet.