Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The greatest affair is to move.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

We decided to head to Lahaina is a historic town that was once an old whaling town today. The word Lahaina in Hawaiian means ‘merciless sun.’ This town only averages about 8 inches of rain per year. A nice stroll down Front Street was a nice place to start with loads of shops and restaurants to see to with great views. This town has over a thousand years of rich history. This was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845. It is a quaint and rustic town. This town inspired James Mitchner to write his best selling epic novel, “Hawaii.”

The Old Pioneers Inn was a pretty looking inn that overlooks the ocean. There are parts of this inn that date back to 1901. They have added additional rooms and shops in 1965. Visitors can still stay at the Inn and each room has a copy of the old inn rules to follow when staying there.

The Old Lahaina Lighthouse is in front of the Old Pioneers Inn at the end of the Lahaina’s Historic District and was commissioned by Kamehameha III in 1840 to help the whale boats navigate the waters. It was originally built out of wood and they used whale oil to light it. This is the first Hawaiian lighthouse on the US Pacific Coast and on the Lahaina Harbor. Electricity was added in 1937 and now the light house flashes red every 7.5 seconds and is visible twelve miles at sea. The Coast Guard is responsible for the care of the lighthouse. When we saw it we noticed this is a functional lighthouse on the Lahaina Harbor but not really an attractive one.

Walking around we came to Banyan Tree Park. It was amazing. The Banyan tree was brought over from India and planted in 1873 by Maui Sheriff William O. Smith to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Protestant Missionary work in Lahaina. It is more than 60 feet high, extends more than 200 feet, and has a shadow of over an acre on Courthouse Square. This is one of the largest Banyan trees in world. When it was planted it had only one major trunk and now it has over twelve. We loved this park and enjoyed walking around in the shade of the magnificent tree and looking at the all crafts being sold in the park that day. This was re
ally something to see.

The Old Lahaina Courthouse was built from the stone of the demolished Hale Piula (which was a two story building used as King Kamehmeha III palace). This building was built in 1859 besides the harbor which was a perfect place as it was not only used as a courthouse but also a customs house and jail. During the whaling era, there was much corruption with smugglers so it helped having this building so close to the water. In August 1898, the Hawaiian flag was lowered here and the American flag was raised which marked the formal annexation of Hawaii by the United States. This building now houses the Lahaina Historic Society, the Lahaina visitors center, and the Lahaina Arts Council.

There are historic markers throughout this town. We looked at the remains of the waterfront fort. The Old Lahaina Fort was built in the early 1830’s after some sailors shot cannonballs at the town during an argument with the missionaries over the native women going out to their ships. The fort was mostly used as a prison and was torn down in the 1850’s to supply stones for the Hale Pa’ahao (new prison on Prison Street) where they could separate the male and female prisoners. During the whaling times, this was considered the Pacific’s wildest port.

The waterfront was just lovely here and we enjoyed strolling around. What an interesting quaint town. After walking around the town, we joined our friends Sandy and Steve and went to the Lahaina Fish Company where we had a lovely meal and drinks overlooking the harbor. What a great way to end this beautiful day here.

Till next time. E Aloha Kekahi i Kekahi – (Love one another).