Day 12: April 3, 2017 Hangin' at the Harbor Comment via blog |
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This is Lahaina and this is the bus I rode in on. The Maui bus system isn't quite as impressive as the one on Oahu but it's pretty good. The bus that I took back to the motel after dropping off the rental car was late by a bunch. My morning ride to Lahaina was right on time and the return trip would be as well. It's a bargain at two bucks per boarding or four bucks for a day pass. The Wharf is a two floor collection of shops and restaurants which I scooted right through to reach the water. |
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That brought me directly to the historic Pioneer Inn and an opportunity for breakfast. I took advantage of that opportunity with another pair of macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. |
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At the south end of Wharf Street, the Old Lahaina Courthouse functions as a museum and gallery. The large Hawaiian flag flew over the courthouse until Hawaii became a US territory when it was lowered in a ceremony on August 12, 1898. A sign on the wall next to the flag tells its story. The last photo shows the view from the second floor balcony. |
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A rather impressive banyan forest stands behind the court house. It's also rather impressive that I managed to make that first picture appear nearly devoid of humans. The remaining photos are more representative. With just a little effort, people can be seen in the background of the first photo, too. I tried to time the shot so that the nearer folks were behind tree trunks but one lady bested me by dashing past her tree to wave to her friends. |
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Restaurants, art galleries, jewelry stores, and souvenir shops have replaced the brothels and booze that once awaited sailors from the many whaling ships that stopped at Lahaina. I walked past a lot and stepped into a few. |
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At some point the line of buildings on the seaward side of the street gave way to a trees sprouting from a wall. That's where I turned around. |
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The photo-op bench, with accompanying shoes, is in front of Bubba Gump's. I paused here for a beverage but no shrimp. |
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On the way back to the seaside enterprises near the the old court house, I passed the spot where Kamehameha I built the short lived and underappreciated brick palace for Queen Ka'ahumanu and the lane where the party boats come and go. |
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Maui resident Mick Fleetwood's cleverly named Fleetwood's on Front Street is on the second floor of this 1916 building. A store and gallery offering, among other things, some of the greatest rock 'n' roll photos ever seen, fills part of the ground floor. Mick's 1930 Austin 7 is on display as are a couple of Steven Tyler's (another Mauian) motorcycles. I'd spoken earlier with the girl taking dinner reservations and learned that the bar opened at 2:00. I walked back around 2:30 intending to have one beer and ended up having three, eating some remarkable crab mac & cheese, and sticking around to watch my pending fortune vanish along with Gonzaga's hopes of a national title. |
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The game was actually only part of the reason I stayed. It played silently
on two large screens at the bar while
Daniel
Querubin performed everything from The Eagles to Hendrix and did it
all extremely well. I took the first picture early on. By the time I left
and got the second picture, my view of the stage was pretty much blocked
by many heads.
A really big attraction here is sunset dining on the rooftop. I learned from one of the bartenders that on alternate nights the sunset ceremony is performed by a story telling bagpiper and that tonight was one of those nights. Just as I was stepping through the door, I heard the sound of pipes and waited as he came up the walkway. I followed him upstairs where I tried to hear his tales which include an explanation of why the Union Jack is part of Hawaii's flag. It was tempting to stay a little longer but I was straining to hear and would have no decent view of the sunset so I left to catch the next bus.
This is not too far from where I failed to reach water's edge for sunset
on my first day on Maui. I returned to catch it the next night but that
was the day I drove through Hana and I had plenty of photos to post. None
of the sunset pictures made it. So, to make up for leaving Fleetwood's and
Lahaina before sunset today, here are a couple of photos from
Thursday: |
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