It's Whale Season!!!

Yayyy!!!!

Sugar Cane on Maui

Sugar cane fields are everywhere on Maui. Slowly the land is being sold though. Even though I don't like the way the land was acquired in order to grow sugar cane I like it more than having hotels and houses for rich people built everywhere. There goes more of the beauty of our island.

I Love to take my children to the Sugar Cane Museum. There's a lot of old history in there. I haven't gone there just once, we go there at least twice a year. It's fun to see the old machinery they used to use, even if it is all rusted out. It's interesting to look at the pictures of all the different people that were brought here to work in the fields. Many of the names are recognizable as the ancestors of some of the people I know today.

Sometimes we can smell the stench of the sugar cane as it's being burned in the fields, mostly at night. When we get up in the morning there's black ashes all over the place. Luckily we have wind here or else we'd be like Los Angeles with all the smoke stuck in the air and creating smog!

The Sugar Cane Musuem also gives out little sample packets of unprocessed brown sugar. We always take a packet even though we have some at home that we bought at a store.

When I take my children on field trips they always give them a slice of sugar can and they chew on it and suck all the sugar juice out. We play all of the fun games the children used to play in the good ole plantation days. The children try walking on cans with rope tied to it. They use it like stilts. Then they blow bubbles made of dish soap and they use the end of bamboo sticks to blow the bubbles. Next they're led to an old fashion wash board and are shown how people used to wash their clothes by hand. They never leave without a treat of "guri guri" made with cream and strawberry soda, a favorite snack in old days.

I'm sorry I don't have any pics to post of the event but I'll be sure to have some the next time I post about the Sugar Cane Musuem. In the meantime, you'll just have to use your imagination, something that the children used to have to do in the good ole plantation days.

Iao Needle in Wailuku Maui

Lush Garden of Iao Valley



Iao Valley is a place where when you visit you can feel the spirituality and the intense Mana that exists in that valley. The beauty I'm sure you can find elsewhere but here on Maui it is contained within the valley of Iao. Many battles were fought there but it was also the burial ground for many ali'i. When you visit Iao you can capture a glimpse of what it feels like to be at peace with the world around you.


Close up of a banana tree

Such was the feeling we experience when we visit Iao. Does it hold more meaning to us because we are of Kanaka Maoli blood? I know not. I'm sure that every race and land has their own intense spiritual landmarks.

If you look to the left you'll see the Iao Needle, a phallic symbol. If you look to the right you'll see a valley, a female symbol.

Iao Needle



Iao Valley

Polo Beach in Wailea, Kihei

Besides Launiopoko my family and I often go to Polo Beach in Wailea, Kihei. It's about a 15 minute drive from Kahului where we live. Yesterday, we had the best time barbecuing shortribs in the pouring rain! Well, the rain actually stopped just long enough for us to barbecue our short ribs and mussels. You should've seen the tourist! They were looking at us like we were crazy! And we were! Crazy having fun!

At Polo Beach there is a cove where Honu's (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles) often frolic and eat. My children and I gravitate towards that area and sometimes spend almost our whole time at the beach watching the Honu's.

Polo Beach has a picnic area up top with barbecue pits but no pavilions. There's a bathroom, it's pretty clean, smells a lot like cleaning stuff but at least it's clean. There's a shower outside and they just changed the fixtures so it's really nice and the water pressure is much better too.

People who come to Polo Beach love to either body board or body surf. It's fun to watch tourist who come from a place where there's no surf. They ride a wave and they are so happy and it's just fun to watch.

Launiopoko in Lahaina

Launiopoko is the place we go for surfing and the children love the little protected pool area. It's about a 20-30 minute drive from Kahului (I drive slow) but it's a really nice, beautiful scenic drive. I don't mind at all. We often barbecue and spend the entire day there. From the beach you can see Lana'i.

That's my oldest having fun on the waves. I don't have a good zoom camera but I just learned that I can put binoculars up to the camera eye to get the subject closer. Now I just have to buy binoculars.

That's my 12 yr. old son getting surf lessons from his older sister. My camera is old so by the time I snap the picture he's done riding the wave. That's him standing at the end of a ride just about to fall off.

That is the right side of Launiopoko. People surf on all sides and there's a long stretch of beach where people surf.

Here I am sitting on my chair taking pictures while my daughter surfs, my younger ones play in the pool and my brother barbecues! What a life!