A Trip to Hawaii - Visiting Maui

Mrs.B decided to take me to Hawaii this Spring to see the baby Humpback whales. The only food adult Humpback whales eat is krill which are little fish found along the coastline in Alaska. However they travel 3000 miles to give birth in Hawaii surrounded by the warm and shallow waters between Maui, Lanai and Molokai during winter and return to Alaska starting in the spring. Mothers do not eat the entire round trip journey as there is no food for them in the clear waters of Hawaii. There is no food for their predators either which makes Hawaii such a safe place. However, the baby whales consume about 100 pounds of milk per day so their mothers lose about one third of their body weight in the process.

Whale watching is a favorite past time when visiting Hawaii this time of year. Although you can see them almost anywhere at a distance, it is fun to take a cruise out into the ocean and let them approach your boat and put on a show! Baby humpbacks are most playful as they are learning to jump up out of the water and then dive.

We went out early one morning to look for whales and passed a cruise ship in the Lahaina Harbor. Then I went exploring the lobby of our hotel when we returned.

The next morning we decided to drive the entire Hana Highway. It is one of the most notorious winding roads in the world with over 60 bridges, 46 of which are single lane, and 620 curves over it's 68 mile length. The scenery is breath taking as it passes from rain forest to near dessert with beautiful views of the coast and waterfalls. Thank goodness for the nice local winery at the end of the road that specialized in making wine from pineapple.

Another adventure we had was snorkeling in the Molokini Crater. Mrs.B rented an underwater camera and was surprisingly able to take some good pictures and video. I was not permitted to snorkel for fear that a sea turtle might snatch me away!

Of course with all these activities we needed to find some finer food than we were imbibing at Happy Hour so we went off the Mammas Fish House. Wow! The chocolate mousse was served in a clam shell shaped pastry!

On our last morning in Maui, I visited the beach. It certainly is fun traveling with Mrs. B but with all these young people here in the islands for Spring Break, maybe I will find a new friend, too. Tomorrow, it is off to Kauai!

One of the most beautiful places in Maui is 10,000 ft. tall Mt. Haleakala, a long dormant volcano. On the summit are several observatories and a very rare plant called the Silver Sword. Haleakala means "House of the Sun" and many people go up there to watch the sun rise. However Mrs. B is much more suited to watching the sunSET. Known to her family as the fog queen, it was not surprising that our photos of the summit looked quite different from the one on the internet.

We visited the Lavender Farm about halfway down the mountain, then over to see the 1200 ft. tall Iao Needle. For us, the most amazing site were the Rainbow Eucalyptus trees with their colored bark.