Lahaina
Once we were settled in at the Westin Resort we thought a day trip to Lahaina on Monday should start our site seeing on the island of Maui. Lahaina is on the west and leeward side of the island and a ten minute shuttle ride. We had been advised that parking in Lahaina was at a premium and the shuttle buses run frequently. With that in mind we elected to take a shuttle bus from our hotel to downtown Lahaina. The shuttle proved to be a wise move as Lahaina is an ideal walking tour with the only real downtown on the island of Maui.
Lahaina is an old whaling port with architecture reflecting an old world island ambiance much the same as old villages in southern Florida. White porch railings on second floor balconies along with southern pine vertical siding abound, leaving an old island
feeling. I would not say the town was crowded although there was plenty of activity with tourism and an abundance of water sport activities. We noted and photographed the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant made famous by songwriter Jimmy Buffett; set on ocean front property on Lahaina’s Front Street. This looked like a good place to see a Hawaiian sunset if your schedule permitted. It was too early to stop as we were headed for the southern end of Lahaina and Banyan Tree Square.
Banyan Tree Square was started in 1873 with the planting of a single Banyan tree that has multiplied into sixteen more individual trunks. The aerial roots from this single tree sprout the trunks that support the massive canopy. The park also features the old court house with a stucco finish popular in the islands.
One of the, not to miss, places noted in the tour guide books is the “Cool Cat Lounge” located right across the street from Banyan Tree Square. Located on the second floor we had a street side view of Front Street activities, and the food was pretty good. We spent the whole day sight-seeing and arrived back at the Westin Hotel late in the afternoon.
We photographed portions of the Westin Hotel courtyard area and enjoyed a cocktail on our room balcony overlooking the courtyard/pool area. Our balcony at the Westin was ideally located out of the direct sun and overlooking the courtyard/pool area. At dusk the Mynah birds and small sparrows roost for the night and their cacophony of chirps was something to behold. At dusk they turn on the lights and light the walkway lanterns giving a charming glow to the courtyard. I hope the last photo in this series shows the festive mood this scene sets. Click here for the slideshow.