Yesterday, January 28, was a very full day… How full was it?
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Up at 6 AM, breakfast at 7 AM, a brief rest until 9,
A 9 AM presentation on the destruction and restoration of Lahaina…
Lunch at the first restaurant to reopen in the downtown, “Lahaina Mixed Plate”…
A long motorcoach drive to the Maui Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Museum…
Another motorcoach drive, this time to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center…
Dinner, and a long motorcoach drive back to our hotel. We concluded at 8:00 PM.
Christine was not feeling her best and chose to remain at the resort. She is again enjoying rest at the resort today. (She went whale, watching in the afternoon, smart woman!)
Today, January 30, we are ascending by motorcoach to 10,000 feet and Haleakalā National Park. While it is 70° at sea level, we anticipate temperatures in the 50s at the top of the mountain. The Park is named after the dormant volcano within his boundaries, the huge Haleakala Caldera. Designed a National Park in 1976, the park covers over 50 square miles. I am attempting with limited success, to type this while we bounce merrily down the road on this four hour round trip.
I will let photographs with some captioning describe the events of yesterday.
....Temporary housing. This has been extended for another year while rebuilding continues.Temporary housingThe rebuilding process is evident everywhere. The last of the great sugar refineries.Some of the heavy equipment utilized in sugar harvesting and processing.Sugar museum staff giving a presentation on the history of sugar production in Hawaii..The superintendents house, now the site of the Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Museum. sugar was “king“ in Hawaii from the early 20th century until 1981. During the years of sugar production, Hawaii was continually faced with a labor shortage. Immigration with contract labor and indentured servitude was utilized. Immigrants were brought in from China, Japan, the Philippines, and Portugal. The typical indentured contract was three years of hard labor. This steam engine which powered the sugar mill, weighed 50 tons, had a 24 foot flywheel, and generated 1500 hp. It was in use from 1903 to 1981. This is a working scale model of the sugar processing machinery. A Portuguese bread oven used by the Portuguese immigrants. A 1930 gas powered crawler tractor, a “caterpillar“.The Maui Arts and Cultural Center. We were fortunate to be on hand for a special exhibit. The center director and the number of the artists we’re on hand to discuss their work......
