MAGICAL LAHAINA: WHALES AND RAINBOWS

 We are this morning moored off Kailua-Kona, Big Island.  

Yesterday was Lahaina.  I've walked through this town on numerous occasions, and drove past it more times than I can remember for golfing and stays in Kapalua and Kaanapali.  My remembrance was a hot and dusty sugar mill town, with an adjacent Pioneer Sugar Company.

Well, yesterday, Day 51 of my cruise, might well have been the best yet, with only one more day to go in Kona.  Yes, I now use the term magical in reference to Lahaina.  Why?  Keep reading.

A surprise to me is, by census standards, Lahaina is a widespread city, which includes Kaanapali and Kapalua.   All told, the area has a population of only 12,027.  However, this number jumps to 40,000 when you count tourists during the high season, which is now--January to April--when the whales are most prominent. 

• Lele was an ancient name for Lahaina, which was the royal capital on the Maui high chief or king.

• 
  King Kamehameha the Great conquered Maui and made Lahaina the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1802 to 1845.  The capital moved to Honolulu that year.  This statue to the right, though, is of King Kam III, who served for more than 29 years, the longest of them all.  Located at KKIII Elementary School in Lahaina.
• 19th century Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry.  They came from the 1820's and raised the economy, but brought a lot of trouble in conflict with Christian missionaries,  Today, it is one of the prime sites for whale-watching.

• 
  Front Street (one of the Top Ten Greatest Streets by the American Planning Association) dates back to 1820, and the largest banyan tree in the USA can be found at Banyan Court Park, planted by William Owen Smith in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of missionary arrival.  
• The Historic District is along Front Street, and our ship tenders dropped us off right where it begins.
• For the record, the largest banyan in the world is the 250+-year old tree in Kolkata, India.
• 
  Average rainfall is only 13 inches/year...except rain was projected yesterday.
• Supposedly, the valleys here are the backdrop for "the 5 o'clock rainbow" that happens almost every day.

• 
  The Plantation Course at Kapalua annually hosts the PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions in early January.
• Crime rate is lower than Honolulu.  That's not saying much because Honolulu has one of the highest crime rates in America.  Yikes, I didn't know that.  
• On the other hand, here are the top ten, which does not include us, and has Memphis at #1, Albuquerque #4, New Orleans #6, Chicago #9 and Stockton #10.
• Another report by the FBI also Memphis at #1, with Detroit #2, Pueblo #4, Tacoma #5...and up to #75 I still don't see Honolulu.  How did I get here on this subject?
• 
  Many movies filmed here.
• A monster tsunami ravages Front Street in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter.
• The Devil at 4 O'Clock with Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra.
• The Hawaiians, Charles Heston.
• Jurassic Park.
• 
  There is a term, Lahaina Noon, and Hawaii is the only U.S. state to experience this semi-annual tropical solar phenomenon when the Sun is directly overhead.  
• A pole, for example, casts no shadow.
• Depending on where in Hawaii, can occur in May and July.  Honolulu is only on May 26 and July 15.
• But can occur anywhere from 12:16 to 12:43 PM Hawaii time.  
• Why Lahaina Noon?  La Hainā, meaning cruel sun in Hawaiian, was an old name for Lahaina.

• Want a home here?  Got $5 million?  Actually, that came from Wikipedia.  The median sale price last month was only $867,000.  However, here is a typical $5 million residence in Lahaina.

Anyway, with that backdrop, the day started early because Lahaina is the first U.S. stop, so we had to face immigration beginning at 7:45AM, depriving us of 3 hours sleep.  Got up earlier than desired, and we waited for "final call."  By 8:45AM it was all over. 

Had breakfast at my computer.

Fish lunch was on the aft of the Colonnade.

Saw tender returning from Kona.

After lunch we caught a tender to Lahaina.

Just as we were arriving, saw this ship in distress.

Here is a closer view.

Surely looked like the Nakoa, that luxury craft that got stuck in Honolua Bay, off Kapalua.  Did they tow it, and dump it right outside of Lahaina?  Made no sense.  Couldn't find what this Lahaina sinking was, but here is a photo of the Nakoa, and there is a very slight difference in the two boats.

Tender dock was next to Pioneer Inn.

Was met by my Blue-Bar Pigeon on our way to the Banyan Court, adjacent to our tender port.  He brought his friends.

Mostly because they were being illegally fed.  Note a Blue-Bar now with a lot of brown.

In the background is that largest banyan in the USA.  It is not broad, nor high, but has limbs that go on and  on.  I traced one by first going to the other side of that tree, and this branch must have been 50 yards long.

Then on to Front Street

One stop was Wyland Galleries.

Having had enough of Lahaina, took the tender back to the ship.  Walking into the room, I thought I saw a rainbow over Lahaina.  Surely enough, the promise of a 5 o'clock rainbow occurred, at 4PM.

So we decided to watch the show unfold with caviar and salmon.  As I was arranging the veranda for a two-hour treat, I saw one, two or three whales at a distance.  There were two spouts.  Took time to to get a camera, so by the time I returned, the only evidence was a line seen towards the right.

Than even that disappeared.  But a few minutes later a splash right in front of me of our veranda.  Again, by the time I turned on the camera, nothing.

However, a couple of seconds later, I took this photo.  It was a whale.

We then awaited the return of the whales and rainbows with caviar and salmon.

I had a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay,

Finally, after the snack was over, to our right over the ocean was a rainbow that lasted for at least 15 minutes.

All the while, this was a double rainbow, showing more clearly here.

We have a iPhone and bluetooth JBL speaker playing songs during our viewing sessions.  During this interlude came Judy Garland's Over the Rainbow.  

Soon thereafter, a series of rainbows over Lahaina.

On Day 51 I had my best cruise day on this trip.  Lahaina, of all the places.  It was a magical day of whales and rainbows.  We then had dessert on The Patio.

Walked 3652 steps today.

Yes, the best day on this cruise.

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