"La haina" is Hawaiian for "cruel Sun". Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845. The town is much older, being the royal capital of Maui for centuries before being conquered by Kamehameha the Great in 1795. The oldest European buildings date back to the 1820s. A few of the early buildings remain and can be seen along Front Street, along with examples of American Colonial architecture. During the 19th century, whaling fleets used the town as a place to restock provisions and give crews shore leave. The whalers often caused riot and mayhem, fighting with the Hawaiians and missionaries. In 1831 a fort was built to protect the town and to act as a gaol for rioters. The fort was built of coral blocks enclosing about an acre. It had 47 cannons of various sizes. The cannons were never fired in anger, being used only as saluting guns on royal occasions. The fort was demolished in 1854, but a small memorial was built on the site in 1964. I always assume signs only apply to people, not small bears. Small bears will climb anything and Lahaina has a couple of fantastic trees. Largest is a huge Banyan in the town square. It was planted in 1873 and is the largest banyan in the USA. Tourists, locals, musicians and small bears find shade here during the heat of the day. The Oldies found 2 places on Front Street that they really liked. If you like pineapple, the Maui Gold shop sells the sweetest pineapple they ever tasted, you can even get pineapple whip (ice cream); you really have to try this if you visit Lahaina. Then they found a bar/cafe called Kimo's. Mum's name is Kim so of course they had to have lunch here. It was the best lunch place they found in the whole 3 Hawaiian islands we visited. Lunching on a waterfront lanai, sipping cocktails, nibbling on fish and chips (striped marlin, would you believe) and watching the ships, boats and boards in the harbour and the turtles feeding in the sea just below the table is a lunchtime we will never forget. We want to go back......
Labels: buildings, Hawaii, trees
# posted by Bart Bear @ 3:23 pm
