Kihei Beach Time

     We drove south along the western shore of Maui to the towns of Wailea and Kihei.  During WWII the Wailea shore was a training area for the Marines in the Pacific Theater.  Ulua beach was named Little Tarawa by the Marines who were training for an amphibious landing on the island of Tarawa. 

     After the war ended tourists began flocking to Maui.  In the 60's the Lahaina Beach hotel opened in the  Kaanapali area.  In the 70's the beginning stages of the Wailea Resort opened on the southern end of the island and tourists discovered the great beaches and calmer water in Maalaea Bay.  Today this resort has over 2000 homes and condos, 6 hotels, three golf courses, and several shopping centers.  The area also has a large residential district for many fulltime Hawaii residents.  

    One of the big issues on Maui is the lack of affordable housing for the many folks who work in the service industries that support the huge tourist business.  We have often wondered while watching shows which highlight people who move to Hawaii to open a small business if these folks are aware of the high cost of living.  Apparently many new residents are gone after less than a year.  Maui has a package of info for folks who are thinking of making the move to help them understand the costs.

     We went to one of the large beach parks which has big shade trees and lots of grass.  We set up at a picnic table and walked the beach.  The sand there is much finer than our little beach.  BUT there were about a hundred times more people.  It was a very busy spot on the sunny Friday morning.  We have noticed that Hawaiians often have large family gatherings in the many beach parks.  This park was no exception.

    We enjoyed our picnic lunch at the beach and then stopped for more food.  Everything on Hawaii is expensive except for the sunshine.  While it's cheaper and more fun to have breakfast on our lanai and lunch at the beach, Minnesota shoppers would never call it cheap.  We have supermarket sticker shock every time we go.  It was great to find a five buck rotisserie chicken for dinner tonight.

    After our usual afternoon siesta Rick and I went back to the tiny, but very quiet, beach and swam with a crowd of five other folks.  I just can't get enough time in the warm water.  Today we watched a couple green turtles tumbling in the surf break.  They kept rolling in the waves long enough that it looked like they were doing it deliberately.  

    A few clouds have rolled in with the sunset- maybe it won't be perfectly sunny tomorrow.