This blog post has been long delayed, not because there was nothing to write, but there was too much. It was literally a case of sensory overload in a tropical paradise. This was the notionally American archipelago of Hawaii, to be exact, Lahaina on the island of Maui. The long, tiring journey just fell away at the sound of the ocean outside. Hawaii was all it was advertised to be: sun, sand, surf and swaying palms. Missed the jellyfish, however.
There was, however, a bit of trouble in paradise: a rumbling volcano on the next island, and a cyclone approaching. The sky and the sea changed colour, and surfers were warned out of the water.
Waves washed over the highway, and all the traffic jammed (just to remind us that however tropical the island, this was still the United States). It rained on the way to the Iao valley, but that was good for the waterfalls. The little hike had to be cancelled unfortunately. The park was closing and it was raining hard. Still, it was clear that the park justified its title: the Yosemite of the west.
The little town of Lahaina has its own points of interest. The courtroom and the 150 year old Banyan tree planted in 1873, which was sent by missionaries from India, and is the largest tree in the United States. Even nicer is the little tree by the bus stop which had leaves inscribed by dozens of bored kids waiting for the bus. Two more joined the bandwagon. The little complex behind the bus stop had a movie theater and dozens of handicraft shops, to say nothing of sushi bar, and an Indian restaurant to provide succour for all compatriots in search of Indian vegetarian food (many in number, said the lady at the sushi bar)!
There was a beautiful sunset on the last ride to the airport and a red eye flight to mainland U.S.A, San Francisco to be exact. A drive across the bay with friends of forty years and a lovely day at San Juan Batista, one of the old Spanish missions in California. This is the church and the museum which feature prominently in the Hitchcock movie Vertigo. Observe the mountain lion, and the engineering contraptions. Unfortunately, the steeple where the climax of the movie is filmed is a Paramount Studios stage set. A sixteen year old was having her first communion in the church, dressed like a Disney princess. The mission garden was essentially a botanical garden for all the local flora, and some truly well tended roses. We had to go back and watch the movie of course.
Finally after a lovely 1.3862 days in SF, it was back to Chennai, which also has sun and sand and swaying palms, and hibiscus flowers and banyan trees. Another tropical paradise. The Hawaii crowd wants to visit and verify the truth of this statement (working on it guys!)
This blog post is by Neelima Gupte and Sumathi Rao.
There was, however, a bit of trouble in paradise: a rumbling volcano on the next island, and a cyclone approaching. The sky and the sea changed colour, and surfers were warned out of the water.
Waves washed over the highway, and all the traffic jammed (just to remind us that however tropical the island, this was still the United States). It rained on the way to the Iao valley, but that was good for the waterfalls. The little hike had to be cancelled unfortunately. The park was closing and it was raining hard. Still, it was clear that the park justified its title: the Yosemite of the west.
The little town of Lahaina has its own points of interest. The courtroom and the 150 year old Banyan tree planted in 1873, which was sent by missionaries from India, and is the largest tree in the United States. Even nicer is the little tree by the bus stop which had leaves inscribed by dozens of bored kids waiting for the bus. Two more joined the bandwagon. The little complex behind the bus stop had a movie theater and dozens of handicraft shops, to say nothing of sushi bar, and an Indian restaurant to provide succour for all compatriots in search of Indian vegetarian food (many in number, said the lady at the sushi bar)!
There was a beautiful sunset on the last ride to the airport and a red eye flight to mainland U.S.A, San Francisco to be exact. A drive across the bay with friends of forty years and a lovely day at San Juan Batista, one of the old Spanish missions in California. This is the church and the museum which feature prominently in the Hitchcock movie Vertigo. Observe the mountain lion, and the engineering contraptions. Unfortunately, the steeple where the climax of the movie is filmed is a Paramount Studios stage set. A sixteen year old was having her first communion in the church, dressed like a Disney princess. The mission garden was essentially a botanical garden for all the local flora, and some truly well tended roses. We had to go back and watch the movie of course.
Finally after a lovely 1.3862 days in SF, it was back to Chennai, which also has sun and sand and swaying palms, and hibiscus flowers and banyan trees. Another tropical paradise. The Hawaii crowd wants to visit and verify the truth of this statement (working on it guys!)
This blog post is by Neelima Gupte and Sumathi Rao.
