Kahului Farmers Market

October 31: Well, Happy Halloween. Big Celebration in Hawaii....at least in Lahaina...it is the Mardi Gras of the Pacific. People dress up in costumes and parade through the streets. Traffic is an intolerable situation. Could take hours to get from Kihei to Lahaina, just 26 miles away. They even offer special boat trips from Kihei to Lahaina, so you do not have to brave the traffic. Well, we decided not to go.

The big event in Kahului every Saturday morning is the Swap Meet and Farmers Market. That is where we headed. Begins at 7 am and runs til 1 pm. It is held on the campus of the Community College, and there must have been 100+ tent stalls or more. Everything under the sun offered for sale, crafts, clothes, carvings, jewelry, fruits and vegetables, italian sodas, and shave ice. We filled up on fresh vegetables and fruit, checked out several other stands, and the headed out.

Took a look at Haleakala and saw is was clear, so off we went to the summit observatory at
10, 026 feet above seal level. It is also the highest paved road in the world....that is the road to the summit of Haleakala. Of course it is a National Park, so we got in free with Russ' Senior Park Pass. Beautiful day, about 60 degrees (26 degree cooler than Kihei), and we could see Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii, 80 and 100 miles away respectively. Visited with a Park Ranger who had lots of information about the geology of the volcanos and the formation of the islands. His information was fascinating and very educational. After browsing around a bit, and trying to send a text message to Nate and Andrew (no response from network), we headed down the mountain in low gear (sign said, prevent brake failure, use low gear). The hairpin turns were so tight, you would not want to go over 15mph, or you might end up off the guardrailless road on the next switch back or two below.

After the mountain, we headed back through the Kula area, Makawao (cowboy town), and on to Paia (hippie town, some gray hippies). Stop to eat at the Flatbread Cafe. They have the best thin crust pizza in the world. We chose one with some cheese, goat cheese, tomatoes and olives called Coevolution. It was great. Following our late lunch, it was a chance to wander around town, check out some shops, bakery, and the Paia Pharmacy. Visit with the cashier, let him know we were pharmacists, and he informed that every pharmacist that comes in usually picks up a Paia Pharmacy T-shirt.......got drugs?

Then home to Kihei for dinner and a pool swim.

PS: Sorry, no pictures. Unable to upload them here at WorldMark-Kihei. Perhaps bandwidth too narrow....always fails to upload.