Hawaii: Day 7 (Maui)

Started the day off right with some caffeine and bagels at Maui Coffee Roasters. Like Rainbeau Jo's on Kauai, the bagels here seem focused on the schmear. I got a sesame with sun-dried tomato and garlic schmear, which was clearly the star of the show.

It was raining, but Dave found a nice short hike at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge; the coastal boardwalk is a cute little foray into coastal waters, and we got some great birdwatching in. Dave added a warbling white eye, a Hawaiian coot, a dunlin, a black-necked stilt, and a gray franklin.

Kealia Coastal Boardwalk

We met the Hawaiian school administrators at Maui College's Class Act Restaurant, which is a test restaurant where students learn hospitality and cooking. They did a great job with four courses: a mushroom & chive dumpling, a seared scallop, a choice of fish and veggies or cauliflower and veggies, and a dessert of ice cream and white sesame cake or mango sorbet. Wow! Dave talked financial aid with the Hawaiian folks while we ate all this.

After lunch, we joined the school administrators for a tour of the Lahaina recovery area with the national guard and some folks leading the removal of debris. Super interesting and learned a lot, both about the community, what happened in the fire, and how they are recovering. It's astonishing how some businesses and homes were unscathed and others were destroyed. 

I learned that the west side of each of the islands is more dry, whereas the east side tends to be wetter. Thus, west sides like Lahaina will be vulnerable to wildfires in coming years, and all islands need to plan for this. For example, three schools in the Lahaina area are still concentrated on one road - if there is a fire during a school day, evacuation would be difficult.

Afterward, we told financial aid stories at a local bar over some appetizers; as the chocolate shop told me, the Lahaina shops remaining standing are aching for tourists to return, so we obliged by throwing some money their way. 

Tomorrow it's farm time in Upcountry!