Hawaii
To many visitors Honolulu and the island it sits on, Oahu, is Hawaii. The quip goes that if one more visitor comes to Waikiki the whole island of Oahu will flip over. Waikiki Beach, once the province of a few cottages kept for the king’s favorites, is now a solid row of highrise hotels and condos. The view from the beach looking toward Diamond Head, an extinct volcano, is still something special. Pearl Harbor is another big tourist attraction as well as being the biggest naval base outside the continental United States and scene of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941.
Maui has two airports, the larger one being about a forty minute drive from the major tourist areas, Kaanapali Beach and Kihea Beach. The Valley Island Maui developed rapidly; it was once known primarily for its little village of Lahaina, a whaling center when whales were pursued for their fat to be boiled into oil. Lahaina is still picturesque, its old hotel a landmark, where a sign placed by its Chinese owner told the salts of yesterday what they could and could not do. Included was you pea in bed, out you go.
Maui and Molokai are well within visual range of each other, each adding to the beauty of the other. Kaanapali Beach on Maui is the first of the Hawaiian master-planned resort developments. Its three-mile swimming beach is backed by a series of hotels, a golf course and condominiums. After Oahu, Maui is the largest resort concentration in the entire Pacific Basin.
