Life on Maui - Kaanapali North Beach is the place to be…

Last Sunday I ventured outside my 4 walls and drove the 3 miles to Kaanapali North Beach or as the locals call it from days gone by “Airport Beach”.  This is the original West Maui Airport, there was a single landing strip as well as a bar that served the best bloody mary’s on the island. We are talking about the 80’s now so I am really dating myself.

After enjoying a quiet ½ hour watching the keiki (children) play in the water and attempt to build sand castles, dogs catching sticks and frizbees with their masters, pregnant moms waddle into the water and teenagers boogie boarding, I strolled down the beach, cooling my toes at the waters edge.

The beach is a great “equalizer” of mankind. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, the waves will treat you just the same, guaranteed they will slam you up the beach if you don’t respect the water.

On any given Sunday you will find every kind of water craft, from jet ski’s (when its not whale season) to kayaks, sailboats and canoes, but the favorite was the blow up floating mat. There were several of them in all colors of the rainbow.

The lucky tourist that just happened along this beautiful stretch of sand has stumbled upon a taste of the “local life” as there were 2 or 3 birthday parties in progress, one of them a “baby luau” with hot food carted in as well as barbeque and games. The Hawaiians do know how to throw a barbeque! In old Hawaii the keiki’s 1st birthday was a grand celebration due to the fact that many infants never lived to see their first birthday. It was a celebration for all to enjoy - its nice to see the tradition lives on.

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