The geography: Maui looks like an arrow head or a distorted dumbbell. The huge right portion of the island is the extinct volcano, Haleakala (pronounced Holly-AHK-ala). It rises more than 10,000 feet above sea level. You can drive to the top. It can be cold up there, so take towels or sweaters to wrap around you, something for ears, and something for hands. This is one huge mountain, and the original moon astronauts did some training in the crater.

The smaller west side is actually several extinct volcanos, lumped together by being called "West Maui Mountain." Maui is called the "Valley Isle" because of the valley between Haleakala and West Maui Mountain.

Main vacation spots: The two main vacation areas on Maui are West Maui, from Lahaina to Kapalua, and South Maui, from Kihei to Makena. There are other vacation areas of course, but these two dominate.

The development of fine resort hotels and golf courses at West Maui preceded the development in South Maui. So some people think of Lahaina, Kaanapali, or Kapalua as the principal vacation areas for Maui.

However, South Maui no longer takes a back seat to West Maui. There are fine resort hotels and golf courses in Wailea and Makena. You will find many excellent vacation condos in Kihei, Wailea, and Makena.

BALDWIN HOME - now serving as a museum, this is an excellent example of early Island missionary homes.

BANYAN TREE - planted in 1873, this magnificent tree is said to be the largest banyan tree in all Hawaii.

HALE HIOKEIKE - historical Society Museum in old Bailey Mission Home, built in 1841. Interesting display of early missionary items and Hawaiian artifacts.

HALE PAAHAO - this old jail was built for drunken and disorderly members of whaling crews that roared through Lahaina in the mid-1800s. The whole Lahaina area, royal capital of the islands until 1845, is filled with sites and scenes of great interest to students of Hawaiian history and legend.

HALE PA'I - here you will see the quaint old press on which Hawaii's first newspaper was printed in 1834.

HALEAKALA NAT.PARK - it was here, according to Polynesian legend, that the demigod Maui captured the sun and held it captive to give his people more daylight hours. And it is here that you will stand to capture an unforgettable scenic memory. From the crater's top most rim to its floor is a drop of 3.000 feet. The floor measures 25 square miles, a fascinating area of richly colored cinder cones. Haleakala's last eruption was more than 200 years ago. A public observatory stands on the rim of the volcano's crater. The outer wall of the volcano, cut by ravines and gullies, slopes down to the shore of the island.

HALEKII HEIAU - ancient temples of worship, sacrifice and refuge, ordered destroyed by King Kamehameha II in 1819, has no been partially restored.

IAO VALLEY - now an enchantingly tranquil park, this was the site of a bloody battle in 1790 when Kamehameha conquered Maui, in the famed battle of Kepaniwai.

KAAHUMANU CHURCH - oldest Congregational Hawaiian church of central Maui, the original section was built in 1873.

KAANAPALI - one of the top resort areas, situated along three miles of golden sand beach with a misty mountain backdrop. Lots of recreational facilities - golf, tennis, riding, swimming - and unique whaling museum/shopping center.

KAIWALOA HEIAU - there are eerie legends about spritis that walked from this heiau at night, and about daring humans who followed them and were never seen again.

KANAHA BIRD SANCTUARY - each winter, migratory birds from the Northwest make this park their Island home.

KAPALUA - The luxurious Kapalua Resort on the northwest coast of Maui offers its residents and guests golf, tennis, three beaches, restaurants, luxury hotel and vacation condominium accommodations.

KAUMAHINA PARK - halfway point on the drive from Kahului to Hana, the perfect place to pause and picnic.

LAHAINA - first capital of the islands and historic heart of Maui, this colorful town is steeped in the memories and evidences of whaling days, missionaries, ancient Hawaiian rulers and plantation workers of various ethnic origin who migrated to this island.

LAHAINALUNA SCHOOL - oldest school west of the Rocky Mountains, established in 1831, its first building of poles and grass was replaced by a stone building which still stands on the modern school grounds

MAUI TROPICAL PLANTATION - Hawaii's agricultural showplace located in Waikapu Valley. Working plantation with acres of tropical fruits, sugarcane, coffee and macadamia nuts.

MAUI ZOOLOGICAL & BOTANIC GARDENS - an entertaining and educational view of the animals and plants from many parts of the world is situated on a three-acre site in Wailuku, across from Maui War Memorial Stadium.

OHE'O STREAM (SEVEN POOLS) - truly a photographer's paradise, it is said that in these crystal pools, the mother of Maui, the demigod, used to wash and bleach her tapa-cloth.

PUAA KAA PARK - a gem of a park whose name means "the place of the rolling pigs" - dating from days gone by when plump wild pigs were said to have rolled down the slick, steep grassy hills in this area.

TEDESCHI WINERY - Hawaii's only winery. Taste its light pineapple wine, a forerunner to the production of grape wine from vineyards on the slopes of Haleakala.

WAINAPANAPA CAVES - strong swimmers and scuba divers, by diving into a pool and swimming underwater can reach a big inner cave, a legendary trysting place for lovers of old.

WAILEA - a deluxe 1500-acre beachfront resort area between Kihei and Makena. Facilities iinclude hotels, condominiums, fine restaurants, two championship 18-hole golf courses, a tennis club, excellent swimming beaches and a view of neighboring islands.

WAILUA LOOKOUT - a choice view of the entire Keanae Peninsula and its spectacularly lovely coastline.

WHALER'S VILLAGE MUSEUM - hundreds of antiquities recalling the boisterous, rowdy years of the great whalers housed in a picturesque atmosphere of yesteryear.