LOCO MOKO!!

I was up early ... 3 hours early!!  Just about the time I get acclimated to the time change, I'll be leaving!! 

It was 7:00 by the time the sun came up and I was perched on the deck having my cup of Joe.

I knew these guys were here, but this was my first up close encounter.  These are native to Maui and are everywhere in the mountains.  I'm up country as they say, about 2500 feet up the side of Haleakala Volcano.  

Three of them live next door and are as cute as can be.  

I can't quite say the same for the chickens.  Good grief ... at 4 am Maui time, the roosters began crowing like crazy.  There must be a hundred or more!!  Soon after, the dogs started barking.  No biggie, my body thought it was 7:00 anyway.

Cyndae finally got up and off we went for breakfast in town.  It was 7:15 ... and this was Freshies restaurant.  There is very little seating inside ... it's all outside with the chickens.  They stuck together like glue.  The Daddy rooster, Mama hen and two little chicks.  How cute is that!!

Lots of things changed here after Covid.  Most all the business have disappeared, with different ones trying to fill in the holes.  Breakfast was a Denver omelette with sourdough and potatoes.  Not as good as I remember, but it had half a hog under those eggs.

Cyndae had a local favorite, Loco Moko.  This is two Hawaiian beef patties, fried onions, tomato, lots of beef gravy, topped with two fried eggs.  She brought 2/3 of it home.

The next stop was my idea ... the local bakery.  Thank goodness they are still in business!!  Best donuts on the island ... and all hand made by locals.  That one on the right is filled with fresh homemade apricot peach jam.  It is of course GONE with the wind now.  The vanilla filled donut is being saved for later.  If you ever get to Maui, go to Macawao and ask anyone where the bakery is.  You won't be disappointed.  

The flowers here are of course gorgeous and every color under the sun, though most have been battered a bit by the wind.  It's been VERY windy every afternoon into the evening, probably 25 mph as I type this.

There are so many varieties it's crazy ... and every shape and size imaginable.  

The wind was so bad at the ocean pushing up white caps across the entire expanse, that we opted to stay at the pool.  There wasn't a soul in sight ... just like we like it!!

These are the condos where we stayed for many years.  I thought about buying back in, but the HOA fees now run $2800 for your two week stay.  You already paid for the weeks when you signed up ... and now the fees are getting up there.

On the way home, just for giggles, we stopped in at an Open House in a very nice neighborhood just above the condos.  A measly $2,450,000 will buy you a beautiful 4 bedroom 2-1/2 bath with a weirdly shaped pool in back ... all solar.  Chump change, right??  Sorry, I didn't get any pictures.

Back home, while trying to figure out what bank to rob, I spotted this on the patio.  Cyndae thinks it's from a praying mantis.  Anyone seen anything like it?  It's about 3/4 of an inch across.

That was it for the day.  We are lagging a bit from the difference in time.  We had leftover shrimp for dinner, before crashing rather quickly.  On today's schedule ... 75% chance of rain, and beaucoup wind.  We had planned on paddle boarding (the car is packed), but I think it's not going to be calm enough for that.  Maybe some sightseeing today.

My Cooper boy would love it here.  Lots of green grass and new smells to smell.  Hopefully he's a happy boy where he lives now.