Dumpster Diving in the Ocean!!!

Up early to the clanging of the scuba diving tanks from the Dive Shop behind us (this is almost an every day occurrence at 4:00 am) ... we ate quickly and headed out to the beach.  I'm having withdrawal from not diving or snorkeling, so I drug Patty out the door to get my fix.  Here she is in her beautiful NEW bathing suit!!!  She was a great snorkeler, in spite of the "rental" fins!!

We didn't see much at first ... the water is again cloudy from the wave action.  After about 30 minutes, we headed out to deeper water ... looking for large sandy areas where the rays glide by looking for food.  Three kinds here ... Manta Ray, Spotted Eagle Ray and Sting Ray. I finally looked up and almost ran square into a big black sting ray running close to the surface.  I think he was as scared as me, because he headed off with a flash before I could even get my camera pulled up.  Thank goodness I wasn't THAT close to him ... thoughts of Steve Irwin rushed through my head!!!!  Still swimming around the deeper water, 50 feet or so, we spied a large turtle swimming fast.  I took after him, but couldn't keep up.  Another 30 minutes and I located him again.  He became my swimming partner for several seconds, but with one large swipe of his fins, he was off to parts unknown.  They are amazingly fast when they want to be!!

We took our time coming back in and checked out the local coral and sea urchins.  Lots of little fish were swimming around in the shallows, but it's too cloudy to get good images.  Corals range from white to green to purple!!

Back at the condo again, we discuss our options.  Since seeing all the sea glass at the Flea Market, I went online to find out where we might locate some. Lahaina seemed to be the spot, so we packed up lots of water and headed to the Old Whaling Town.  First order of business was to have a burger at Cheeseburger in Paradise in honor of Dan since he's home, hard at work, ripping out the old deck!!

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner ... all servers wear grass skirts, even the guys!!!  Prices range from $9-15 ... and as you can see, it's open air.  We chose the Hawaiian Burger ... how can you go wrong with pineapple and teriyaki???

Now stuffed, we waddled out to the beach where we promptly got soaking wet, trying to retrieve pieces of glass in the surf line.   Called sea glass, it is glass bottles that have been broken and washed in the surf and sand for who knows how long, resulting in smooth rounded edges and a frosted appearance.  We spent probably 3 hours bent over!!!

I stepped on a big thorn and we decided shorts really weren't proper attire.  Next time water shoes and bathing suits.  We entertained the tourists for quite some time at this site, getting thoroughly soaked by the incoming waves.  BUT WE FOUND TREASURES!!!  Well at least a couple of them were necklace-worthy ....

Back at the house, Patty decided to give Jamba Juice a run for their money.  She has been gathering lots of fruits for a new smoothie called Stinky Fruit Slush.  I didn't take a picture because it looked pretty disgusting ... but I have to say it SMELLED pretty yummy by the time she was done!!  Passion fruit (with seeds), papaya, pineapple, guava soda, Naked guava drink and something she picked up on the street!!  She stated emphatically that it was delicious ... but I declined her lovely offer of a glass all my own.   More snorkeling tomorrow .... going south towards the Fish Bowl.  Hope to get some fish images!!

A Day of Rest ... Sort Of!!!

After so much running around, we decided to have a relaxing day by the pool.  First up, breakfast!!!  Patty purchased a papaya at the Flea Market for her sustenance!!

Patty's Breakfast!!!

After laying by the pool and increasing our golden properties, lunch time snuck up on us, and having nothing in the fridge, we headed out for groceries and ice.  One thing about living in a condo on Maui is the decision whether to cook (but we are supposed to be on vacation!!) or eat out, which can be very pricey!!  Most lunches will run $15-20 each unless you know where to go.  Even then, it will be a minimum of $10 each, which can add up.  Sharing one plate makes lunch rather reasonable, if you can agree on what you are having.  Of course there is always McDonalds, Jack-in-the-Box and KFC!!!  Not our choice by a long shot and let's face it, Patty and I are cheap cheap cheap!!! ... so groceries are a must.  

There are three major stores ... Local Times (great fish) but no discount, Foodland (not so good fish) but big discounts and Safeway which has everything, still a higher price, even with your discount card. If you go to Foodland, you can request a "locals" card (just put in your phone number) and you can purchase (for example) butter at $4.10, reduced to $2.50 and English Muffins at $4.50 reduced to $3.00.   It pays to be a local at the grocery store!!!!  They also have these gorgeous flowers!!!

Back at the pool ... more laying around watching championship baseball until dinner time.  Patty made an awesome chicken stir fry with brown rice, after which she suggested we head out for a beach walk.  We went south from the condo this time, around the rocky point where the turtles hang out, to the beach on the other side.  I'm really excited about finding some sea glass ... but we soon discovered we were in the wrong place.  We checked out a tidal area, but I explained to Patty that it was not like Monterey, where all kinds of things inhabited the rocks.  About that time, she spies a little crab that made a liar out of me!!!

And then another!!!!!  They look like twins!!!!

As the sun went down, I got a couple more shots of another beautiful Maui sunset!!  Sure am going to miss these when we have to leave in a few days!!

This morning we are off for more turtle watching.  Hope to have more images for you tomorrow!!!  Aloha!!!!!

Lots of Fleas at the Market!!!

Exhausted from the hike, our plan was to lay in the sun and rest up Saturday.  My scheduling however, was rather amiss.  Saturday is the big Flea Market in Kahului and even though my calves kept telling me to sit down, we were out the door by 7:00 am.  Who can pass up a Hawaiian Flea Market??  It was huge ... with tons of fruits and vegetables, the most amazing flowers I have ever seen, and of course LOTS of yummy food!!!

Patty spied the first prize ... we bought a couple of small, handmade, natural fibre baskets in a Makawao  store ... and here is the guy that makes them!!  He had very few left, but they were beauties ... and MUCH cheaper than in the stores.  He even gave us a discount, I think because he felt bad we had paid more on the store purchases!!

Next up my friend Cyndae, who just left the island as we were arriving, asked me to pick up some of the soap with loofah centers.  They had a large supply here and we checked that off our list!!  They look good enough to eat!!!!!

There were sooo many yummy goodies ... like pineapple pound cake, Hawaiian toffee, guava cake, cheese bread and coconut candy.  Sorry there aren't any pictures ... we ate it all before I could get the camera out!!!  Patty loves sea glass and found two vendors selling jewelry they made.  These came from one who talked story with Patty about where it came from and how she and her daughter found the glass while her son boogie-boarded.  She had several amazing examples of glass with the name Maui on them, as well as an opium bottle!!

Several vendors had flowers that they cut and brought for making arrangements.  The most beautiful flowers ever, grow here!!  I didn't want to appear rude by taking lots of images and not buying any of the flowers, but I did sneak a quick pic of this gorgeous one.  I have no idea what it is ... nor did I know what MOST of the flowers were!!  I only know they were spectacular!!

I of course, gravitate towards the photographers and artist pictures.  This gentleman ... and I mean he truly was a gentleman ... Phil Soo ... grew up in Borneo.  He became an engineer and moved to Hawaii where he began to practice the art of batik ... the original batik!!    This art is that of wax and dye on cotton fabric.  It takes months to finish one image.  We talked for quite some time ... he says "young" people today don't appreciate the arts of old, nor the time it takes to create one.  The originals he mounted on fabric covered boards were amazing.  I wish I could have purchased one, but real art, after all, is expensive and doesn't fit into my budget this year.  NEXT year however, I plan to look him up.

Patty leaned toward the fruits and vegetables.  There were so many weird looking varieties, we had to know what they were.  She kept trying to hide seeds and pods in her purse for the trip home.  Unfortunately, unless specifically marked, you CANNOT take anything with you back to California.  She did purchase a papaya and several guava ... one guy making fruit smoothies gave her a passion fruit (called lilikoi here).  We snacked on various kinds of jellies and jams, all local made before making our exit.

Back to shopping!!!!!  We hit the shops at Wailea for a Kalua Pork sandwich from the Whalers General Store (this particular store has a deli inside).  Stomachs full, we made a run on several more stores.  There are many many places to buy, but they carry a lot of the same thing.  We raced through until we came to a great new swimsuit for Patty!!!  No, she won't let me take a picture and post it.   It took a lot of talking to convince her to purchase it since it wasn't on sale ... but she looks GREAT in it!!!

In one store, I found these fun metal images, one of which I purchased to remind me of Maui on a daily basis.  Taken with my phone, the "sun" in the image is the flash!!!!!  Sunset Beach is on the island of Oahu and is the site of most of the big surfing championships in Hawaii.

Dinner was awesome ... Patty has been doing all the cooking of fish and veges ... it's like having my own personal chef!!  We spent a couple hours at the pool before packing up boxes of stuff to send home.  Not such a relaxing day after all, but make hay while the sun shines!!!!!

85 MILES!!!!!!

It was a quiet, misty morning ... you could hear the doves calling as the light crept over the lava hills ... and you hear the feminine voice "YOU MADE ME WALK 85 MILES!! And THAT'S why I ate the banana bread, the lemon bars and the smoothie!!"

The Road to Hana is long, arduous, frustratingly slow and amazing, all in one.  For those who haven't driven this road, the speed limit ranges from 10 to 20 miles per hour, for 50 miles.  Unless you fly, it is the only way to get to Hana.  Being the race car driver that I am, I LOVE this road.  At least half of it is single lane wide ... exciting when you meet a dump truck!!!  At any rate, I drove it yesterday so Patty could see the tallest waterfall on Maui.  It took three hours!!!  There is only one place you can access the ocean on that side of the island before arriving in Hana.  That place would be Keanae.  Not swimmable, the surf here is extremely high.  They do, however, have the best banana bread on the island!!!  I stopped for a couple of loaves for lunch.

In the 1940's, there was a tsunami which destroyed most everything at this site except the church.  It's as beautiful inside as out ... as is the beautiful cemetery right next door.

On to the National Park where Patty's pass got us in free ... we bypassed Seven Pools and headed up the trail to the waterfall.  Since it is the tallest ... the trail is therefore the steepest.  Patty thought she worked off her banana bread in the first .2 miles ... little did she know she had 1.8 left to hike!!  Take water!!!  It's hot and did I say steep??  About halfway there, you walk through this huge bamboo forest!!  

Most of the trail is rock steps with some dirt/mud areas.  Definitely wear tennis shoes.

Further on it becomes very muddy and walkways are provided for you.

Finally you reach the falls ... hot, sweaty and tired, ready for a plunge in the pool.  Except here isn't one any more.  The rocks falling off the mountain have filled it in.  I was ready to go back and lay in the creek we crossed!!

We did run into this sign ... and you know, all of those signs saying "danger falling rocks" or "fatal drop" ... they are just there for the tourists!! 

There were 8 people there when we arrived.  I was taking a couple of pictures when I heard a loud CRACK!!!!  Two seconds later, as I turned around, a huge rock (I'm sure it was the size of a volkswagon .. almost) that had bounced off the cliff (hence the "crack") ... landed close enough to us and the guys nearby, to spray rock shards all over everyone!!  You should have seen the people clear out!!!

With only Patty and I left, we enjoyed the quiet (behind the sign) until it was time to head the two miles back down the hill.  

One last shot of the day ... on one of the bridges we crossed, Patty pointed out this Passion Flower for a portrait.  I can't get over the gorgeous flowers growing here!!!

With a smoothie and lemon bars in hand, we drove the 3 hours back to Kihei.  Yes ... it's worth the trip.  But leave no later than 7:00 am, take lots of water and food and plan on an all day trip!!  Upon your return to the parking lot, you can walk the short distance to Seven Pools and swim there.  We were too hot, too tired and too hungry ... so we just headed back to the condo!!

Need a New Venue for the Blog

Computers are frustrating enough ... but then you have to deal with Google Blogger!  If you happen to write two blogs on the same day because their system has been down, it does not place them in the blog by last written-last posted.  It places last-written SECOND!!!  And for me, it was the most important and exciting blog!!!

So PLEASE continue down the list and read  "I LOVE this place ... and Here's Why!!!!"  and if anyone knows of another blog site ... let me know!!!!!

Aloha

Next Adventure ... Whaling!!!

Well, not exactly, but we did go to the Whaling town of Lahaina and experience some of the lifestyle of the old sailors.  There are lots of buildings still existing from that era, including the original missionary's home and the old Courthouse, now housing a museum.  The star of the party is this banyan tree covering the entire park.  Banyans send out roots from their limbs.  When the roots hit soil, they start growing and expand the tree.  All the trunks you see here are from the roots of the original tree.

Amazingly, this tree was planted in 1873 to commemorate the opening of the Courthouse and the accompanying Jail in the cellar.  It continues to grow today from this original trunk and was planted in the middle of the fort that is now gone.

At this point, we met a lovely gentleman who invited us to Jail.  Of course we said a resounding YES and followed him, camera in hand.  Basements aren't exactly the place to take great images (especially when the flash is in the condo), but we forged ahead into the cold dank darkness, pretending to be pirates sentenced to 30 days rotting in jail for public drunkenness!!!  Then he turned on the lights!!!  Four cells, still intact, were filled with artwork from local people.  We relished our time in jail, since it was probably 20 degrees cooler than outside.  Yup ... we spent quite some time looking at art!!!

Since you don't get fed in Jail, and shopping makes me VERY hungry, we headed out to find Cool Cat, a local restaurant recommended by one of the residents here.  Second story, right on the edge ... great for photography too!!

Lunch came and went ... we were starving!!!  But I did get this picture of grilled Mahi Mahi on the salad before it was devoured!!

More shopping ... did I mention it's pretty hot???  There are NO tradewinds to keep us cool, so Hawaiian Shave Ice is the next best thing.  It looks like a snow cone you say???  No way!!  Snow cone is a bad word here.  The ice is shaved very thin, placed over ice cream and covered in syrup.  Since all shave ice isn't exactly the same, we tried a new place.  They didn't have my preferred flavors ... so chocolate macadamia nut with red raspberry would be mine ... Patty got the same ice cream with red raspberry and coconut.  It was cooling ... but not as good as when I was here last.

I LOVE This Place ... and Here's Why!!!!!

People ask me why I spend so much money coming to Maui every year ... and the reason is I get to swim with the turtles!!!  Green sea turtles, that is!!!  Here's a baby ...

The water is about 25 feet deep here and not very clear.  The winds came up this morning, causing lots of waves that move the sand into the water, making visibility pretty cloudy.  That doesn't keep me out of the water though.  

We tried a pair of my fins on Patty and they fell off in the pool ... so with a rented pair, we set off early this morning.  The viz was pretty bad, so we started to swim back in ... all of a sudden, it got better, so I turned us around and we headed back out ... maybe a quarter mile.  

There on the bottom, well camouflaged, was this big guy.   I'm sure they heard me on the beach!!! Depth here was about 35 feet.  My little point and shoot would have compensated for taking pictures under water, but I was so excited I wouldn't have been able to find the switch anyway.  

 I told Patty to just hang out for awhile and he would come up for air, which would be my chance for closeup pictures.  It didn't take long and here he came ... with me snapping pictures fast as I could ... which isn't very fast on these point and shoots!!!

I was swimming like crazy trying to keep up and keep beside him, but not touch him (it's against the law).  He was HUGE!!!  Much bigger than I thought!!  They look you right in the eye ... soooooo cool!!!

Amazing creatures .... he took three big gulps, expelling air loudly with each intake ... and headed back down to the bottom.

To top off the best day here yet, the San Francisco Giants won their game and will proceed to the National League Championship series ... next up ... the World Series!!!  I'm sure you heard me scream at the end of THAT game ... Patty came and scraped me off the ceiling.  What an exciting day!!!

To top it off, we had lunch at Maui Tacos.  Excellent Mexican food!!  I know ... we're in Hawaii and having Mexican food??  But they have fish tacos!!!

I was very sad to see that my favorite fish place, Alexanders, was out of business, replaced by Maui Tacos.  As you can plainly see here however, their fish tacos are awesome and priced right!!!

Back at the condo, we relaxed in the sun for a couple hours before fixing Ahi Tuna for dinner.   I can't tell you how grateful I am to be able to have such an awesome day!!!  We're going to do it again tomorrow!!!!!

Cowboy Country!!

They aloha here instead of howdy, but it's still cowboy country "upcountry".  That's what the land is called up towards Haleakala volcano because everything is UP!  Makawao is the cowboy town of Maui, putting on one of the biggest rodeos every year.  Strange to see a cowboy store in Hawaii.  AND the best donuts on a stick in a small family owned bakery that has been in business since forever!!  Patty and I drove up yesterday after a leisurely morning sitting by the pool.   Last year I purchased a basket for Patty, made entirely by hand of native materials from the weaver's garden.  She wanted to see where it came from and if any more were available.  Goodies was the name of the store.

First on the agenda however, was lunch.  We have had fresh pineapple and english muffins every morning for breakfast (it's a tough life being in Hawaii!!), but since breakfast comes at 5:30 in the morning,  I'm ready for lunch any time after 10:00 am.  We asked where to eat at one of the stores and  found a very nice lady from Southern California where Patty used to spend some time.  They reminisced until Patty heard my stomach screaming, and at the lady's recommendation, we headed across to Market Fresh Bistro.  GREAT food, not too pricey and all organic home-grown veges.  The fresh fish of the day sandwich,  Mahi Mahi.  It was excellent!!!!

We ate at tables outside and were showered with these velvety soft flower petals falling from the tree overhead.  I actually left my camera in the car, so these are i-phone pictures, but any camera works!!!

More strange looking flowers ... I should get a book so I can tell you what they are ... 

Back to Goodies, she had several baskets, including this one that I HAD to have.  Patty, being the smart cookie that she is, found one in another store made of shells and strange twigs for a great price.  The town has become more upscale (meaning crazy expensive) with clothing and "art stuff".  We found one basket for $144 ... it was exactly the same thing I purchased last year for $45.  I suppose most people visiting Maui can afford these prices ... I prefer to shop the flea markets.  Oh ... and be sure to check where the items are made ... you will see lots of the bad C____ word here.

We did make it into one local artist's store ... and they did have amazing things ... at heart-attack prices. I did find these beautiful beads next to a sign that said the maker was donating all the proceeds of these beads to the Maui Food Bank.  Being the skeptic that I am, I questioned this .. and he said it was true.  I'm assuming maybe these are the "cull" beads ... but they are beautiful and will make a nice bracelet.

Finally, on our way home, we checked out this tattoo parlor.  Patty and I thought we should get something to commemorate our trip here since she is not sure she will ever come back.  So many designs to choose from ... but you will have to wait until we return to see which one we picked!!!

Happy Trails .... I mean aloha!!!