snorkeling, golfing, dinner out

We finally decided it was time to venture out in the world of snorkeling.  We have been content to snorkel right out our back door, but decided there might be more fish in the sea just up the road.  Gary & Mark said they weren't interested, so it was Wayne and the three women who took on the trip. Mark and Gary headed south to check out a new snorkel spot, and Wayne and his harem headed north to Kapalua Bay.  This is a beautiful spot on Maui, but parking can be tricky.  We were the early bird that got the worm, and were one of the first to arrive. 

Patti, Wayne, and I wasted little time before we had our snorkel gear on and were ready to explore what lay below.  The waves were coming in pretty good, and we were amused by the folks that were getting knocked down as they attempted to go snorkeling.  We didn't want to become the joke of some other group, so we were most careful on our entry into the ocean and managed to do it without embarrassing ourselves.  The water was a little shocking to begin with, but we soon adapted and were enjoying all the beautiful fish and coral under the sea.  Snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do.  No matter how many times I go, I always find something new to see.  We saw lots of different fish than we'd seen in back of the house we're renting, and the colors of the coral were magnificent

While warming up on the beach and watching the other people, we were entertained by the whale above that was putting on a show VERY close to shore.  As you can see, these kids are clueless!  They are being so careful walking on the lava rocks. 

Patti and I had to go out one more time before we left.  Into the water we go, and it's even cooler than before.  I told her my goosebumps had goosebumps.  We decided to do one swoop around and then head in.  We were swimming, enjoying the view, and almost forgot that we were cold.  We came upon some of the best snorkeling of the day!  Hundreds of the most colorful fish were converging on a large coral head, and we were in awe. 

I took a moment to come up and look around to get my bearings.  I looked and right next to me was a man, a board, and he was strapping on a helmet.  Uh oh, we may have traveled a bit far!  We were out on the breakers where the surfers were.  Time to head in before we get hurt.  Susie meanwhile was on the beach watching us like a mother hen, convinced we were in harm's way.  All was well, and we made it back safe and sound, and saw a fish that neither of us had ever seen.

The plan was to go to Mark and Gary's snorkel spot today, we were getting up early and caravan down the road, but during the night we had the largest thunder and lightening storm you can imagine.  It was blinding, and the thunder was the loudest I can remember.  Needless to say, we've had some rain, and there are flash flood warnings out.  We're going to stay close to the house today and just hang loose.

Gary, Susie, Wayne, & Patti went golfing yesterday afternoon at Kannapali.  They were looking forward to the lovely views from the course and getting back into the game that they play often at home.  Mark and I took this as the night we would do our belated Valentine's celebration.  We made reservations at Mala on the recommendation of our good friend, and wine and food critic, Dave.  Dave rarely steers us wrong on food and wine.  It usually comes with a price tag, but we were prepared for that.  Mala sits next to the ocean, and the menu was wonderful.  Hard to choose what to eat.  We arrived at four o'clock, thinking we would do happy hour until close to sunset then move to our table and finish with dinner and watch the sunset. 

Well, things changed, we moved to the center table nearest the water, informed our waitress we were going to be doing a very leisurely meal and two hours and fifteen minutes later, we had enjoyed some wonderful food, and drink, and were treated to the sea turtles coming in to have a snack at the edge of the water.   The whales were dancing in the background, boats were anchored in the water, and the clouds over Lanai were lovely.  Once the torches were lit it was a beautiful setting for a very memorable meal.

Hard to see, but this was one of the turtles who came in to snack.

Another day in paradise comes to a close. 

Aloha!

Lazy days

It's finally feeling like vacation.  The most ambitious things being done are getting dressed to go eat.  Yesterday morning we thought it was a good day to try out the gazebo at the northern end of the island, in the town of Napili.  Normally this area is a little windier, and can have more rain, but yesterday it was sunny and blue skies, and the ocean was the most wonderful shades of green and blue. We stood in line for one hour and five minutes.  Sounds crazy, but seriously, even Mark who doesn't like pancakes said they were the best pancakes he's ever tasted!  Macadamia, banana, and pineapple pancakes with some whipped wonderfulness on top.  Add a little coconut syrup and it's the most mouth watering thing you've ever tasted.

Now Gary decided to go for a fried rice plate.  People from two tables over were jumping up to look at it.  One man said, "you need to send me a picture of that!"  Happy to report, he could only eat half  of it!  There was a gardenia hedge on the outside of the gazebo. Oh how I wish things like this were growing in my yard!
So while you're sitting and eating the most decadent breakfast you watch the waves, roll in on the black rocks and in the distance the whales put on shows for your dining pleasure.  Well worth the wait, and after all, we're on vacation, so there's no need to be in a hurry.

We followed up breakfast with a drive to a couple of the golf courses where Gary & Wayne were getting geared up as to which courses they will play with the wives.  Very pretty, but I prefer the beach. 

Which led us to Fleming Park, where the waves are a little bigger and you find boogie boarders and surfers.  Nothing like Oahu, but still entertaining.

Back to the house, time on the beach, time on the deck, more reading, a blender was whipped up (I'm becoming a legend with these blenders!) Patty napping in the hammock, walking at low tide and observing so many different fish, and of course waiting for our 3 o'clock whale show.  They are like clockwork, and visit us each day between  three and four o'clock.

By this time we are so relaxed and lazy we can't even muster up the energy to fix dinner, so we walk to a nearby restaurant called Mixed plate.  It's very inexpensive, even by Salem standards, so it's amazingly priced by Maui standards.  Food was fine, not fine dining, by any stretch of the imagination, but we didn't have to cook, and the walk there and back was pleasant.



Mark ordered garlic fries for our starter and they were tasty.  Seaweed, sesame seeds, and garlic. My drink was a Hawaiian angel. Coconut rum, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice.  My oh my it was angelic!

Didn't try Aunt Lucy's grilled cheese, but thought Goose would get a kick out of this, we were thinking of her.  Not an aunt yet, but someday hopefully.

Home in time for the sunset, still not the sunsets that we remember.  The sunrises are surpassing the sunsets thus far.

The house is starting to wake up, we are heading out for a snorkel adventure today..hope everyone at home is staying warm

Aloha

Maui upcountry

Yesterday was another beautiful day in paradise. Why not take a road trip??  We loaded the car, and set out for an adventure in  the upcountry of Maui.  High in the hills where the thick grass is lush, and the clouds are hanging just to the edge of the mountain.  The temperature is cooler, but not enough for a jacket, and life looks simpler up there.

Mark is the happiest of campers.  Headphones on, his book, his iPhone, and it's command central. He doesn't have to listen to any of us, and runs his GPS and occasionally will shout out a direction for Gary to go.  It makes me laugh to see him in his "nest" but he loves it, so who am I to judge?

As we travel through small towns and see a life that has a slower pace, we are reminded why we love this island so much.  It seems we get so busy being busy that we fail to stop and smell the coffee, or ride the wave.  This place is such a treat, and a good reminder that we need to stop, and breathe, and smell, and let the day unfold before us.

Our first stop was at one of our favorite eating establishments.  Out in the middle of nowhere, and around the corner from can't believe I'm here, is a wonderful restaurant.  Pronounced Hall-E-My-Lay-A.  We were the first to arrive, and weren't disappointed by what we found.  Our memories hadn't disappointed us.  Fresh mahi mahi sandwiches, and mango margarita for me.  The margarita was so fresh and delicious, and the fish was cooked perfectly.

Until we meet again, this photo will just have to be my reminder of a fabulous lunch with good friends.

Our next stop was the Alii' lavender farm.  It sits high on a hill and overlooks the ocean below.  A little foggy today, so the views weren't as crisp as the last time we visited, but Mr. Mark got his lavender tea and scone, and the ladies loved walking the gardens to see what is blooming.  Still a little early for much of it to be in full bloom, but there were little wonders here and there.  I do love how delicate the orchids are and how they grow virtually wild.  And I'm so fond of the protea.  So much so that I had to send a bouquet to Lucy for her birthday.  They are an amazing flower, and we saw many bouquets that were different ages, and it's wonderful how long they last and how their color holds up.

This last protea is my favorite, mostly because the sign said, "no walking" "do not enter" "private property"... The rest of the group came to an abrupt halt, but of course, I creeped on until I got this perfectly shaped protea, in sunny yellow.  I think the signs were suggestions, what do you think?

We moved our crazy group down the road and visited the Maui winery.  We do enjoy the Maui blanc made from pineapple grown on the island.  It will be nice with some fresh fish.  We met an interesting woman who was serving us, and she told us of all the strides the island is making in becoming more sustainable.  They now grow their own pineapple instead of using frozen concentrate, and Maui has their own line of cattle.  No drugs, no hormones, no antibiotics, and for the cows, their last 30 days are spent enjoying the sweet pineapple just for them.  I like to think their final 30 days are happy ones, as who doesn't like pineapple?  Now we want to find some local beef and try it out.

Our final stop was the Surfing Goat.  It's a goat farm where they make many goat products.  Soaps, cheese, and lotions.  We admired the baby goats, some who were only one day old.  They had just had their horns removed, and ears tattooed.  Such sweet little creatures, and loved being petted.  Their heads looked sore, but the owner assured me removing the horns didn't bother them, but they were less than thrilled with the ear tattoo.  We enjoyed a sampler of six different goat cheeses with crackers and took two home for later use.

This was our lovely drive down from the goat farm. I wish there had been a few white puffy clouds in the sky, but it's still a beautiful drive.  We saw many egrets, grouse, a pheasant, several mongoose, and even a chicken crossed the road.

We made it home in time to see a whale so close to the house.  With screams and gathering of cameras we bolted outside, only to find a boat had seen what we saw.  The boat in it's eagerness to see "our whale" motored over and we were unable to find him again, until he surfaced quite a ways away.  Darn tourists. :-)

The house is quiet this morning.  Half of it still sleeping, Mark and I being early risers haven enjoyed the Kona coffee, and listening to the waves.  Another day in paradise to feed our souls.  I leave you with this:

No worries.

Art fair and deck time

Sundays and Mondays are a time in Maui when the locals all gather above the post office for an art fair and craft sale.  The ladies finished breakfast and took one of the vehicles to check out the local vendors.  Crowds were moderate, prices were high, and we had a lovely two hours wandering in and out of booths.

Our favorite spot was the antique piano keys booth.  They take antique piano keys, strip them off old pianos, use a scrimshaw technique then artistically arrange them on a matted board and frame them.  Some of them were so beautiful!  We remembered looking at them a couple of years ago, and prices have gone up, just as everything else has gone up.  Mickey, the  lady that runs the booth and is the artistic arranger of the keys, shared with us a gift they are giving Elton John next weekend when he performs here in Maui.  It's called piano man.  Story has it back in the 70's when Elton was in town, he was sitting at an establishment on Front Street and told the people if there was a piano, he would play.  Some of the locals went and got a piano, rolled it down Front Street and bumped it up the stairs, and Elton performed for the lucky people that were present.

So, I'm wondering.  Where will Elton stay?  Probably not the Pioneer Inn where the sailors from long ago stayed when they returned from whale hunting trips.  Will I bump into him snorkeling?  I'll have to keep my eyes peeled and be on high alert.  Will his hair stay put in water?  These and many other questions will have to wait for an answer.

So far, the sunrises are more magnificent that the sunsets, but I swear the whales heard we joined the foundation and each afternoon between 3:00 and 5:00 they put on an amazing show for our pleasure. I have an amazing book that I'm finding it hard to read because we keep stopping to watch the whales..

Below are some shots of our day yesterday. Lazy days. Sunshine, clean air, birds, whales and ocean sounds. This is and always will be my happy place.  I feel so thankful to be able to be here.  Snorkeling right off our deck, and taking it all in..I'm definitely taking time to smell the coffee and plumeria.

Last night's sunset

Just beyond the breaker is where we swim out to snorkel. It's quite shallow, so we've been thrilled when the whales come this close.

Patti was really loving this one for Wayne's office

This one was so beautiful!

Here we are drooling over the piano keys

Whale Day

Yesterday was whale day in Kihei.  We are taking this card carrying membership to the Pacific Whale Foundation pretty seriously!

The six of us loaded in the car and started out on our trek across the island to the town of Kihei.  Once the trip began, we remembered that it's usually best to stay close to home on weekends.  Traffic was bumper to bumper and we crawled along at 20 mph.

Once we reached Kihei, the crowds were large, and parking was scarce.  Our faithful driver Gary, had all but given up when out of the grace of God, a parking space appeared.  The group split up, and promised to return in an hour. 

Wayne and Patti went one way, Mark, Gary, Susie and MG went another.  It took us all of two minutes before we told the boys to go on ahead, and get a beer.  Susie and I were approaching vendors and we knew that the boys wouldn't have the patience to watch us shop. 

The venue was like a small Salem Art fair.There was food, music, and lots of people.  Temperatures were hovering in the mid 80's and there was little wind to keep us cool.  As enjoyable as visiting with local artisians is, the temperature made us happy to leave after an hour..

A quiet evening at home with the blender running, filled with papaya, mango, pineapple, juices, and a
 little rum made for a fun time.  We also had a few rousing games of yahtzee.

The highlight of the evening was finally seeing whales off our deck.  A mama, baby and the largest male whale any of us had seen.  His flipper must have been 20 feet in the air!  I didn't have my camera outside at this time, so you'll have to take my word for it, he was ginormous!!  Mark had his super duper binoculars, and it was wonderful viewing. 

No matter how many times we see whales, the excitement  is the same each time.  How I marvel at these gentle giants of the sea!

These boys had miniature marshmallow shooting guns.  Thought Ty would have loved this, but then thought about Lucy and let it rest.

This artist made a marlin out of garbage collected on the beach...lovely work of art, and a lesson of how much garbage folks leave on the beach

Here is the baby whale stretching out...guess the family heard we're members of their group.  :-D