Getting it together

Ok, so we all know that checking out for a vacation ALWAYS makes me lazy in getting back into the groove. Then I went and blogged every day for 6 days- I have never done that before in the history of this blog. Basically, I wore myself out! Today I feel as though I should be saying something pertinent or interesting to woo my readers back into my lap, but alas, I am bone dry of things to say. Funny how that is right. I have been busy, really busy, uncharacteristically busy (soccer three days a week, dance lessons, piano, choral group practices and performances, classroom volunteering and parties, homework, church calling etc.) but it all just seems to be flowing from one day into the next without end. We have had to start discussing on Sunday the upcoming events of the week in order to prepare the adults and children alike. I have found that this act has single handily prevented many meltdowns that we were having on a daily basis when the kids felt as though I was springing activities on them without warning (I don't know how they can't remember from one day to the next that yes you did sign up for this, remember!) Two weeks ago I was about to pull the plug- what had we gotten ourselves into. I have always been a firm believer in not over scheduling. I am a free spirit, I like to roam in my own time and place. But as I laid out all the activities it turned out that we had one month, March, when everything was going to over lap. After that it was going to calm down a bit as they begin to end one by one over the next month or so. I concluded that all the activities were good, worthwhile and would be missed if withdrawn- we would continue as planned and enjoy the ride!
Today was wonderfully stormy- a blessing to me because the soccer game has been cancelled and now I will get myself away from this computer and clean my seriously neglected bathrooms! Blessed be the sleety rain beating itself against my windows!

P.S. A big CONGRATULATIONS to my brother Trace and his wife Amber! They had their darling little girl last Friday!!

Macie Mae

Welcome to the family little one!!
We can hardly wait to meet you!

Maui- Going Home

Saturday March 5th- Saying Goodbye

After the rainy day on Friday I was a little bit disappointed to be leaving the next day without one more day on the beach, soaking up the sun. However, when we awoke the next morning to more rain I was ok with checking out and flying back home to our girls. It helped to keep the tears to a minimum! Our flight was suppose to depart at 1:20pm so we only had enough time in the morning to have a breakfast down at the hotel beach spot, pack and make the drive over to the Jeep return and airport.

As we were waiting for our flight to leave (it was delayed an hour and a half) I remembered that on the flight over a week ago they had played a game- The Half way to Maui contest. The pilot instructed everyone about the local Maui time, distance we would travel, head winds and tail winds etc. They passed out papers and had everyone make a guess at what time -to the seconds- that we would be exactly half way to the island. Naturally Paul was very logical with his approach- pulling out a pencil and paper, figuring an equation and calculating his estimate- to the second. He turned it in and waited. After the plane landed and we were taxiing to the ramp they announced the winner over the intercom- it was Paul!! He was only off by 7 seconds!! I was so proud of him- the smartest person on that huge plane!! He was pretty elated to find out that he had won a CD- "Peace, Love , Ukulele" by Jake Shimabukuro. We had no idea who he was, but Paul was eager to receive his award!! Pretty cool right?

As a final tribute to our trip I thought I would share some of my favorite flowers that we encountered during our adventures. The colors that made me stop and document their beauty. I enjoy each and every one of these bright and delicate petals:

When we finally boarded the plane, with no further delays, it took off as rain continued to streak across my window. Goodbye Maui, we will miss you!
The rain again followed us home. Except this time it was welcome as we rode the storm all the way to San Francisco shaving 1 1/2 hours off our flight time giving us 15 minutes to catch our connection into Salt Lake instead of missing it. In fact, that next flight was so fast we landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule- it did feel good to be home- even if it was FREEZING and snowing.

This was such a fantastic trip- we had an incredible time. I have so many happy memories there. I will always look back fondly on our time spent in this enchanting paradise. Thanks for joining me on a look back to document everything before it begins to fade away.

Aloha and Mahalo!!

Maui- Day Six

Let's continue on our journey (ignoring the fact that we are SO glad our vacation was last week and not THIS week- holly molly earth quake in Japan and Tsunami sweeping through the Pacific- yowsas!!). Also, for your enjoyment I have added Paul's favorite song from the island radio- give a listen and thank me later!!

Now on with the good stuff:


Friday March 4th- Haleakala Volcano/Crater

We awoke to rain, and lots of it, with wind, and lots of it. We had been scheduled to embark on an extreme ocean rafting whale watching expedition. They were telling us "up close and personal interactions". Paul was SO SO excited about this one. We headed to the Harbor despite the fowl weather only to be informed that all water excursions that day had being canceled- the winds were just to strong. Disappointed, our heads hanging low, Charlie Brown music playing in the background, we walked our sorry little selves back to the car (so long $8 parking for nuthin'). As we started driving back to our hotel I remembered that we still had our National Park ticket from the day before- it was good through Saturday- and they had told us it worked for the Haleakala park as well. Inspiration comes in all aspects of our lives- the day was saved! Remember how I told you that the island is divided down the middle- one side is a lush wet jungle receiving the third most rain in the world, while the other is a desert, only raining two or three times a year- well this little fact made for a pretty wonderful day!

As we approached that side of the island the rains cleared, in fact we could see blue skies! We began our climb up the mountain. Haleakala is over 10,000 Ft. tall (Mt. Timpanogas is just over 11,000 Ft). This drive is so impressive because you zig zag the entire distance from sea level to the peak in about 30 or so minutes. The vegetation changes before your eyes and the temperature begins to drop quickly.
We stopped at a lookout on the way up that had beautiful views from right inside the cloud line.
By the time we reached the visitors center we could see the storm sweeping up the north side of the mountain and dispersing over to the other- it was moving in so quickly! We decided to drive past the visitors center and go straight to the summit- HOLY COW!! The fog was so thick we could hardly see. It was a thick mist, we got wet just sanding in it for a few seconds. We could hardly open the Jeep doors because of the strong winds and then made a mad dash up to the observation shelter that would block the winds and let us catch our breath! I couldn't believe how strong the winds were- while Paul took these pictures I really thought I was going to blow right off the edge and plummet into the depths of that volcano!Still this pictures totally crack me up I could barely hold on!!!
These are space and weather observation buildings with huge telescopes- would have been amazing to see if they would let us in!
Because of the fog we couldn't see anything so we drove back to the visitor center. Here is a map of Maui and the volcano (Our condo was located on the Dark Brown side just north of Lahaina) The last time this volcano erupted was in 1790.

When we walked in we told the guy behind the counter that we couldn't see anything out there and he looked up and said "give it a minute- weather moves pretty fast up here". Sure enough not two minutes later the view opened up before us and it was awesome: (All the little volcano looking mounds are the lava tubes that release the lava flow)
We left and drove our way back down (one of the activities that you can do here is watching the sunrise up at the summit and then biking the switchback road back down to the bottom. It wasn't in the cards for us this trip- but I think that would have been a kick to do.) and the storm decided to follow us. Wouldn't you know our luck- it was raining on the driest side of the mountain- absolutely pouring dropping inches of water in seconds. What are the odds that this would happen on the weekend we were there?!

Lucky for us our night plans were indoors. We booked a dinner/show combo to see the play 'Ulalena - A story of Hawaii's People, and then dinner at Chris Steak House on Front street. We found this to be a really nice way to close out the vacation. The show was so wonderful. I would call it Cirque du Soleil meets Lion King. It was a fanciful, musical depiction of Hawaii's history. My favorite part had to be when Pele (Volcano/Fire Goddess) erupted and the red lava spread out of her across the stage and up over the heads of the audience. I also loved when the players became the ocean sea life moving thought the audience. The music was fantastic!

Next we made our way through the rain and puddle filled streets to the Steak House right on the ocean and enjoyed a luxurious meal- cooked to perfection. I believe at one point Paul declared that this was the best steak he had EVER eaten- now that is a good meal!

So, the day started out with gloom but ended with both of us smiling. There is something to be said about just going with the tide and seeing where it takes you. Really, I would have been sad to say we came and never even saw the volcano, so it worked out for the best.

Tomorrow- sadly we say goodbye to paradise.

Maui- Day Five- Happy Birthday Paul!

Thursday March 3rd- Road to Hana

"fulfillment lies in the journey, not the destination"

(Warning: This post is epic in size!)

Before we left on vacation- everyone said that we must, MUST drive the road to a small town call Hana on the north side of the island. Today was Paul's 35th birthday, today was the day for some adventure, fun and excitement. Today we would drive and discover the road to Hana! This proved to be my very favorite day of our vacation- THIS is the Maui experience. A narrow road with more one lane bridges, built decades ago, than I could count and crazy amount of curves, some say 600 turns. We found it not all that scary-this is why you drive a jeep here. It was like driving any canyon road back at home, but lush, green, dripping with water and laden in mist- exotic and mesmerizing.

The night before we asked our waiter Rob any advice on our journey. He said to leave no later than 8:00am, get a copy of the book "Maui Reveled" and follow it! So, that is exactly what we did and it was perfection!! This post is going to be long because of all the stunning shots we were able to get on our drive- I must share the highlights with you as I give you a mini tour of the North side. All of my excerpts and directions come from that book- if you ever go to Maui you must have this book in your possession.

Per the books instruction we skipped the first few turn off because the author said if you are on a one day drive to blow past them to better ones further up. So our first stop was to see a hidden fall that you can't see from the road "At 8/10 mile past the 10 mile marker on the ocean side is a turnout with a telephone pole and barbed wire fence. Hop over the fence and take the small path for a couple of minutes and you will be treated with a view of a large waterfall- Lower Puohokamao Falls.
That was an example of what we did the entire day- it was fun to feel like we were the only ones out discovering hidden treasures, we didn't see any people, except at the well known spots. Here are some of our other highlights of the day:

Upper Puohokamoa Falls: found down a short pathHonomanu Bay and the zig-zagging Hana HighwayChing's Pond: just past the 17 mile marker is a bridge and pullout, park walk back looking for a brake in the railing for a path that leads down to a marvelous pool that most drivers never see. This was Paul's favorite spot of the day- it was perfect for diving!Halfway to Hana food stand: We were told it was a must to get the famous banana bread- so we did.- it was worth the stop.

Waikani Falls: At the 18 mile marker turn down the very straight road into the settlement of Wailua. Keep your eyes to the right to see the enormous falls dropping 1,000 feet under the highway. I don't think the locals wanted us there, but it WAS a beautiful little secret they had!

Three Bears Falls as seen from the bridge:In case you were wondering, yes you CAN get to the falls themselves- climb down the bridge on the far side- it's just the first step that is ugly!Look what you miss from the road!

Hanawi Falls:Makaip Falls: Pull over past the bridge at the 25 mile marker, walk out on the bride and look straight down. You are directly above the spot where the falls start and plunge unfettered into the pool below. This was much taller than it looks here, very impressive!Between Nahiku and Hana: Lots of little honor system fruit stands start to appear- I really liked this ones presentation:

Blue Pool: We were so excited to see this "Real Gem" in the book- we drove down the little road like they said, got out and hiked down the path (with mosquito's mind you) only to find this sign and a state barricade. Bummer! But we did see this sweet little tiered falls on the way.
Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach: Formed when lava flowed and fountained into the sea, shattering on contact with the ocean. Fragments smashed against each other forming the sand you see. Really beautiful! It had lots of Lava Caves lining the coast that we explored.Hana: We were so excited to keep seeing all the other cool spots that we drove right on through town without taking any pictures! The town itself is very small and quaint and peaceful- but we were on a quest and the day was slipping away.

Hana has three very diffent beaches:
Red Sand Beach

Koki Beach: a mixture of red and black and white sand with coconut tree topped 'Alua Island right off shore.Hamoa Beach: gorgeous white sand beach with beautiful waves and do you see the livestock grazing right on the shoreline? - my favorite beach of the day, so picturesque.

7 Sacred Pools: this is a state park with a $10 admittance- EVERYONE says this is worth it, so we went on in- it was fantastic!We swam to the falls, walked behind them and scaled the rock walls to the next pool right to the top- This was such FUN!!What? It's the water shoes that really complete this shot!!

The last store before the road turns to dirt and civilization ends. There were a surprising number of goats chained to rocks though.

We decided that we were having such a blast jeeping around all day together that we would just continue the drive right on around the Volcano completing the loop- I am SO glad that we did. This untouched side of the island had sweeping vistas and magnificent views and landscapes stretching out before us as the light began to fade and the sun began to rest on the horizon. The radio was tuned to the Sounds of Maui station and we were mesmerized by these volcanic fields occupied only by the cattle grazing on the cliffs and walking down the dirt road we were lazily traveling.
We arrived home in the dark, the sun was gone, the town lights were glowing and we were exhausted- but totally satisfied- The Road to Hana IS Maui- so divers, yet so harmonious.
And now you too have traveled it's winding paths!

Tomorrow- We hit the Summit of the Haleakala Volcano!