Day 15 - Is it really over?

It can't be.  How can 14 days go by so quickly?  It has been so relaxing, doing what we want, sleeping in, stalking whales, shopping, drinking lava flows and sitting on the beach.  I have finished packing and I am just putting together my cold weather outfit to change into at the airport.  Long pants - ew!  Sweater - you gotta be kidding!  Long sleeves - yikes! 

All good things must come to an end - but really why do they have to?  Why can't all good things keep going and going and going like the Energizer rabbit?

No pictures today.  I am too depressed to take a picture of the lovely sunshine or the brilliant blue of the ocean or the swaying palm trees.

Later Gators - see you in Wisconsin.

Day 14 - Can it really be almost over?

Today was our last full day on Maui.  It was beautiful, sunny and warm.  Wearing shorts and flip flops every day has been wonderful.  We had to run a few errands and pick up chocolate for the flight.  We returned our rented beach chairs and my rented bike.  We went to the scenic lookout and watched whales again.  I can't get enough of them.  There were mommys and calves and competitive pods with males trying to show off.  It was a slow day and I only took about 200 pictures.  We made one last stop at the Local Boys Shaved Ice shop and had our final Lava Flow.  They are so delicious.  I needed to stop in the Pacific Whale Foundation just one more time to chat with the gang.  Guess what, they had all the 2012 Whale Festival t-shirts on sale for $10 so I got a white long sleeve shirt.  Remember, all proceeds go to the whales!  We are almost packed, just the stuff we need to get ready in the morning is not packed.  We also have are cold weather clothes ready.  We will be changing from shorts and flip flops to jeans and long sleeve shirts in a bathroom at the Kahului airport.  I hope they have air conditioning at the gates.  We have a red eye flight from LAX to Dallas and finally to Madison.  Please, please, please, let my brother win the lottery tonight so we don't have to fly back tomorrow.  I can't resist one final whale picture.

And one last picture of the ocean.

Day 13 - Sunrise to Sunset

The day started out very early for me.  My alarm went off at 5:15 am.  I was taking a sunrise whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation on their rubber raft.  I highly recommend the raft, however, you may want to sleep in and take a later outing.  The sun was rising over Haleakala but there were a great many clouds.

The ride on the raft was surprisingly smooth.  It is much smaller than the other boats and we had a total of 25 people on board so it was nice and intimate.  No matter which way I looked I would be able to see whales and not have to fight a crowd to take a picture.  I was also able to talk to the naturalist on board and she answered all my whale questions and due to all the reading and whale watches I have taken, I was able to answer all of her questions.  I was able to discuss the PBS special on whales I had seen the night before with the captain.  Watching PBS pays off!  We say so many whales and I took hundreds of pictures.  However, the sun wasn't as bright and later cruises so the pictures look a bit gloomy but I am sure I can do something with Photoshop.  The whale watch was fabulous and with a smaller boat, the whales came much closer.  We were startled several times by whales come up very near to our raft.  Left side, then right side and when they exhale the noise is incredible when you are only a few feet away.  We had a pair startle us on the left side of the raft.  I wish my pictures were better.  The swam in quite the synchronized fashion.

 Just a quickly as they appeared, they disappeared.  I saw so many whales and whale tails.  We finished the whale watch by zipping over to a competitive pod.  That is when a group of males attempt to impress a female whale.  Usually that is when the whales are breaching, head bobbing, etc...in an attempt to impress the female.

We were back in the harbor by 8:45 am.  It was very early but it seemed like I had done so much already.  Back to the condo.  We relaxed a bit and then headed out for our favorite shaved iced.  It is so good.  I am really going to miss it when I get home.  We then decided to head for a beach.  For some reason our beach was empty. 

I was in a really good mood and expressed my feelings in the only way you can on a beach.

Every time I tried to read my book a whale would splash so I didn't finish the book.  I spent more time watching for whales and turtles.  A few turtles would occasionally pop up their head and then dive.  We spent some time laughing at the crabs.  They are very territorial and spend most of their time trying to get into another crab's hole in the sand.

All afternoon the crabs danced on the sand, running between holes and trying to avoid the surf.  All too soon the day was over.  The sunset and we had to return to the condo.

We actually went out to dinner.  There is an Italian restaurant and they serve rice noodles instead of wheat.  We walk past it each day and this week they put up a sign that they now have gluten-free pizza.  I had the pesto three cheese and it was delicious.  Mom had regular noodles with alfredo sauce.  Exhausted from a long day we head back to the condo.  Hopefully that damn rooster will sleep in also.

Day 12 - Whale of a Day

We booked a 9 am whale watch hoping to see more whales.  The last whale watch we went on was at 11:45 am.  It was madness at the harbor.  A cruise ship was visiting Lahaina and they took over most of the pier.  Fortunately, I am a member of the Pacific Whale Foundation and we get priority boarding.  We were able to get a seat in the very front of the boat.  We just got out of the harbor and I jumped up to take the front corner of the bow.  I was not going to miss any whales today.  Soon we say a baby whale jumping around. 

He was quite active and I have a dozen pictures of him, jumping out of the water.  We soon saw an adult whale playing on the surface, close to the cruise ship, slapping his fins on the water. 

We are still in the first 15 minutes of the whale watch when an adult whale decides to jump out of the water.

Isn't he cute?  Looks like he is waving to us.  We continue to move into the channel and we see whales everywhere, and then they magically disappear.  Apparently, they can be underwater for over an hour.  We saw a few whales in the distance and I have a lot of fluke pictures.

We then started to head toward Molokai.  The captain had received information from a research vessel of a competitive pod of whales and a pod of spinner dolphins.  When we got there it was amazing,

I was just clicking away, getting more splashes than the actual dolphins and then something amazing happened.  The dolphins left the research vessel and moved toward our ship.  We had dolphins leaping ahead of us, behind us, next to us and in front of us.  They were so close that I was unable to focus on them with my zoom lens. 

The water was a clear blue but it didn't translate to my picture settings.  I really need to read that book on digital photography. 

I was finally able to take a picture of the dolphins as the swam next to our boat.

I have to admit that will all the excitement with the dolphin pod, I actually forgot about the whales.   Check out how close the research vessel is to the whales.

We had to return to the harbor :( but I took a picture of the raft that I am going on tomorrow for an up close and personal whale watch.  Check it out!

Almost to the harbor when we see an adult whale coming straight at us.

And with a splash of his tail he disappeared.  Probably swam under our boat.  What a fabulous whale watch.  The whales were more active in the morning.  My raft trip is scheduled for 6:45 am tomorrow so I am going to see the sunrise over the West Maui mountains and hopefully get very close to a whale.

We ended a fabulous morning by having yet another shaved ice at Local Boys.  We had our usual lava flow flavor but for ice cream we went with the guava sherbert.  It was ono!  We even moved up from the pretty baby size to the momma size. 

We went back to our condo to rest after all the excitement of the morning.  I also developed a sore throat and my ears seem to be blocked.  I was able to avoid all the germs in Wisconsin only to have picked up something in Maui.  Hopefully I will feel better by tomorrow.  Aloha from Maui.

Day 11 - Rooster on the Loose

That crazy rooster woke me up several times during the night.  Aren't they just suppose to crow at sunrise?  I awoke groggy and grumpy.  Fortunately, I am in Hawaii and soon I am in a fabulous mood.  Today was partly cloudy.  It is fascinating watching the clouds roll over the mountains.  We ran a few errands.  I am getting the layout of Lahaina down.  I even have a few short cuts.  While we were out we finally found that damn rooster.  Now that I know where he lives, we are coming up with a commando plan to attack his hideout.  We are going to stuff him in the trunk of our rental car and drive him up Haleakala and toss him into the crater. 

We also went to Front Street to mail postcards which someone (Mom) left in the condo.  We watched for whales, saw some jumping in the distance and spotted some lava crabs.  We call them lava crabs because they are black and they sit out on the lava rocks.

 

Tonight we are sitting in our condo, watching the clouds roll across the West Maui mountains enjoying a cocktail.  It isn't a lava flow but we are too tired to walk to a bar. 

 

We need to get our sleep tonight because tomorrow morning we are going on another whale watching cruise.  Aloha!

Day 10 - Makena Beach

Today was beach day.  We went south to Makena Beach, also known as Big Beach.  It is a gorgeous beach.  I found a lovely shady spot under a tree - my mom selected the sun.

We spent several hours enjoying the sun, tranquil breezes and watching for whales.  It is hard to read when you are next to the ocean.  I read two pages then spend 10 minutes watching the waves and looking for whales.  The only way I am going to finish reading this book is when I get home.  Did I mention it was sunny and 82 degrees?  The weather has been fabulous.  Occasionally a strong wind will whip across the beach and we end up with sand everywhere but it is so worth it.  Not sure what we will do tomorrow.  I am thinking beach, lava flow, shaved iced and a nap.  I love this vacation.  It is so relaxing.

Day 9 - Whatever we want to do

Today we decided to do whatever we wanted to do.  We put the do not disturb sign on the door so that housekeeping wouldn't bother us.  Well, that damn rooster did as well as the people picking up the recycling at 7:20 am.  So much for sleeping in.  We headed back to Front Street for some more shaved ice.  We got our favorite lava flow flavor but changed the ice cream on the bottom from vanilla to pineapple coconut.  It was fabulous.  We visited the Pacific Whale Foundation to purchase another t-shirt.  It is lovely, red with white heart made out of whales and dolphins and it says "I  <3 whales".  (it has a real heart shape, not a text heart)

Did I mention we had shaved ice?  We watched some young boys who had been spear fishing trying to figure out what fish they had caught.  Didn't have a clue.  There was a lovely craft market under the Banyan tree and there are some seriously talented people living on this island.  I couldn't afford anything - spending all my money on shaved ice, lava flows and whale t-shirts.  We walked around the town taking pictures of flowers, old buildings, the mountains. 

Back at the condo we had a lovely dinner of quinoa pasta.  My mom tried it.  She first put two pounds of cheese on it.  I do believe she thought it was going to taste horrible.  It didn't.  When all else fails I will be able to eat pasta made from funky grains and salads.  We are relaxing with a cocktail and catching up on laundry and dishes.  We just put everything in the machines and magically they all come out clean.  Tomorrow we head south to Makena (Big Beach).  It is gorgeous, a very long beach without any development around it.  Later Gators.

Day 8 - Lazy Day

I love Saturdays.  A day to relax after a long week.  We slept in today.  We finally got up and headed to Front Street.  It was nice and quite.  We picked up a few things and stopped for a fabulous lava flow.  Stephanie, the bartender, recognizes us when we come in. 

After a tiring morning of shopping, fudge and lava flows, we head back to the condo for a nap.  Nap completed we head out to find some bananas for my mom and diet coke for me.  Mission accomplished we head out to find some whales.  We didn't see any whales and the traffic was horrible.  We did get to see a fabulous sunset. 

Day 7 - Heading North

Today I awoke early and went on a lovely bike ride.  I was at Baby Beach this morning and I was alone. It was fabulous.  We decided to head north today.  We visited several beaches and made it as far north as Honolua Bay.  The windy road didn't appeal to my mom so we headed back.  The beaches were lovely but we had a high surf warning. 

The surfers were out in force, making the most of the high surf.

We tried to find a beach that wasn't very windy.  No luck.  The trade winds were too strong.  We decided to relax by our pool instead.  It was lovely.  Back to the condo for dinner and then the monsoon struck.  Strong winds began to blow but no rain.  It lasted an hour or so and now it is completely calm.  The next two days will have some wind and we have a 20% chance of rain on Sunday.  Tomorrow we head to another beach.  It is so wonderful to just sit in the sun, watching the ocean, seeing whales, reading, relaxing and eating cheetos.  This vacation has been so relaxing.

Day 6 - Time for an Adventure

We decide to have an adventure and just drive around the island.  Unfortunately, Cynthia our trusty GPS unit was not working.  How can we have an adventure if we have no idea where we are going?  We had to use maps (so old school) to find our first stop Iao State Park.  Not a long drive and without a GPS we still found it.  Beautiful area, hard to believe so many Hawaiians died there almost 200 years ago. 

Back in the car we headed to Wailuku and then Pa'ia, which was crazy busy so we decided to head "up country".  That was an adventure.  Windy, curvy roads and as we drove higher and higher our ears began to pop.  We decided to head to the beach.  We drove back toward Lahaina and stopped at Papalaua Wayside Park.  The sun was out, the whales were jumping, but it was a bit windy and we were on the nice soft sand and when the wind blew, we were pelted by the nice soft sand.  We moved closer to the water where the sand was more compact.  We had sand everywhere, in our hair, clothes, even in our mouth. 

We watched a few fisherman hoping they would catch something.  They didn't but check out how they haul in their lines.

He put the pole over his shoulder and walks away from the ocean.  He then reels in as much as he can and does it again.  I just wonder how they cast it out that far.  Time to head back to the condo and get the sand off.  Our gecko (Charlie or Gilroy) was waiting for us.

 I made a gluten-free pizza.  Won't be making that recipe again.  We are now sand free and full from dinner.  Well not me, my pizza sucked.  Tomorrow we plan on heading north from Lahaina, checking out a few sites and ending up at a beach again.  Life is good!