More Maui

I fell in love with the island of Maui when we were there.  Can't really explain why I like it so much, but I do.  We stayed in a lovely little free standing cottage just about a block and a half from the beach.   We could actually sit on the lanai out back and see the ocean in the distance.  We spent a lot of time out there looking at the birds and whale watching. 

High stress living

You could walk to the beach easily if you didn't want to drag along your chairs and stuff.  As it was, we drove down and parked in a PUBLIC parking lot next to a PUBLIC beach park.  What a surprise that was.   The other lovely surprise was there were trees along the beach and beachwalk.  If you wanted sun you had it.  If you wanted shade, you had that too.  Couldn't ask for better. 

I sat in the shade most of the time and watched the whales.  Never a dull moment for me. 

We took a day to drive the Road to Hana.  The actual distance is something like 60 miles but it took us more than four hours to drive it.  We stopped frequently along the way and due to the curves, we could only travel at maybe 20-25 mph most of the way.  

While there were breathtaking sights along the way as these photos attest, there were also long stretches when you saw only the curves of the road and the dense jungle like foliage on each side.

We did stop for fresh banana bread at one place and it was still warm.  I think that was a highlight of the road trip.  Now that we've made this trek, I don't think it is something I'd repeat.    We left our cottage at 7:30 a.m. and we got back home around 5 p.m.  

We couldn't go to Maui and not take a whale watching trip.  We booked an outing with the Pacific Whale Foundation on a rigid bottomed raft.  The raft held a maximum of 31 people and we were down near water level for the trip.   There were humpback whales everywhere!!  The strait between the islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai is a primary breeding and calving location for humpbacks.  Thousands of them come there every winter.  In the summer they travel back to Alaska to feed.  They do not feed at all while in the Hawaiian waters.  

Coming back into Lahaina Harbor 

This was our second trip to Hawaii and I loved it.  The trip itself is a real bummer due to the length of it, though.   If you've never been, I'd highly recommend saving the pennies and going there at least once in your life. 

Y'all take care. 

Sun and Surf

I'm back!! 

We were fortunate to spend a couple of weeks in Hawaii and missed the whole winter storm affliction for our area!  We've had a very mild winter, actually, and it was merely a fluke that we were gone when the only bad weather of the winter came to town. 

Instead, we spend a lot of time in the sunshine.  It sure felt funny to put on sandals and capris instead of jeans and sweatshirts.   But, after a day or two it felt just right. 

Hubby in the surf

The first week, we were on the big island of Hawaii and stayed in a condo.  It was nice enough but it did not have air conditioning.  Since it faced due west and the daily temperatures were in the high 80's, it got hot in there every afternoon.  Thankfully, it did cool off at night and we slept with the windows and sliders open every night.  Loved that. 

We had wonderful birds come right to the edge of our patio and I added a couple to my life list. 

Saffron Finch

These guys are truly this bright and there were lots of them around.  I also saw Java Sparrows but could not get a picture of them.    In addition to these two, I saw Pacific Golden Plovers on several occasions. 

Pacific Golden Plover

I also saw Gray Francolins but, again, no pictures.  That made four life birds for me on this trip.

I'll be back with more.   Y'all take care.