Haleakala (Holly-ah-kah-lah) Crater is a vast (19 square miles) crater left from a massive volcano eruption about 400,000 years ago. Even with the top blown off, it’s just over 10,000 feet high. Yeah, I know, Colorado has higher mountains. But there’s something about standing on the top of a mountain when everything else below you is flat…the ocean, the land, the clouds. It’s said that … Continue reading Top of the World and a Maui Sunset

We’re off to Maui tomorrow morning (Mon, Jan 18) through Thursday, Jan 21. Not taking my laptop, so I’ll be filling in our adventures when we get back. ~~~~~ Dropped a note on Facebook tonight in case anyone’s reading there about how much more fun vacations are if you have a local boyfriend HA HA . In my first blog post here, I mentioned that … Continue reading Off to Maui

Our day of snorkeling was a bust…high waters and rough seas. But it was still a beautiful day. We tried Tunnels Beach (Makua) first, which is on the North Shore, to the west of Hanalei. On a normal day, there are underground tunnels and caves you can see when snorkeling. Not today! From there we tried Ha’ena Beach, further west. Still very wild. There are … Continue reading Day of Beaches

Just a short post today…Tammie and I enjoyed a sour guava from a tree in the backyard today. YUM! Seeds and all. She said we had to get it before the chickens did. Also delish are the apple bananas that grow everywhere here. Smaller than regular bananas and with a tarter taste. YUM! Phil picked a ton of tangerines for me from his yard that … Continue reading Fruits of the Island

It seems like such a simple thing: spending a few hours at the beach. But there’s something about the beaches here that seem different, special. The waves have been unusually big for this time of year, with high surf warnings on all the islands for the past week. As I went out into the surf today, hoping to get past the breakers, I couldn’t help but … Continue reading Kauai Observations

Monday, January 11, 2010 — It was all about the wheels today! Tammie, her friend Rose and adorable 2-year-old son, and I went on a 5-mile bike ride along the shore of Kapa’a today. It’s a wonderful bike path right on the coast, sometimes just 10 feet away from the crashing surf, close enough to get the salty spray on you. It has been at … Continue reading Roll On!

Saturday, January 9, Kauai — Today was a wonderful day of a red and green layered gorge and      rushing waterfalls. Tammie drove me over to the west side of the island and we stopped at three waterfalls. The first, Opaeka’a (Opika), is a double falls that’s about 150 feet high, with the Makaleha Mountains in the background.  The next one we went to was Wailua Falls, … Continue reading Canyons and Waterfalls