Sorry for making fun of how cold it is back home.
I swear that this video was taken in Maui on Christmas morning. No beautiful sunrise for me.
And yes, we will be releasing a cd very soon.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Baby it's cold outside
I hear that it's been wicked evil cold back home.
I feel for you.
I mean, I was out for dinner the other night after hiking through a bamboo forest and jumping from waterfalls all afternoon. And it was so cold we commented several times how we wished we had a light sweater.
I love it here.
I feel for you.
I mean, I was out for dinner the other night after hiking through a bamboo forest and jumping from waterfalls all afternoon. And it was so cold we commented several times how we wished we had a light sweater.
I love it here.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Is that a lock on that closed gate?
Still loving it here. I have had so many fantastic experiences and am very thankful for them. I shall now tell you about an excursion I took on Tuesday evening.
A friend and I decided to meet in Kahului to hang out one evening. It's about a 45 minute bus ride for me from Kihei to Kahului. I was supposed to catch the 5:44 bus and be there around 6:30. I have been trying to sincerely make an effort to talk to people that I come in contact with throughout the day. I've had some successful attempts. Like the 20 minute chat with the cutest old lady by the bus stop on her way home from church. Coincidentally it was the same church I'd attended that morning so we had lots to chat about. She also told me of her time spent being forced to work for the Germans during the war and how it felt to come to the USA later in life. Also successful was the lovely conversation on the plane on my way home from Oahu two weekends ago with a Philipino woman on her way to Maui to visit her husband. They've been here for years but always living on separate islands due to their work situations. I've also had two encounters where I've either been totally creeped out (like the MUCH older guy at the airport who basically invited me to the Big Island to drink Pina Colodas and see the sights with him - gross) or been made to miss the bus. As in the case I am about to explain.
So I get to the bus stop at about 5:35 which is way early but you just never know with these buses. Sometimes they are late, sometimes they are early. There is an older black man sitting on the bench. The only reason that I mention the colour of his skin is because he called me "Sista" when I sat down and that was seriously cool and would have sounded completely different coming from a white person. It was awesome. Anyway. We were having a good conversation for the most part. He swore a bit and was kind of negative about the cops and his previous job, but I dug his accent and he's a reggae musician and had good stories. Then a bus pulled up.
I got up to get on. Now before I pay, I always tell the driver my destination to check that I'm on the right bus. So I'm sure I would have quickly realised it wasn't the bus I wanted. Instead this guy tells me it's not the bus I'm looking for. I looked at the bus schedule in my hands, argued with him for a moment and then agreed. He was right and it was the wrong bus. I felt kind of sheepish for having argued but he didn't seem to care so we continued our conversation. Then another bus pulled up with no sign and no bus number on it, only the word Aloha on the digital screen where the route would usually be printed. I again was going to at least go check with the driver but Mr. Reggae music is like, "No girl, chill. You're bus is the big green one. This ain't the right one." Having felt silly for arguing before, wanting to be Maui-ish and just hang loose, and (more importantly) knowing that in the past, yes, it always has been a big green bus, I stayed put. By the time the next bus (not my route) came so I could talk to the driver it was 6:10 and she told me I'd totally missed my bus. It was the Aloha one. Apparently the real bus had a breakdown and the little Aloha one was covering. Sigh. Buses only come once per hour. Bummer.
So, at 7:30pm I finally made it to the mall in Kahului where the buses all stop. After listening to some Christmas carols on the Ukulele (just imagine "Carol of the Bells" on the Ukulele. It was kind of weirdly good) we decided to go hang out at a cool park. It was maybe 8:30 or so by now. We played on the monkey bars, walked around and saw a stray dog and then laid on the grass to watch the stars which are pretty good here. Such a great evening. Sometime after 10:00 I decided I'd better get him to take me back to Kihei so I could get some sleep before work the next morning. Plus it was cold. And I had to pee.
The problem was, we entered on one side of the park that had no sign telling us that the park gates are closed and locked at 10:00pm. We quickly discovered that though. We were locked in the park. We also quickly discovered that the washrooms were locked as well.
We did some exploring to see if we could find any spot to squeeze the car out but everything was definitely locked. There was one spot we thought we could fit through the trees, but the ditch on the other side was very deep and it was extremely possible that we'd get stuck. During our exploration to find an escape route we came across the single sign (even though there are three possible entry points) telling us that the gates are locked from 10:00pm until 7:00am. In Maui, 7:00am doesn't necessarily mean 7:00am. It could mean 7:10 or even 7:20. I had to be at work by 7:30. And it was a half hour drive yet once we finally got out. And I'd then be arriving to a morning devotional meeting not only late but in the same clothes as the night before without having brushed my teeth or combed my hair. Which just might look kind of bad. But, it was starting to seem like spending the night in the park might be the only option. And hey, it's not like I haven't slept in a car before (Maryanne, that's still a great memory). Then my friend thought of phoning the cops. I'd heard lots of bad things about the cops (some of them that very night from my reggae-bus-stop friend) so I didn't figure they'd help us. But they totally did. They tracked down the park's security guard and he told them to tell us about the two posts that are just wide enough to squeeze a car through. We only had to drive up a curb, cross a grassy field, sneak through YMCA's adjacent property, drive along their sidewalk, squeeze through the posts and then go down a big curb and pull a u-turn across a busy street. It was a fun adventure!
We were famished (it was around 1:30am by now as it took us awhile to escape), having not previously had dinner. And, I still had to pee. We tried to find an all night IHOP but no luck. So we went to Safeway and got hummus, seasoned bread and a carrot and had a late night feast in the car. Then we finally drove to Kihei and I got just enough sleep to be fresh-faced in the morning and tell the ladies at the devotional my story. It was great fun and I'm glad to have had the experience! How fun.
A friend and I decided to meet in Kahului to hang out one evening. It's about a 45 minute bus ride for me from Kihei to Kahului. I was supposed to catch the 5:44 bus and be there around 6:30. I have been trying to sincerely make an effort to talk to people that I come in contact with throughout the day. I've had some successful attempts. Like the 20 minute chat with the cutest old lady by the bus stop on her way home from church. Coincidentally it was the same church I'd attended that morning so we had lots to chat about. She also told me of her time spent being forced to work for the Germans during the war and how it felt to come to the USA later in life. Also successful was the lovely conversation on the plane on my way home from Oahu two weekends ago with a Philipino woman on her way to Maui to visit her husband. They've been here for years but always living on separate islands due to their work situations. I've also had two encounters where I've either been totally creeped out (like the MUCH older guy at the airport who basically invited me to the Big Island to drink Pina Colodas and see the sights with him - gross) or been made to miss the bus. As in the case I am about to explain.
So I get to the bus stop at about 5:35 which is way early but you just never know with these buses. Sometimes they are late, sometimes they are early. There is an older black man sitting on the bench. The only reason that I mention the colour of his skin is because he called me "Sista" when I sat down and that was seriously cool and would have sounded completely different coming from a white person. It was awesome. Anyway. We were having a good conversation for the most part. He swore a bit and was kind of negative about the cops and his previous job, but I dug his accent and he's a reggae musician and had good stories. Then a bus pulled up.
I got up to get on. Now before I pay, I always tell the driver my destination to check that I'm on the right bus. So I'm sure I would have quickly realised it wasn't the bus I wanted. Instead this guy tells me it's not the bus I'm looking for. I looked at the bus schedule in my hands, argued with him for a moment and then agreed. He was right and it was the wrong bus. I felt kind of sheepish for having argued but he didn't seem to care so we continued our conversation. Then another bus pulled up with no sign and no bus number on it, only the word Aloha on the digital screen where the route would usually be printed. I again was going to at least go check with the driver but Mr. Reggae music is like, "No girl, chill. You're bus is the big green one. This ain't the right one." Having felt silly for arguing before, wanting to be Maui-ish and just hang loose, and (more importantly) knowing that in the past, yes, it always has been a big green bus, I stayed put. By the time the next bus (not my route) came so I could talk to the driver it was 6:10 and she told me I'd totally missed my bus. It was the Aloha one. Apparently the real bus had a breakdown and the little Aloha one was covering. Sigh. Buses only come once per hour. Bummer.
So, at 7:30pm I finally made it to the mall in Kahului where the buses all stop. After listening to some Christmas carols on the Ukulele (just imagine "Carol of the Bells" on the Ukulele. It was kind of weirdly good) we decided to go hang out at a cool park. It was maybe 8:30 or so by now. We played on the monkey bars, walked around and saw a stray dog and then laid on the grass to watch the stars which are pretty good here. Such a great evening. Sometime after 10:00 I decided I'd better get him to take me back to Kihei so I could get some sleep before work the next morning. Plus it was cold. And I had to pee.
The problem was, we entered on one side of the park that had no sign telling us that the park gates are closed and locked at 10:00pm. We quickly discovered that though. We were locked in the park. We also quickly discovered that the washrooms were locked as well.
We did some exploring to see if we could find any spot to squeeze the car out but everything was definitely locked. There was one spot we thought we could fit through the trees, but the ditch on the other side was very deep and it was extremely possible that we'd get stuck. During our exploration to find an escape route we came across the single sign (even though there are three possible entry points) telling us that the gates are locked from 10:00pm until 7:00am. In Maui, 7:00am doesn't necessarily mean 7:00am. It could mean 7:10 or even 7:20. I had to be at work by 7:30. And it was a half hour drive yet once we finally got out. And I'd then be arriving to a morning devotional meeting not only late but in the same clothes as the night before without having brushed my teeth or combed my hair. Which just might look kind of bad. But, it was starting to seem like spending the night in the park might be the only option. And hey, it's not like I haven't slept in a car before (Maryanne, that's still a great memory). Then my friend thought of phoning the cops. I'd heard lots of bad things about the cops (some of them that very night from my reggae-bus-stop friend) so I didn't figure they'd help us. But they totally did. They tracked down the park's security guard and he told them to tell us about the two posts that are just wide enough to squeeze a car through. We only had to drive up a curb, cross a grassy field, sneak through YMCA's adjacent property, drive along their sidewalk, squeeze through the posts and then go down a big curb and pull a u-turn across a busy street. It was a fun adventure!
We were famished (it was around 1:30am by now as it took us awhile to escape), having not previously had dinner. And, I still had to pee. We tried to find an all night IHOP but no luck. So we went to Safeway and got hummus, seasoned bread and a carrot and had a late night feast in the car. Then we finally drove to Kihei and I got just enough sleep to be fresh-faced in the morning and tell the ladies at the devotional my story. It was great fun and I'm glad to have had the experience! How fun.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Camping in Hana
Having a great time! Between camping at Hana, celebrating birthdays with food and song, spending Thanksgiving with new friends, and watching the stars while sitting next to the ocean, I have no complaints.
I do, however, have no time to sleep. And I've got to be up for another trip to Hana tomorrow so I must go to bed now. But I will leave you with a quick photo explination of my camping trip from two weeks ago.
The drive to Hana is the whole point. Getting to Hana is cool but it's the drive that makes it worth going. There are all kinds of waterfalls and pretty things along the way like this.
A bit of car sickness meant many stops. But no complaints from me because look at where we stopped!!
The guys foraged for coconuts (which we later ate).
We had a feast for dinner and then went fishing by moonlight on the rocks. See the part that is sticking up from the water at the end? That's where we were at a lower tide. (Scary to see it covered with water in daylight the next day.) Because a few of us were "nervous" about how close we were to the water we backed up and sang any church song that had a round that we could think of for about an hour. It was such an uplifing evening and so beautiful. The moon was a night past being full and provided plenty of light.
We packed up the next morning so we could be on our way to the 7 Sacred Pools.
First we had some breakfast and ate those coconuts I mentioned previously.
Everything is so lush. It's hard to take in so much beauty.
We spent the morning jumping into the lower pools. We even found a natural rock waterslide that entertained us for awhile.
Then it was time to go home. This is a VERY common sign to see.
We took a different way around the back and got to see some amazing views.
It was a truly fantastic and refreshing weekend.
I do, however, have no time to sleep. And I've got to be up for another trip to Hana tomorrow so I must go to bed now. But I will leave you with a quick photo explination of my camping trip from two weeks ago.
The drive to Hana is the whole point. Getting to Hana is cool but it's the drive that makes it worth going. There are all kinds of waterfalls and pretty things along the way like this.
A bit of car sickness meant many stops. But no complaints from me because look at where we stopped!!
The guys foraged for coconuts (which we later ate).
We had a feast for dinner and then went fishing by moonlight on the rocks. See the part that is sticking up from the water at the end? That's where we were at a lower tide. (Scary to see it covered with water in daylight the next day.) Because a few of us were "nervous" about how close we were to the water we backed up and sang any church song that had a round that we could think of for about an hour. It was such an uplifing evening and so beautiful. The moon was a night past being full and provided plenty of light.
We packed up the next morning so we could be on our way to the 7 Sacred Pools.
First we had some breakfast and ate those coconuts I mentioned previously.
Everything is so lush. It's hard to take in so much beauty.
We spent the morning jumping into the lower pools. We even found a natural rock waterslide that entertained us for awhile.
Then it was time to go home. This is a VERY common sign to see.
We took a different way around the back and got to see some amazing views.
It was a truly fantastic and refreshing weekend.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Maui for real
November 22:
This should have been posted two weeks ago but I forgot that I hadn't finished it. I have been so busy that I have not made blogging a priority at all.
November 4:
I've got 6 minutes to try to tell you about the most amazing place I've ever been. I went on a hike this weekend with some new acquaintences that will hopefully turn into friends by the end of this 3 month adventure. It was to a bamboo forest part way up the Hana road (but not the really popular one that everyone goes to near the 7 Sacred Pools). This one did not have a sign. It was a little hole in the bamboo at the side of the road that you could duck into.
This should have been posted two weeks ago but I forgot that I hadn't finished it. I have been so busy that I have not made blogging a priority at all.
November 4:
I've got 6 minutes to try to tell you about the most amazing place I've ever been. I went on a hike this weekend with some new acquaintences that will hopefully turn into friends by the end of this 3 month adventure. It was to a bamboo forest part way up the Hana road (but not the really popular one that everyone goes to near the 7 Sacred Pools). This one did not have a sign. It was a little hole in the bamboo at the side of the road that you could duck into.
I find bamboo forests so peaceful. They are silent and cool and shady. It feels like it must be getting dark outside, even on a sunny day. Part of the hike also involved walking across rocks and through streambeds which was tricky in it's own way. 
We had to climb some small rockfaces using ropes and helping* each other get over the top.
After walking for 45/50 minutes we reached the end of the "trail". There was a little channel of water leading around a corner and even though I did not have my bathing suit on (a mistake I will not repeat again - when hiking in Maui, always wear a bathing suit under your clothes**) I jumped fully clothed into the water because I realised that this was an experience that I would regret missing if I did not.
As we rounded the corner my jaw dropped in awe. I was surrounded by 360 degrees of 50-70 foot high absolutely lush, vegetation-covered cliffs. A small waterfall was falling ahead and to the side water was dripping from an overhang in such a way as to form raindrops. I had to tread water for awhile under the overhang and get "rained" on because it was so lovely. We climbed up the rocks beside the waterfall and arrived at another pool that had horse-shoe shaped vegetation-covered cliffs and an even bigger waterfall.The beautiful paradise picture I had had in my head of what Maui should be was realised in that moment. On the way back to the lower pool we saved some time climbing down by simply jumping the twelve feet into the water.
I am in love with this place.
* Apparently I had 2 dirty handprints right on my rear end because the ropes swung out while I was trying to climb and some of the spotters were trying to keep me steady. I have no idea whose handprints they were. Seems kind of disreputable to not even know whose handprints are on one's own bottom.
** Except possibly when hiking up the volcano Haleakala. Don't know how many waterfalls and pools I will find up there. But even though I won't wear my suit, I will probably through it into my bag. Just in case.
As we rounded the corner my jaw dropped in awe. I was surrounded by 360 degrees of 50-70 foot high absolutely lush, vegetation-covered cliffs. A small waterfall was falling ahead and to the side water was dripping from an overhang in such a way as to form raindrops. I had to tread water for awhile under the overhang and get "rained" on because it was so lovely. We climbed up the rocks beside the waterfall and arrived at another pool that had horse-shoe shaped vegetation-covered cliffs and an even bigger waterfall.The beautiful paradise picture I had had in my head of what Maui should be was realised in that moment. On the way back to the lower pool we saved some time climbing down by simply jumping the twelve feet into the water.
I am in love with this place.
* Apparently I had 2 dirty handprints right on my rear end because the ropes swung out while I was trying to climb and some of the spotters were trying to keep me steady. I have no idea whose handprints they were. Seems kind of disreputable to not even know whose handprints are on one's own bottom.
** Except possibly when hiking up the volcano Haleakala. Don't know how many waterfalls and pools I will find up there. But even though I won't wear my suit, I will probably through it into my bag. Just in case.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Lava fields and ukuleles
Well, I've been busy. Awesomely busy. Cleaning a beautiful training facility, boogie boarding at the beach, and enjoying paradise busy. I've also been watering all the indoor plants. Most of us get assigned extra jobs and mine is that of the Plant Girl. It's a pretty sweet deal because I get to take all of Wednesday morning to get the watering done (and fight the mealybug fight). While doing so, I'm on my own schedule and I can visit with anyone I run into. Plus I'm in all the nicest areas of the building. When I finally replace my camera (which had a tragic and early death last week) I will show you pictures of the atriums. They are awesome and feel quite peaceful. There is a little hole in the roof so that when it rains (which isn't often actually. I didn't realise Kihei is a desert) it rains right inside the building. It's like Hogwarts' enchanted ceiling!!!! Anyway, Wednesday is our half day so it pretty much feels like an entire day off when the only work I do is hang out with plants and walk around. Pretty much great.
We heard rumors of black billygoats living in the area and were thrilled to witness the truth in that tale! I didn't get any shots of the baby goats but they were adorable. I was surprised how loud the goats were. Their noise is what originally alerted us to their presence.
Views through trees are always favourites of mine.
After we had hiked out to the becon, we stopped by Big Beach. It's a beautiful beach but with powerful waves. It was fairly calm this day...
And I saw my first mongoose in the parking lot (actually there are two hiding in the grass). I have vague memories of a book. Rikki Ticky or something like that? I believe it involves a mongoose and a cobra.
I went to Big Beach again this past Wednesday. Not so calm. In fact, the beaches just down the road were red flagged. If we'd known, I don't think we would have gone in the water. But we didn't know and we did go in the water. And I honestly think that the waves at times were 6 feet high. It's a fairly dangerous beach because the waves break right at the shore. If you get caught in the break it can be nasty. I was there with a couple of ladies and one smart one sat on the sand and refused to enter the water. The other and myself went running in and paid for it. We both have a couple new bruises, several sore spots and I pulled a muscle that I didn't even know I had. Seems to be healing quite nicely though so I might even go on a hike tomorrow through a bamboo forest (during which I am sure I will be devestated that I have not yet replaced my poor dead camera).
Two Wednesday's ago I mentioned I went on a hike in La Perouse Bay through some lava fields out to a light becon. I did have some picture taking potential and I'd like to share with you a few of my favourite shots.
This is a view of the "foothills" of Haleakala which is the volcano that caused all the lava seen here.
The lava flowed all the way into the ocean and makes for a stunning costal walk.
We heard rumors of black billygoats living in the area and were thrilled to witness the truth in that tale! I didn't get any shots of the baby goats but they were adorable. I was surprised how loud the goats were. Their noise is what originally alerted us to their presence.
Views through trees are always favourites of mine.
After we had hiked out to the becon, we stopped by Big Beach. It's a beautiful beach but with powerful waves. It was fairly calm this day...
And I saw my first mongoose in the parking lot (actually there are two hiding in the grass). I have vague memories of a book. Rikki Ticky or something like that? I believe it involves a mongoose and a cobra.
I went to Big Beach again this past Wednesday. Not so calm. In fact, the beaches just down the road were red flagged. If we'd known, I don't think we would have gone in the water. But we didn't know and we did go in the water. And I honestly think that the waves at times were 6 feet high. It's a fairly dangerous beach because the waves break right at the shore. If you get caught in the break it can be nasty. I was there with a couple of ladies and one smart one sat on the sand and refused to enter the water. The other and myself went running in and paid for it. We both have a couple new bruises, several sore spots and I pulled a muscle that I didn't even know I had. Seems to be healing quite nicely though so I might even go on a hike tomorrow through a bamboo forest (during which I am sure I will be devestated that I have not yet replaced my poor dead camera).
Anyway, that's about all I have time for right now. Except that I wanted to post this video of Manoa DNA, a father and sons singing group that played at the ukulele festival I went to a couple of weeks ago.
There is another video I've been trying to post but have had no luck. It is of a female performer called Paula Fuga and she was amazingly fantastic and if I'd had enough cash I would have totally bought her cd. But since I only had $5, I bought some apple bananas instead which I very much enjoyed for the rest of the week in my cereal. I will keep attempting to upload her video because she's not on iTunes and really was quite awesome.
There is another video I've been trying to post but have had no luck. It is of a female performer called Paula Fuga and she was amazingly fantastic and if I'd had enough cash I would have totally bought her cd. But since I only had $5, I bought some apple bananas instead which I very much enjoyed for the rest of the week in my cereal. I will keep attempting to upload her video because she's not on iTunes and really was quite awesome.
I'll have to post again soon to tell you about the Xterra World Championships, the musical I went to tonight (Urinetown) and the coolest sushi restaurant ever. And I don't even like sushi. I'll also try to borrow a camera to give you a tour of Haggai.
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