Maui Flora

Flowers

everywhere on Maui! Blooming trees and bushes. Orchids, Birds of Paradise. Purples, reds, oranges, white, yellows, pinks. Even folks wearing flowers around their necks, in their hair.

We were expecting to see beautiful flowers abloom on Maui. What we didn't expect was discovering a farm growing fields of lavender (above picture) on the lower slopes of the Haleakula Crater...or that it also was the fertile ground for growing protea - a plant native to South Africa.

Keep in mind that these flowers can be as large as dinner plates. You might want to click on them to get even closer views, especially on the one below where you can see little black "fur" peeking out of the lower pink flower on the left. Truly exotic, if you want my opinion!

So, the next time flowers are to be given, think of giving a bouquet of protea! On the island of Maui, it will only set you back about $10, but elsewhere expect to pay about $95.00 for a large bouquet. Just my luck...

Spouting Off

Humpback whales migrate to Hawaii from Alaska from January to April...one of the reasons we chose why to take our trip now. Females are nursing their calves here, while this is also their mating season. What excitement we had on our whale-watching cruise day!

Though we saw whale spoutings from the shoreline, my big dream was going out on the ocean in a boat to get as close to the whales as possible. We chose the non-profit organization, Pacific Whale Foundation to take us on our two hour whale-watching tour. This group is known for its preservation of the whales as well as educating people about whale conservation and behaviors.

After watching a lot of round out/peduncle arch and fluke up/fluke down dives, we somehow found ourselves in the midst of a whole lot of real action:

To be in the boat between two different whale pods was one of the most incredible experiences ever. To our right, whales were breaching meaning that two thirds of their bodies pushed upwards from the ocean depths and jumped out visibly from the surface of the ocean. We could even see their belly barnacles! To our right, whales were responding to this breaching by doing

pec slaps where they rolled sideways at the surface slapping their pectoral fins against the water. Admittedly, I was disappointed that our camera missed most of the actions: we ended up with a lot of water splashes. But, forever in my mind will be the witnessing of creatures as big as school busses communicating with each other and how we relate because of being social creatures in the same amazing universe.

Smoothie Operators

We hoped we'd find a blender in our condo kitchen and we were gleeful to discover we had one! The two of us - mostly Wes - would be operating this machine nearly every day of our stay in Hawaii.

So many fresh fruits to choose from in a Safeway grocery store! The colors, the shapes, the sizes...we were in paradise for sure now!

We had smoothies most every day, including breakfast. Part of the reason we wanted a kitchen in our lodging was to be able to have the freedom of choice and convenience. We ate two meals at "home" everyday and went out for the third. Besides, we had a lovely outdoor patio facing lovely exotic trees, flowers and pool. Above: Grilled cheese and chicken sandwiches served with pineapple smoothies.

Never did a sandwich taste better!

Of course, I will give you our basic recipe:

Fresh Pineapple or Papaya Smoothies

3/4 cup fresh chopped fruit (can mix types of fruits together)

3/4 cup fruit juice or berry "cooler"

1 cup vanilla yogurt (or plain)

6-8 ice cubes

Put everything into a blender, adding ice last. Whir vigorously and serve!

Then, imagine you are in Hawaii.....

Under the Sea

Wes had snorkeled before and I hadn't. He rented his gear right away; I didn't. Why was I so darn freaked out about going underwater snorkeling? Finally, I had had enough of his telling me of all the amazing, colorful fish and sealife he was spotting underwater, and I gave in...the tidepools were fine that I

could see (pictured right), but I needed to

be brave and go underwater now or forever regret it! And it turns out that snorkeling was one of the best things about our whole trip!

At the Snorkle Bob's shop, we were given this reference guide, and actually saw many of these fish underwater. Wes even saw an octopus and a couple of sea turtles! My favorites: the spunky little bitty Yellow Tangs, the geometrically asymmetrical Threadfin Butterfly Fish, the exotic Moorfish Idol, and the long skinny Needlefish.

The beauty and the meaning of our time under the ocean surface hit home yesterday when Wes

came home after teaching his class Change Management (studying organizations within the world of business, and especially those undergoing change and how to deal with/prepare for it) and told how he used something we saw undersea as an explanatory illustration. Called the Complex Addaptive System,

it relates to how reactive patterns are formed that don't appear to be directed by the boss or anyone else - they are not controlled from the "top" down; they just happen! Fish aren't told how to organize into a school: they just do this emergent pattern on their own, based upon a simple rule of relating to each other with the right distance apart and facing the right direction. What we saw was this: a group of at least 15 goatfish were swimming closely together, stacked vertically in a line. Never saw anything like it! There's no "boss" that we know of telling them to do so, but we saw this same pattern in another spot we where we snorkeled with the same kind of fish, but certainly not the same school of fish! Pretty swimmingly awesome is how I'd describe life under the sea!

It's Not the Final Destination, But the Trip Getting There...

Really...it's not about the final destination, it's all about the trip TO it. The road to Hana is about 52 miles, and it's a winding, curvy, windy, sometimes wet, glorious trek. Not for those prone to car sickness; that's why we didn't do this outing when I was pregnant 22 years ago. There are more than 50 single lane bridges and the trip alone, with no stops, takes three hours. However, along the way there are: waterfalls, seascapes, taro patches, bamboo groves, mountains, gardens and rainforests. You certainly don't have the chance to be bored here!

Time for a hike at mile marker 9 in the Koolau State Forest Reserve on the Waikomoi Ridge Trail. Yes, this is a rain forest!

Coastline view near Keanae which is one of the oldest Hawaiian villages. Taro is still grown here. Mile marker 17.

Here we are at the booming, thunderous coast near mile marker 25 at the Old Lahaina Lookout. This was the only time during our whole trip that we felt a little unsafe...driving through one part of the road made us feel like we were living Deliverance Hawaii style!

Our guide book told us to stop at mile marker 29 for a taste of some locally homemade coconut candy served from a primitive stall. Man! This was divine - strips of coconut are cut and baked for 24 hours, then coated with pure Hawaiian sugar. (Wes is no fan of coconut and he loved this sweet treat! We wish we could give all of you a bag of the stuff, but at $5.00 per small bag, it is a rather pricey treat.)

At mile marker 32, we stopped for a picnic lunch and a stroll along the black sanded Waianapanapa Beach. It is told that if you remove any of this black sand to keep, you will have very bad luck.

The beautiful, numerous waterfalls on our journey were lovely to see and hear. This particular one had swimmers in the pool below it!

At the very end of the trip to Hana is the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh. Wes had especially wanted to see this quiet, remote

resting place of one of his personal heroes.

Lindbergh was buried under river stones in a seaside gravesite behind the Homman Congregational Church - built in 1857. His tombstone is engraved with the words from the

from the 139th Psalm: "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea..."

And with that last stop on our road trip to Hana, we got back in the car and redrove our journey back to the beginning feeling like we set off on the right path for the right day.

Return to Paradise - Finally!

My parents loved to travel and when they offered us a trip to Hawaii - all expenses paid, I might add - we jumped at the chance! Even though I was nearly 7 months pregnant, it was the trip of a lifetime. Wes and I always promised each other we'd go back someday. What happened? Life happened. Our kids had busy schedules...who would care for them while we were gone? Flash forward twenty two years, and we finally pulled it off. Clearing our schedules and committments at home was no easy task. But, we made it back to paradise!

Twenty two years later:

(Here we are in Hawaii in 1986... just a couple of months before John was born.) A glimpse of our comfy, cozy studio condo at Napili Shores.

The bay just to the left of our condo where sea turtles swim and play.

The path right outside our studio condo leading to the tide pool beach.

The beach just to the right of where we stayed. Great for wave riding and snorkeling!

Over the next few days (or however long it takes to assimilate being back to our real life), I will be posting more about our wonderful anniversary trip to Hawaii. It took 22 years to return, but we sure hope it won't be that long until our next visit!

Laena Lou's Hair Salon

Hair salons of the world...GET READY! Laena is on her way! We discovered she had an incredible passion for creating world class "coifs" at our recent gathering in New Jersey. She combs and styles with flair, and is not afraid to tackle the locks of young, middle-aged, or "young at heart." She's quick, she's strong and not afraid to try something new. Add these clients to her portfolio!

Finally, check out live action of our niece doing Wes' hair. Note her happy face, and how many expressions Wes was capable of making!

A New Year (and a New Look)

How to celebrate New's Year's Eve? We've had so many different ways over the years: having friends to our house, going to parties at friends' houses, going to late movies with the kids when they were younger, visiting relatives/friends out-of-state. But what we like most these days:

having a candlelight dinner at home, then going to a live theatre performance (preferably a musical with a live orchestra). And just what we did in 2007.

This is the musical we went to presented by the Light Opera Works at the Cahn Auditorium in Evanston. Both of us love this musical! The cast was fantastic. The music was fabulous. Perfect combo!

The biggest challenge was not to belt out the tunes we knew by heart: "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," People Will Say We're in Love," I Cain't Say No," and "O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!"

Wes as Curly; me as Laurie...or maybe Ado Annie? Who cares if we were two of the youngest in attendance? We had the best time!

As we walked back to our car, we were treated by the most beautiful snowfall...it looked like we were walking within a snow globe! A rather magical night to escort in another year...what will it bring our way?

Sometimes you want to know the good stuff, but I guess it's best to take it as it comes and try to find the "magic" in it no matter what the next 365 days bring our way. May we be kinder, gentler, wiser, healthier, richer in spirit and open to the possibilities!