Whale Pictures!

While I have not received any comments on the last few postings, I am continuing to post because it serves as sort of a journal.

We went on a whale watch cruise yesterday. We chose the sunset cruise, which left at around 3:45 pm and got back to the harbor shortly before six. (The sun sets around 6:20 here in the Islands at this time of the year). While on the cruise Sue took a ton of pics and we were able to get some of the whales. We spent the entire cruise circling a mother whale, her baby, and the male escort. All of the pics you see here are the baby. Thanks to Sue's 10 megapixel camera we were able to crop some of the photos down enough so that you can see the whale close-up.

Sue and I are having an argument right now. She says that since she took the pictures she should get to post them. I say that since I brought the laptop to Hawaii and manipulated the photos I get to post them. After a knock-down confrontation, we agreed that I would post 3 and she would post the best 2. So here are the 3 that I get to post - you will have to go to Sue's blog to see the other 2.

Here is the baby whale, breaching out of the water.


This baby (they tell us he was male) was funny. He liked to poke his head up with his mouth open. We didn't get any shots with his mouth opening, but here is one with him poking his head out of the ocean. If you look closely, you can see the 2 holes that form his blow-hole.


This is the baby popping up away from us.


We spent the entire cruise circling this trio of whales and really enjoyed it. It would have been a little nicer if we had left them after about 1/2 the cruise and gone in search of a competition pod, but all in all we really enjoyed the cruise.

The company we went out with, Ultimate Whale Watch, is the same company we went with last year. We have gone out with 4-6 different companies, but I like this company best. We are in a 24 passenger zodiac boat that has a steel bottom. The buoyancy of the boat comes from the air-filled tubes that I sit on. There are also chairs (bench seats) for about 10-12 people, but I prefer to sit on the side. We are scheduled to go with them again on Monday and I will try to get Sue to take a photo of the "Wiki Wahine" (which in Hawaiian means "fast woman"). In the meantime, this image is from their home page:



Aloha!

Hawaiian Weather

I love Hawaii. I love being on an Island. I love the green plants that live everywhere. I love the lava rocks. I love the ocean. I love driving a convertible. I love being warm all the time. I love knowing Maui well enough that I don't have to refer to maps to determine where to go.

But, just as the rose has thorns, so too Hawaii has something to remind you that beauty must pay a price. In my opinion, it is the weather.

In my prior post I mentioned that we drove to the top of Haleakala and really enjoyed the day. That was Monday. When we left Kihei the temperature was 82 degrees. When we reached the summit it had dropped to 56 degrees. This I believe is a normal range for going from sea level to 10,023 feet above sea level. However, as we started down the mountain, the clouds rolled in.

Tuesday it rained all day. We were prepared for rain and spent most of the day in Ka'anapali. We had lunch at Leilani's and also did some shopping. We had a great dinner at Roy's in Kihei and made arrangements to meet at Stella Blue's for breakfast on Wednesday, dressed in swimming suits because we were going to hit the beach.

You guessed it. It rained all day on Wednesday. We hit Stella Blue's for breakfast, in our swimsuits, but went back to the condos and changed into regular clothes. We then spent some more time in Lahaina, doing some shopping, and went to dinner at Kimo's. While in Lahaina Sue found some ocean glass that she bought for a very reasonable price. She got a piece for her necklace, and a set of earrings. Here are some photos from Kimo's:

Tom & Lani


Wally & Beth


Sue & I


We made arrangements to meet at Mekena Beach today (Thursday). Each couple rented a beach umbrella and 2 lounge chairs (cost per couple: $35/day) and had a great morning at the beach. We went to lunch at the pool area at the Maui Prince hotel, which is right on Makena Beach. While we were at lunch the winds came up and blew a bunch of clouds in, so we lost the sun! We spent a couple more hours at the beach but it was frustrating to me because we lost the sun again! I'm sure that tomorrow will be better.

We have a whale watch scheduled tomorrow with Ultimate Whale Watch out of Lahaina. It is a late afternoon trip, and we will get back to the harbor at dusk. We went out with them last year and really liked it. They have a zodiac boat that holds about 20 people and gets you close to the water. We are really looking forward to it. We are also scheduled to go with them again on Monday.

Aloha!

Vacation!

It's VACATION time!

Every year since 1995 (except for 2) we have taken a trip to Hawaii with our good friends Tom & Lani. Some of the years we have also had the pleasure of Wally & Beth's company. For 2009, it is all 6 of us and that time has arrived!

Sue and I flew to Hawaii last Saturday (the 24th). Tom & Lani flew in this afternoon (Monday), and Wally & Beth flew in tonight. We had dinner with Tom & Lani at Fred's Mexican Cantina but we have not yet seen Wally & Beth.

We have a few simple rules on our vacations. Each couple gets their own condo and car. We usually decide where we are going to eat our next meal at the time of the current meal. If a couple decides they don't want to do what the group wants to do they have the time to themselves and nobodies feelings are hurt. We also try to limit the amount of time that we talk about our families so that we focus on spending time together.

With the fact that we were on our own today, Sue and I decided to drive to the top of Haleakala. Haleakala is in impressive part of the island of Maui. Maui is called "The Valley Isle" because it is basically 2 large mountains (extinct/dormant volcanos) with a valley between them. The island can be thought of as the west side (where Lahaina and Kaanapali and Kapalua are located) and the south side (where Kihei and Waimea and Makena are located). Haleakala makes up the southern portion of the island, and rises from the sea to a summit that is 10,023 feet above sea level. Starting in Kihei, where we stay, it is a nice day's activity to drive 37 miles to the summit of Mount Haleakala. It is a real curvy road with lots of blind turns and steep dropoffs.

We were lucky (or blessed) in that the mountain on the drive up was cloud-free and we could see all the way down. We could see the port of Kahului and we could see Maalaea Bay and lots of other interesting views. On the way down the clouds drew in and we could not see anything.

Here are some photos we have taken to this point on our vacation:

1) Sue works for Worldmark. Every day at work, above her desk, is a poster of the swimming pool at the Worldmark location in Kihei. Sue decided to do her pose of the girl in the poster, but in her normal clothes and not her swimsuit. She then shared it with her boss and coworkers to prove to them that this is where she is staying!



2) Me at breakfast Sunday morning at Stella Blue's restaurant. The place is named after a song performed by the Grateful Dead. I think I am already looking pretty relaxed!



3) My sweetheart at breakfast. Looking good, Sue!



4) Sue, with the city of Kahului behind her. I think we are at about 7500 feet above sea level where this photo was taken.



5) Me, at the same location, but with Kihei and Maalaea Bay in the background.



6) Me, in our rental car. It is so fun to drive a convertible that we pretty much always try to rent one.



7) The first time we came to Hawaii was probably in 1991 or 1992. As we got off the airplane in Honolulu we were amazed at the tropical setting and the flowers that are ALWAYS blooming. On this trip Sue wanted to get some photos of the different flowers to share with the friends back home. Here are the first few she took:











We are really pleased with the photos and how they turned out. These were taken with the camera that Sue bought right after Christmas from an infomercial on TV. It has been fun.

Please leave any comments if you want more info on the Hawaiian activities!

Dave

Time

Where does it go?

I just can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. We are already 2 weeks into the new year, and in 10 days Sue and I will be leaving for our annual trip to Hawaii.

It seems incredible to me that time goes by so quickly. As a young boy, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas took FOREVER to pass. Now, as a grandpa, it feels like you have Thanksgiving dinner, then go to the family room to open Christmas presents.

I have discovered that at least one thing, however, can make time seem to stand still. That thing is missing someone. Right now Sue and I have just passed the first week of 4 weeks without Janelle, Bailee, or Afton. Yes, Janelle stole our two precious granddaughters from us and went to visit her sister and family in Boston. (Can you imagine she would be so mean?) They are going to be gone for almost three weeks, but get back 2 days after we leave for Hawaii. So, while I am looking forward to spending 11 days in Hawaii, I'm also already looking forward to coming home so I can see them again.

And for those of you who know me, that is a MAJOR change to how I view our annual Hawaii vacation!